Bulgaria

EuropeCapital city: SofiaCapital metro: SofiaPresident: Iliana IotovaPrime Minister: Rumen Radev
2026 population
6.4M
Rank #112 globally
Area
111k km² (43k sq mi)
Metros tracked
25
96% of population in metros
Composite score
12.8
Rank #85 globally

population: Official estimate (31 Dec 2025) · indicators as of 2026-09-05 · 25 metros tracked

🗺️ Geography25 metros

Bulgaria metro footprint, shaded by composite tier.

Loading map…
25 polygons

Hover for rank, click to open the metro page. Boundaries derived from Overture Maps administrative divisions; metros without source coverage are omitted.

🏙️ 25 tracked metros
25 metros
🗂️ Provinces

28 entries listed under Bulgaria. Click any to see its metros and footprint.

28 total
📋 At a glance
Official language
Bulgarian
Currency
Euro (€)
Government
Parliamentary republic
Legislature
National Assembly of Bulgaria
Demonym
Bulgarian
Time zone
UTC+02:00
Driving side
Right
Calling code
+359
Internet TLD
.bg, .бг
ISO 3166
BG
Established
1878
Highest point
Musala (2,925 m (9,596 ft))
National anthem
Mila Rodino

Facts via Wikidata.

💹 Economy and developmentHigh income
Human Dev. Index
#55 / 191
0.845
UNDP · 2023
GDP
#62 / 193
$130.8B
World Bank · 2025
GDP per capita
#55 / 193
$20.3k
World Bank · 2025
GDP/capita (PPP)
#50 / 190
$44.5k
World Bank · 2025
GNI/capita (Atlas)
#60 / 192
$17.8k
World Bank · 2025
Life expectancy
#81 / 194
75.8 yrs
World Bank · 2024
Median age
44.3 yrs
UN WPP · 2023
Urban population
#60 / 194
74%
World Bank · 2025
Pop. growth
-0.1%
World Bank · 2025
Pop. density
#126 / 193
59/km²
World Bank · 2023
Foreign-born
#98 / 193
4.4%
World Bank · 2024
Rule of law
#90 / 175
0.56
V-Dem · 2025
Gini index
#119 / 166
39.5
World Bank · 2023
Internet users
#90 / 193
82%
World Bank · 2024
Inflation
#134 / 185
4.6%
World Bank · 2025
CO₂ per capita
#133 / 192
4.7 t
Global Carbon Budget · 2024
Renewable electricity
#95 / 186
33%
Ember · 2025

Ranks are among sovereign countries with data; ★ marks a top-5% finish. Sources: World Bank Open Data and Our World in Data (UNDP, UN WPP, V-Dem, Global Carbon Budget, Ember, Energy Institute; CC BY 4.0). Each card credits its originating body. Renewable share is of electricity generation, not of primary energy. Each figure is the most recent year available.

Alliances & Organisations3 full memberships

Security

Political & Economic

Full memberDashed border = Candidate / ApplicantItalic = Dialogue / Observer

🏛️ Leadership History52 leaders · click to expand

marks a leader associated with atrocities or defiance of law, systemic subversion of democratic institutions, or a criminal conviction. Convictions arising from political persecution, and annulled convictions, are excluded. denotes a monarch. These are editorial designations, applied per entry rather than derived automatically.

Progressive Bulgaria era

Rumen Radev✦ Current

2026Present

Prime Minister

Tenure: 2026–presentProgressive Bulgaria

Iliana Iotova✦ Current

2026Present

President

Tenure: 2026–presentIndependent (BSP-backed)

Political instability era

Rosen Zhelyazkov

20252026

Prime Minister

Tenure: 2025–2026GERB

Dimitar Glavchev

20242025

Prime Minister

Tenure: 2024–2025 (caretaker)Independent

Nikolai Denkov

20232024

Prime Minister

Tenure: 2023–2024We Continue the Change

Galab Donev

20222023

Prime Minister

Tenure: 2022–2023 (caretaker)Independent

Kiril Petkov

20212022

Prime Minister

Tenure: 2021–2022We Continue the Change

Rumen Radev

20172026

President

Tenure: 2017–2026Independent (BSP-backed)

