Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Bulgaria

Bulgaria: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 15.6% in 2020. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2020)
15.6%
World rank
95th
of 180 countries
All-time high
15.6%
in 2020
All-time low
0.0%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Bulgaria, 1950–2020

0510151950198520201950: 0 %1955: 0 %1960: 0 %1965: 0 %1970: 0 %1975: 0 %1980: 0 %1985: 0 %1990: 0 %1995: 0 %2000: 0 %2005: 0 %2010: 13.5 %2015: 14.5 %2020: 15.6 %

Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Bulgaria is 15.6%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

The figure is up 15.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Bulgaria peaked at 15.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1950.

That places Bulgaria 95th out of 180 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1960s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1970s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1980s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1990s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
2000s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
2010s 14.0% 13.5% 14.5% 2
2020s 15.6% 15.6% 15.6% 1

Countries ranked near Bulgaria

  1. 92 Guatemala 15.8% compare
  2. 93 Zambia 15.7% compare
  3. 94 Turkmenistan 15.6% compare
  4. 96 Italy 14.9% compare
  5. 97 Cuba 14.5% compare
  6. 98 Yemen 14.2% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Bulgaria

All data for Bulgaria →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Bulgaria?
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Bulgaria was 15.6% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Bulgaria?
The highest recorded value was 15.6% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Bulgaria?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1950.
How does Bulgaria rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Bulgaria ranks 95th out of 180 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents rising or falling in Bulgaria?
Over the last ten years it is up 15.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents
Unit
%
Source
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
180 places, 2,505 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

Percentage of the total population living in cities with 1 million or more people. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.