People using at least a basic drinking water source in Bulgaria

Bulgaria: People using at least a basic drinking water source was 6.70 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
6.70 million people
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
104th
of 231 countries
All-time high
7.98 million people
in 2000
All-time low
6.70 million people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People using at least a basic drinking water source in Bulgaria, 2000–2024

02.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M2000201220242000: 8.0M people2001: 7.9M people2002: 7.8M people2003: 7.8M people2004: 7.7M people2005: 7.7M people2006: 7.6M people2007: 7.6M people2008: 7.5M people2009: 7.4M people2010: 7.4M people2011: 7.3M people2012: 7.3M people2013: 7.2M people2014: 7.2M people2015: 7.1M people2016: 7.1M people2017: 7.0M people2018: 7.0M people2019: 6.9M people2020: 6.9M people2021: 6.8M people2022: 6.8M people2023: 6.7M people2024: 6.7M 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 using at least a basic drinking water source in Bulgaria stood at 6.70 million people. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 6.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people using at least a basic drinking water source in Bulgaria peaked at 7.98 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 6.70 million people, in 2024.

Bulgaria ranks 104th of 231 countries on this measure, 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 7.70 million people 7.45 million people 7.98 million people 10
2010s 7.15 million people 6.92 million people 7.40 million people 10
2020s 6.78 million people 6.70 million people 6.88 million people 5

Countries ranked near Bulgaria

  1. 101 Libya 7.11 million people compare
  2. 102 Paraguay 6.90 million people compare
  3. 103 Kyrgyzstan 6.82 million people compare
  4. 105 Serbia 6.43 million people compare
  5. 106 Togo 6.16 million people compare
  6. 107 Denmark 5.98 million people compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Bulgaria

All data for Bulgaria →

Frequently asked questions

What is people using at least a basic drinking water source in Bulgaria?
People using at least a basic drinking water source in Bulgaria was 6.70 million 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 using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Bulgaria?
The highest recorded value was 7.98 million people in 2000.
What is the lowest people using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Bulgaria?
The lowest recorded value was 6.70 million people in 2024.
How does Bulgaria rank for people using at least a basic drinking water source?
Bulgaria ranks 104th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is people using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in Bulgaria?
Over the last ten years it is down 6.6%. 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 using at least a basic drinking water source. 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 using at least a basic drinking water source
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
231 places, 5,586 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Number of people using an improved drinking water source, which is either available on premises, or collection time is no more than 30 minutes for a roundtrip.