EU member era

Rosen Plevneliev

20122017

President

Tenure: 2012–2017GERB

EU accession era

Georgi Parvanov

20022012

President

Tenure: 2002–2012Bulgarian Socialist Party

Pre-EU reform era

Petar Stoyanov

19972002

President

Tenure: 1997–2002Union of Democratic Forces

Post-communist transition

Zhelyu Zhelev

19901997

President

Tenure: 1990–1997Union of Democratic Forces

People's Republic of Bulgaria

⚠️ Todor Zhivkov

19541989

First Secretary

Tenure: 35y 8m 6d

Vulko Chervenkov

19501954

First Secretary

Tenure: 4y 1m 16d

Georgi Dimitrov

19461949

Prime Minister

Tenure: 2y 7m 9d

Kingdom of Bulgaria

👑 Simeon II

19431946

Monarch

Tenure: 3y 18d

👑 Boris III

19181943

Monarch

Tenure: 24y 10m 25d

👑 Ferdinand I

18871918

Monarch

Tenure: 31y 1m 19d

Principality of Bulgaria

👑 Alexander I

18791886

Monarch

Tenure: 7y 2m 2d

Second Bulgarian Empire

👑 Ivan Shishman

13711395

Emperor

Tenure: 24y 0dyear-level backbone — Tarnovo fell to the Ottomans in 1393

👑 Ivan Alexander

13311371

Emperor

Tenure: 40y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Ivan Asen II

12181241

Emperor

Tenure: 23y 0dyear-level backbone — apogee of the Second Empire

👑 Boril

12071218

Emperor

Tenure: 11y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Kaloyan

11961207

Emperor

Tenure: 11y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Ivan Asen I

11881196

Emperor

Tenure: 8y 0dyear-level backbone — co-ruled with his brother Peter II

👑 Peter II

11851197

Emperor

Tenure: 12y 0dyear-level backbone — led the anti-Byzantine uprising of 1185 with his brother Ivan Asen I

First Bulgarian Empire

👑 Ivan Vladislav

10151018

Emperor

Tenure: 3y 0dyear-level backbone — First Empire conquered by Byzantium in 1018

👑 Gavril Radomir

10141015

Emperor

Tenure: 1y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Samuel

9971014

Emperor

Tenure: 17y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Roman

977997

Emperor

Tenure: 20y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Boris II

969977

Emperor

Tenure: 8y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Peter I

927969

Emperor

Tenure: 42y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Simeon I the Great

913927

Emperor

Tenure: 14y 0dyear-level backbone — recognized as Emperor (Tsar) from 913

👑 Simeon I the Great

893913

Knyaz

Tenure: 20y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Vladimir

889893

Knyaz

Tenure: 4y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Boris I

852889

Knyaz

Tenure: 37y 0dyear-level backbone — Khan until 864

👑 Presian I

836852

Khan

Tenure: 16y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Malamir

831836

Khan

Tenure: 5y 0dyear-level backbone
Show all 26 leaders

👑 Omurtag

814831

Khan

Tenure: 17y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Krum

803814

Khan

Tenure: 11y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Kardam

777803

Khan

Tenure: 26y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Telerig

768777

Khan

Tenure: 9y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Pagan

767768

Khan

Tenure: 1y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Toktu

766767

Khan

Tenure: 1y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Umor

766766

Khan

Tenure: 0y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Sabin

763766

Khan

Tenure: 3y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Telets

760763

Khan

Tenure: 3y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Vinekh

754760

Khan

Tenure: 6y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Sevar

738754

Khan

Tenure: 16y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Kormisosh

721738

Khan

Tenure: 17y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Tervel

700721

Khan

Tenure: 21y 0dyear-level backbone

👑 Asparuh

681700

Khan

Tenure: 19y 0dyear-level backbone — founder of Danubian Bulgaria, recognized by Byzantium in 681
📈 Power over timeThe Power Atlas →
Today
Minor#80 · 0.1%
3%5%8%10%19502000
Power (headline share)Latent (material mass)Recognised (standing)
Bulgaria · share of world power, 1908–2026

The powerline is the headline share of world power, running from the state’s first ranked year (benchmark estimates with wide error bars before 1816). Latent power is material mass a state could mobilise (population, manpower, heavy industry). Recognised power is what the system actually treats it as (military spending, productive economy, reach, and status such as a Security Council seat or nuclear arsenal). When latent runs above recognised, a power is rising or under-rated; when recognised runs higher, it is punching above its weight or coasting on prestige. Material sub-indices run 1816 through 2016.

⚔️ Conflicts since 19456 interstate wars · click to expand

Bold = principal belligerent. Source: Wikipedia, “List of interstate wars since 1945.”

