Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Bulgaria

Bulgaria: Share of population not using improved drinking water sources was 0.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
0.8%
Change on year
up 2.1%
World rank
127th
of 231 countries
All-time high
0.8%
in 2024
All-time low
0.3%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Bulgaria, 2000–2024

0.20.40.60.82000201220242000: 0.262 %2001: 0.292 %2002: 0.321 %2003: 0.35 %2004: 0.377 %2005: 0.405 %2006: 0.431 %2007: 0.458 %2008: 0.483 %2009: 0.508 %2010: 0.533 %2011: 0.556 %2012: 0.58 %2013: 0.603 %2014: 0.625 %2015: 0.646 %2016: 0.667 %2017: 0.688 %2018: 0.708 %2019: 0.727 %2020: 0.746 %2021: 0.764 %2022: 0.781 %2023: 0.798 %2024: 0.815 %

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2024, share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Bulgaria stood at 0.8%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is up 2.1% on the previous year and up 30.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Bulgaria peaked at 0.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2000.

That places Bulgaria 127th out of 231 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 0.4% 0.3% 0.5% 10
2010s 0.6% 0.5% 0.7% 10
2020s 0.8% 0.7% 0.8% 5

Countries ranked near Bulgaria

  1. 124 Tuvalu 0.9% compare
  2. 125 Ukraine 0.8% compare
  3. 126 Japan 0.8% compare
  4. 128 Serbia 0.7% compare
  5. 129 Iraq 0.7% compare
  6. 130 Wallis and Futuna 0.7% compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Bulgaria

All data for Bulgaria →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Bulgaria?
Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Bulgaria was 0.8% 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 share of population not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Bulgaria?
The highest recorded value was 0.8% in 2024.
What is the lowest share of population not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Bulgaria?
The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2000.
How does Bulgaria rank for share of population not using improved drinking water sources?
Bulgaria ranks 127th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of population not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Bulgaria?
Over the last ten years it is up 30.4%. 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 Share of population not using improved 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
Share of population not using improved drinking water sources
Unit
%
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

Proportion 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.