People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Bulgaria

Bulgaria: People in rural areas not using an improved water source was 38,710 people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
38,710 people
Change on year
up 1.6%
World rank
97th
of 178 countries
All-time high
38,710 people
in 2024
All-time low
9,065 people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Bulgaria, 2000–2024

10.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k2000201220242000: 9.1k people2001: 11.1k people2002: 13.0k people2003: 14.8k people2004: 16.6k people2005: 18.3k people2006: 19.9k people2007: 21.5k people2008: 23.0k people2009: 24.4k people2010: 25.8k people2011: 27.1k people2012: 28.3k people2013: 29.4k people2014: 30.6k people2015: 31.7k people2016: 32.6k people2017: 33.6k people2018: 34.4k people2019: 35.3k people2020: 36.1k people2021: 36.7k people2022: 37.4k people2023: 38.1k people2024: 38.7k 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 in rural areas not using an improved water source in Bulgaria stood at 38,710 people. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.6% on the previous year and up 26.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Bulgaria peaked at 38,710 people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 9,065 people, in 2000.

That places Bulgaria 97th out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 17,162 people 9,065 people 24,419 people 10
2010s 30,874 people 25,790 people 35,266 people 10
2020s 37,399 people 36,069 people 38,710 people 5

Countries ranked near Bulgaria

  1. 94 Djibouti 53,612 people compare
  2. 95 Botswana 47,985 people compare
  3. 96 Serbia 40,286 people compare
  4. 98 Jamaica 37,761 people compare
  5. 100 Kazakhstan 36,290 people compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for Bulgaria

All data for Bulgaria →

Frequently asked questions

What is people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Bulgaria?
People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Bulgaria was 38,710 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 in rural areas not using an improved water source recorded in Bulgaria?
The highest recorded value was 38,710 people in 2024.
What is the lowest people in rural areas not using an improved water source recorded in Bulgaria?
The lowest recorded value was 9,065 people in 2000.
How does Bulgaria rank for people in rural areas not using an improved water source?
Bulgaria ranks 97th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
Is people in rural areas not using an improved water source rising or falling in Bulgaria?
Over the last ten years it is up 26.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
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 in rural areas not using an improved 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 in rural areas not using an improved 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
178 places, 4,351 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Number of people not using improved drinking water sources. These people might use surface water sources or unprotected springs or wells, as no safe and reliable improved drinking water source is available to them.