👥 Population over time
Population 2023
6.8m
#110 in the world
Since 1800
3.02×
from 2.3m
Past its peak
−24.4%
peaked at 9.0m in 1988
Share of world
0.08%
0.23% in 1800
2.2m4.5m6.7m9.0m18001850190019502000
Bulgaria · people, 1800–2023 · dashed to 2026 is projected

Our World in Data population (CC BY): UN WPP 2024 from 1950, Gapminder v7 1800-1949, HYDE 3.3 earlier; today's borders. Figures above are as of 2023, the last year that is estimated rather than forecast. The dashed tail to 2026 is a UN WPP medium-variant projection. It is drawn because the line should reach the present, and drawn differently because it has not happened yet: no rank, peak or share on this page uses it. Before 1950 the series is reconstruction rather than contemporaneous statistics, which is worth knowing when a country’s peak sits back there. The current population shown elsewhere on this page comes from the workbook and is unchanged by this. Bulgaria is past its peak, which is less unusual than it sounds: the two lines here can point in opposite directions, and for most of Europe and East Asia they now both point down.

👥 To 2100

The UN’s probabilistic projection for Bulgaria: the median with its 80% and 95% bands, the UN’s own high, low and zero-migration scenarios beside it. Not this site’s model; the site reads it and says what it implies.

Peak
1988
9.0m; already passed
2050
5.4m
95% band 4.6m to 6.4m
2100
3.5m
95% band 2.1m to 6.0m
2100 against 2025
0.53×
median falling from 2024
Deaths outnumber births
since 1990
on the UN medium path; migration decides the rest
2.4m4.7m7.1m9.4m1950197520002025205020752100

Tap or drag across the chart to read any year: the estimate to 2023, then the UN median, its bands and the scenarios.

estimateUN median80% and 95% bandshigh and low fertilityzero migration

What drives it

Births, deaths and net migration on the UN medium path, with fertility, life expectancy and median age, every decade from 1950.

1950
156k born · 72k died · -1k net migration
TFR 2.48 · life expectancy 61.5 · median age 26.0
1960
140k born · 63k died · -1k net migration
TFR 2.31 · life expectancy 69.2 · median age 29.4
1970
139k born · 77k died · -11k net migration
TFR 2.18 · life expectancy 71.3 · median age 32.3
1980
128k born · 97k died · -2k net migration
TFR 2.06 · life expectancy 71.1 · median age 33.2
1990
107k born · 109k died · -117k net migration
TFR 1.79 · life expectancy 71.3 · median age 35.6
2000
72k born · 115k died · -26k net migration
TFR 1.29 · life expectancy 71.6 · median age 38.7
2010
76k born · 110k died · -22k net migration
TFR 1.57 · life expectancy 73.8 · median age 41.1
2020
59k born · 124k died · +30k net migration
TFR 1.56 · life expectancy 73.6 · median age 43.9
Show all 16 decades
2030
56k born · 101k died · -10k net migration
TFR 1.73 · life expectancy 76.7 · median age 45.9
2040
52k born · 97k died · -9k net migration
TFR 1.71 · life expectancy 78.3 · median age 48.4
2050
48k born · 89k died · -7k net migration
TFR 1.70 · life expectancy 79.9 · median age 48.0
2060
42k born · 84k died · -6k net migration
TFR 1.70 · life expectancy 81.4 · median age 47.8
2070
38k born · 76k died · -5k net migration
TFR 1.69 · life expectancy 82.8 · median age 47.9
2080
36k born · 65k died · -5k net migration
TFR 1.69 · life expectancy 84.1 · median age 48.0
2090
32k born · 54k died · -4k net migration
TFR 1.69 · life expectancy 85.3 · median age 48.5
2100
29k born · 51k died · -4k net migration
TFR 1.68 · life expectancy 86.5 · median age 49.7

Every country to 2100 →

Source: United Nations, DESA, Population Division. World Population Prospects 2024. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 IGO. Estimates to 2023; projections 2024 to 2100, medium variant and probabilistic intervals. The UN revises every two years; this is the WPP 2024 revision.

💰 Billionaires2 · $5.8B combined · click to expand
DiversifiedAnimal health, investments
DiversifiedAnimal health, investments

Source: Forbes real-time billionaires (via the rtb-api project). Net worth as of the latest monthly snapshot.

🏆 National Teams

Bulgaria on the international stage. Click a card for the full record.