People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: People not using safely managed drinking water sources was 256,314 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Bulgaria, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2024, people not using safely managed drinking water sources in Bulgaria stood at 256,314 people.
The figure is up 1.6% on the previous year and up 19.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people not using safely managed drinking water sources in Bulgaria peaked at 832,367 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 214,044 people, in 2014.
That places Bulgaria 95th out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 832,367 people | — |
| 2001 | 782,803 people | -6.0% |
| 2002 | 734,496 people | -6.2% |
| 2003 | 687,670 people | -6.4% |
| 2004 | 641,647 people | -6.7% |
| 2005 | 596,239 people | -7.1% |
| 2006 | 551,364 people | -7.5% |
| 2007 | 507,142 people | -8.0% |
| 2008 | 463,601 people | -8.6% |
| 2009 | 420,797 people | -9.2% |
| 2010 | 378,337 people | -10.1% |
| 2011 | 336,069 people | -11.2% |
| 2012 | 294,175 people | -12.5% |
| 2013 | 253,300 people | -13.9% |
| 2014 | 214,044 people | -15.5% |
| 2015 | 218,826 people | +2.2% |
| 2016 | 223,358 people | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 227,708 people | +1.9% |
| 2018 | 231,959 people | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 236,139 people | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 240,456 people | +1.8% |
| 2021 | 244,144 people | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 247,885 people | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 252,295 people | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 256,314 people | +1.6% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 256,314 people is above the median for high income countries, which is 30,638 people, 8.4× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 256,314 people is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 199,164 people, 1.3× the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 621,813 people | 420,797 people | 832,367 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 261,392 people | 214,044 people | 378,337 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 248,219 people | 240,456 people | 256,314 people | 5 |
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 people not using safely managed drinking water sources in Bulgaria?
- People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Bulgaria was 256,314 people in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest people not using safely managed drinking water sources recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 832,367 people in 2000.
- What is the lowest people not using safely managed drinking water sources recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 214,044 people in 2014.
- How does Bulgaria rank for people not using safely managed drinking water sources?
- Bulgaria ranks 95th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people not using safely managed drinking water sources rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of People not using safely managed drinking water sources. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
People not using safely managed drinking water sources either use unimproved drinking water sources or the improved sources they use are not located on their premises, not available when needed, or not free of contamination.