Municipal water withdrawal in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Municipal water withdrawal was 832.00 million cubic meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
832.00 million cubic meters
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
60th
of 183 countries
All-time high
1.20 billion cubic meters
in 2000
All-time low
417.00 million cubic meters
in 1988
Years of data
36
1988–2023
Municipal water withdrawal in Bulgaria, 1988–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.
Analysis
Bulgaria recorded 832.00 million cubic meters for municipal water withdrawal in 2023.
The figure is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 11.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water withdrawal in Bulgaria peaked at 1.20 billion cubic meters in 2000 and was at its lowest, 417.00 million cubic meters, in 1988.
That places Bulgaria 60th out of 183 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Municipal water withdrawal in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 417.00 million cubic meters | — |
| 1989 | 481.83 million cubic meters | +15.5% |
| 1990 | 546.67 million cubic meters | +13.5% |
| 1991 | 611.50 million cubic meters | +11.9% |
| 1992 | 676.33 million cubic meters | +10.6% |
| 1993 | 741.17 million cubic meters | +9.6% |
| 1994 | 806.00 million cubic meters | +8.7% |
| 1995 | 870.83 million cubic meters | +8.0% |
| 1996 | 935.67 million cubic meters | +7.4% |
| 1997 | 1.00 billion cubic meters | +6.9% |
| 1998 | 1.07 billion cubic meters | +6.5% |
| 1999 | 1.13 billion cubic meters | +6.1% |
| 2000 | 1.20 billion cubic meters | +5.7% |
| 2001 | 1.09 billion cubic meters | -8.7% |
| 2002 | 1.07 billion cubic meters | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 1.06 billion cubic meters | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 1.04 billion cubic meters | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 1.03 billion cubic meters | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 1.02 billion cubic meters | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 1.01 billion cubic meters | -1.2% |
| 2008 | 1.02 billion cubic meters | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 978.40 million cubic meters | -3.7% |
| 2010 | 944.40 million cubic meters | -3.5% |
| 2011 | 930.10 million cubic meters | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 948.30 million cubic meters | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 942.20 million cubic meters | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 887.20 million cubic meters | -5.8% |
| 2015 | 899.60 million cubic meters | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 893.80 million cubic meters | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 905.00 million cubic meters | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 865.00 million cubic meters | -4.4% |
| 2019 | 867.00 million cubic meters | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 838.00 million cubic meters | -3.3% |
| 2021 | 834.00 million cubic meters | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 838.00 million cubic meters | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 832.00 million cubic meters | -0.7% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 832.00 million cubic meters is above the median for high income countries, which is 699.00 million cubic meters, 1.2× the median. (61 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 832.00 million cubic meters is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 657.50 million cubic meters, 1.3× the median. (50 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 449.42 million cubic meters | 417.00 million cubic meters | 481.83 million cubic meters | 2 |
| 1990s | 838.42 million cubic meters | 546.67 million cubic meters | 1.13 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.05 billion cubic meters | 978.40 million cubic meters | 1.20 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 908.26 million cubic meters | 865.00 million cubic meters | 948.30 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 835.50 million cubic meters | 832.00 million cubic meters | 838.00 million cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More environment data for Bulgaria
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.39 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.573 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.18 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -6.02 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.7509 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal water withdrawal in Bulgaria?
- Municipal water withdrawal in Bulgaria was 832.00 million cubic meters in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 1.20 billion cubic meters in 2000.
- What is the lowest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 417.00 million cubic meters in 1988.
- How does Bulgaria rank for municipal water withdrawal?
- Bulgaria ranks 60th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal water withdrawal rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal water withdrawal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Water withdrawn each year for direct use by the population, usually measured as the total supplied by the public distribution network.