Number of airline passengers per year in Bulgaria

Bulgaria: Number of airline passengers per year was 723,825 in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
723,825
Change on year
up 12.4%
World rank
110th
of 183 countries
All-time high
2.16 million
in 1988
All-time low
41,126
in 2021
Years of data
54
1970–2023

Number of airline passengers per year in Bulgaria, 1970–2023

0500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M197019962023

Source: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Bulgaria recorded 723,825 for number of airline passengers per year in 2023.

The figure is up 12.4% on the previous year and down 28.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of airline passengers per year in Bulgaria peaked at 2.16 million in 1988 and was at its lowest, 41,126, in 2021.

Bulgaria ranks 110th of 183 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 54 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 1.24 million 985,200 1.75 million 10
1980s 1.93 million 1.68 million 2.16 million 10
1990s 893,670 645,700 1.91 million 10
2000s 580,828 62,798 1.07 million 10
2010s 992,551 801,840 1.13 million 10
2020s 462,946 41,126 723,825 4

Countries ranked near Bulgaria

  1. 107 Belize 776,198 compare
  2. 108 Mongolia 773,702 compare
  3. 109 Cyprus 724,062 compare
  4. 111 Cote d'Ivoire 716,233 compare
  5. 112 Tajikistan 690,677 compare
  6. 113 Mozambique 680,108 compare

See the full ranking of 183 places →

More reference data data for Bulgaria

All data for Bulgaria →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of airline passengers per year in Bulgaria?
Number of airline passengers per year in Bulgaria was 723,825 in 2023, according to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of airline passengers per year recorded in Bulgaria?
The highest recorded value was 2.16 million in 1988.
What is the lowest number of airline passengers per year recorded in Bulgaria?
The lowest recorded value was 41,126 in 2021.
How does Bulgaria rank for number of airline passengers per year?
Bulgaria ranks 110th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
Is number of airline passengers per year rising or falling in Bulgaria?
Over the last ten years it is down 28.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
The figures come from International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of airline passengers per year. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV · JSON — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Number of airline passengers per year
Source
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
183 places, 7,925 data points, 1970–2023
Last refreshed

This represents the total rather than unique passenger activity: this means a person who makes multiple trips is counted multiple times.