Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days was 29.1% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Bulgaria, 2000–2020
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Bulgaria stood at 29.1%. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.9% on the previous year and down 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Bulgaria peaked at 31.0% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 29.1%, in 2020.
Bulgaria ranks 154th of 187 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 30.6% | — |
| 2001 | 31.0% | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 30.8% | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 30.8% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 30.4% | -1.3% |
| 2005 | 30.1% | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 30.0% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 30.2% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 30.1% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 29.9% | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 29.6% | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 29.5% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 29.9% | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 29.5% | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 29.3% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 29.5% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 29.5% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 29.3% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 29.6% | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 29.4% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 29.1% | -0.9% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 29.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 38.1%, 76% of the median. (60 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 29.1% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 36.1%, 81% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 30.4% | 29.9% | 31.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 29.5% | 29.3% | 29.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.1% | 29.1% | 29.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
- 151 Somalia 30.0% compare
- 152 Djibouti 29.9% compare
- 153 Ukraine 29.1% compare
- 155 East Timor 29.1% compare
- 156 Tajikistan 28.4% compare
- 157 North Korea 26.9% compare
More reference data data for Bulgaria
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3067 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2728 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2506 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.608 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.36 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Bulgaria?
- Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Bulgaria was 29.1% in 2020, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 31.0% in 2001.
- What is the lowest share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.1% in 2020.
- How does Bulgaria rank for share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days?
- Bulgaria ranks 154th out of 187 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Heavy episodic drinking (drinkers only) is defined as the proportion of adult drinkers (15+ years) who have had at least 60 grams or more of pure alcohol on at least one occasion in the past 30 days. A consumption of 60 grams of pure alcohol corresponds approximately to 6 standard alcoholic drinks.