Rural population growth (annual %) in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Rural population growth (annual %) was -1.0% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Rural population growth in Bulgaria, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population growth in Bulgaria stood at -1.0%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.0% on the previous year and up 26.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Bulgaria peaked at 1.9% in 1985 and was at its lowest, -5.0%, in 2001.
Bulgaria ranks 168th of 210 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Rural population growth (annual %) in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | -1.1% | — |
| 1962 | -0.6% | -49.4% |
| 1963 | -0.8% | +41.2% |
| 1964 | -3.9% | +381.9% |
| 1965 | -4.1% | +3.5% |
| 1966 | -1.8% | -56.2% |
| 1967 | -1.3% | -28.4% |
| 1968 | -1.2% | -2.2% |
| 1969 | -2.4% | +92.3% |
| 1970 | -2.9% | +21.4% |
| 1971 | -2.6% | -9.2% |
| 1972 | -2.5% | -4.6% |
| 1973 | -2.0% | -22.0% |
| 1974 | -3.6% | +82.0% |
| 1975 | 0.7% | -118.7% |
| 1976 | -0.7% | -209.3% |
| 1977 | -1.7% | +138.1% |
| 1978 | -2.6% | +51.9% |
| 1979 | -2.3% | -11.5% |
| 1980 | -1.3% | -42.9% |
| 1981 | -2.0% | +49.4% |
| 1982 | -2.1% | +5.9% |
| 1983 | -1.9% | -11.3% |
| 1984 | -2.5% | +35.5% |
| 1985 | 1.9% | -174.4% |
| 1986 | -0.9% | -146.2% |
| 1987 | -2.0% | +133.9% |
| 1988 | -2.0% | -3.2% |
| 1989 | -3.0% | +53.1% |
| 1990 | -1.0% | -67.9% |
| 1991 | -1.1% | +17.7% |
| 1992 | -1.3% | +10.9% |
| 1993 | -1.6% | +30.0% |
| 1994 | -1.2% | -24.0% |
| 1995 | -0.8% | -36.8% |
| 1996 | -0.1% | -87.9% |
| 1997 | -0.5% | +410.2% |
| 1998 | -1.3% | +167.2% |
| 1999 | -1.1% | -13.5% |
| 2000 | -1.2% | +3.5% |
| 2001 | -5.0% | +325.5% |
| 2002 | -3.1% | -37.4% |
| 2003 | -1.8% | -43.4% |
| 2004 | -1.2% | -31.1% |
| 2005 | -1.3% | +8.0% |
| 2006 | -2.2% | +65.8% |
| 2007 | -1.3% | -38.5% |
| 2008 | -1.4% | +8.3% |
| 2009 | -2.0% | +40.1% |
| 2010 | -1.4% | -30.7% |
| 2011 | -4.6% | +224.9% |
| 2012 | -1.2% | -74.6% |
| 2013 | -2.7% | +136.0% |
| 2014 | -1.7% | -39.2% |
| 2015 | -1.3% | -19.5% |
| 2016 | -1.6% | +16.9% |
| 2017 | -2.1% | +36.0% |
| 2018 | -2.2% | +1.5% |
| 2019 | -1.9% | -14.4% |
| 2020 | 0.5% | -125.8% |
| 2021 | -0.8% | -256.8% |
| 2022 | -1.2% | +53.5% |
| 2023 | -1.2% | +7.9% |
| 2024 | -0.9% | -26.6% |
| 2025 | -1.0% | +8.0% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's -1.0% is below the median for high income countries, which is -0.3%, 3.5× the median. (77 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's -1.0% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is -0.4%, 2.2× the median. (55 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Rural population growth (annual %) in Bulgaria changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | -410.2% | -0.1% | -0.5% |
| 1964 | -381.9% | -0.8% | -3.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | -1.9% | -4.1% | -0.6% | 9 |
| 1970s | -2.0% | -3.6% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | -1.6% | -3.0% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | -1.0% | -1.6% | -0.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | -2.1% | -5.0% | -1.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | -2.1% | -4.6% | -1.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.8% | -1.2% | 0.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More agriculture & rural data for Bulgaria
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 21.46 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0247 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 503.12 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.9803 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2583 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Bulgaria?
- Rural population growth in Bulgaria was -1.0% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 1.9% in 1985.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was -5.0% in 2001.
- How does Bulgaria rank for rural population growth?
- Bulgaria ranks 168th out of 210 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 26.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual rural population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear rural population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.