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

Latest (2024)
256,314 people
Change on year
up 1.6%
World rank
95th
of 163 countries
All-time high
832,367 people
in 2000
All-time low
214,044 people
in 2014
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Bulgaria, 2000–2024

200.0k400.0k600.0k800.0k2000201220242000: 832.4k people2001: 782.8k people2002: 734.5k people2003: 687.7k people2004: 641.6k people2005: 596.2k people2006: 551.4k people2007: 507.1k people2008: 463.6k people2009: 420.8k people2010: 378.3k people2011: 336.1k people2012: 294.2k people2013: 253.3k people2014: 214.0k people2015: 218.8k people2016: 223.4k people2017: 227.7k people2018: 232.0k people2019: 236.1k people2020: 240.5k people2021: 244.1k people2022: 247.9k people2023: 252.3k people2024: 256.3k people

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 92 Bhutan 272,330 people compare
  2. 93 Vanuatu 264,853 people compare
  3. 94 Spain 259,452 people compare
  4. 97 Czechia 199,164 people compare
  5. 98 France 191,194 people compare

See the full ranking of 163 places →

More environment data for Bulgaria

All data for Bulgaria →

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

Indicator
People not using safely managed drinking water sources
Unit
people
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
163 places, 3,991 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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.