Bulgaria population pyramid 2026
6,667,660 people in 2026 (projected). Bulgaria’s population peaked in 1988; deaths have outnumbered births since 1990, and the pyramid narrows sharply below age 35.
- 2026 population
- 6.7Mrank 110 of 237
- Median age
- 45.0 yearsoldest rank 22
- Fertility rate
- 1.74births per woman · below replacement
- Structure
- Older22.5% age 65+
Bulgaria population pyramid
2026 · Share of total by five-year age group and sex
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The UN series provides historical estimates through 2023. Figures from 2024 onward—including 2026—are medium-scenario projections, not counts or predictions guaranteed to occur.
Bulgaria age distribution in 2026
Children under 15 account for 14.3% of the population, while 22.5% are aged 65 or older. The remaining 63.2% are in the conventional working-age range of 15–64. On these shares, the site classifies Bulgaria’s age structure as older; the guide to constrictive population pyramids explains what that shape implies.
The total age dependency ratio is 58.2: about 58 people under 15 or 65+ for every 100 people aged 15–64 (22.7 children and 35.5 older people). This is an age-balance indicator, not a literal count of economic dependants per worker.
What shapes Bulgaria’s population pyramid
Wartime gaps at the top
The oldest scar in Bulgaria’s pyramid dates from the First World War, which Bulgaria entered in 1915 after two Balkan wars. In 1950 the 30–34 band, born about 1916–20, is roughly 40% smaller than the band below it, and by 1975 the same generation forms a notch at ages 55–59. A smaller dip at 30–39 in 1975, born about 1936–45, spans the late 1930s and the Second World War years. These cohorts have now died out or sit at the very top of the pyramid, and the irregularities that matter today are much younger.
From peak to steady decline
Bulgaria’s population peaked at about 9.0 million in 1988. The end of communist rule in 1989 was followed by a deep economic crisis, and fertility fell from about 1.8 children per woman in 1990 to about 1.3 in 2000. The 2000 pyramid shows the result as a base that shrinks with each younger band. Those small cohorts, born in the 1990s, are now aged roughly 25 to 35, and the 25–29 band, born 1997–2001 at the low point, is about 8% smaller than its neighbours. In 2026 the 30–34 band is a quarter smaller than the 35–39 band above it, and the widest part of the pyramid sits at 40–54. Fertility has since recovered to about 1.75, so the bands aged 10–19 are slightly wider than those at 20–29.
Deaths have outnumbered births since 1990: between 2000 and 2023 there were about 1.6 million births and 2.7 million deaths. Emigration added to the losses. The UN series records net emigration of almost a million in 1950–99, a period that includes the mass departure of ethnic Turks in 1989, and about 206,000 more in 2000–23. The guide to population ageing explains how low fertility and emigration of the young combine to push the median age up, here to about 45.
A widening gap between the sexes
Life expectancy stood at about 71 years in both 1970 and 1990, two decades without progress, and has since risen to about 76. Women now live about seven years longer than men, about 80 against 73, so the pyramid tilts strongly towards women from the sixties onward: 92 men per 100 women at 60–64, 72 at 70–74 and 53 at 80–84. The overall ratio is about 94 men per 100 women.
Under the medium scenario the population falls to about 5.4 million in 2050 and 3.5 million in 2100, less than 40% of the 1988 peak, keeping Bulgaria among the fastest-declining populations. Serbia, Slovenia and Czechia have the most similar age structures.
What to notice across the years
Distinctive cohorts and turning points
No five-year band under age 80 is more than 10% larger or smaller than both of its neighbours, so Bulgaria’s 2026 pyramid has a comparatively smooth profile without sharp bulges or notches.
Deaths have exceeded births every year since 1990. People aged 65 and older came to outnumber children under 15 between 1995 and 2000.
Births, deaths, and migration
A pyramid changes in only three ways: births add to the base, deaths remove people at every age, and migration adds or removes people mainly in young adulthood. In 2026, Bulgaria is projected to record 59,343 births (about 162 births a day) and 102,232 deaths, a natural decrease of 42,889. Net migration adds −5,722 people, ranking #150 in the net migration rate ranking.
Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates 1,641,989 births, 2,692,674 deaths, and cumulative net migration of −206,218. Over that period the balance of births and deaths moved the total more than migration did. See how migration shapes a pyramid and birth rate versus fertility rate. The medium scenario assumes net migration of −211,250 between 2026 and 2050.
Annual values 1950–2100; dashed lines after 2023 are the UN medium projection. The trend table below lists the values by decade.
Life expectancy and mortality
- Life expectancy, women
- 79.7 years63.3 in 1950
- Life expectancy, men
- 72.7 years59.7 in 1950
- Further years at 65
- 16.8 yearsboth sexes
- Infant mortality
- 4.6per 1,000 births · 96 in 1950
- Under-five mortality
- 5.5per 1,000 births
- Mother’s mean age at birth
- 28.3 yearssex ratio at birth 106.0
Women in Bulgaria are projected to live 7.0 years longer than men, which is why the female side of the pyramid widens relative to the other at older ages (see the life expectancy gap ranking). Infant mortality has fallen from 96 to 4.6 deaths per 1,000 live births since 1950, ranking #180 of 237 in the infant mortality ranking (highest first). A mean age at childbearing of 28.3 years sets the spacing between generations, and so how far apart echo cohorts sit in the pyramid.
Median age, fertility rate, and global ranks for Bulgaria
The median age of 45.0 years splits the population into two equal halves. A total fertility rate of 1.74 births per woman is below the replacement level of roughly 2.1, and life expectancy at birth is 76.1 years.
These ranks compare all 237 countries and areas in this dataset using the same 2026 UN medium projection. Ranks use the stored source precision, so displayed rounding can make adjacent values look identical; small differences should not be overinterpreted.
| Indicator | 2026 value | Global rank | Ranking direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 6,667,660 | #110 | Largest first |
| Median age | 45.0 years | #22 | Oldest first |
| Fertility rate | 1.74 | #131 | Highest first |
| Annual growth | -0.7% | #220 | Fastest first |
| Life expectancy | 76.1 years | #118 | Highest first |
| Population aged 65+ | 22.5% | #25 | Highest share first |
Largest age groups in Bulgaria
The five largest cohorts identify where the 2026 population is concentrated. They can reflect past birth patterns, survival, and migration; the chart alone does not establish which cause dominates.
| Rank | Age group | Population | Share of total | Male / female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50–54 | 518,858 | 7.8% | 263K / 255.9K |
| 2 | 45–49 | 509,600 | 7.6% | 261.5K / 248.1K |
| 3 | 40–44 | 477,064 | 7.2% | 246.2K / 230.9K |
| 4 | 55–59 | 476,470 | 7.1% | 237.2K / 239.3K |
| 5 | 35–39 | 469,621 | 7.0% | 240.4K / 229.2K |
Sex ratio and the balance by age
In the 2026 projection, Bulgaria has 3,226,065 males and 3,441,595 females. That is 93.7 males per 100 females, ranking #195 when the dataset is ordered from the highest male-to-female ratio to the lowest.
Males account for 48.4% of the population and females for 51.6%. There are 215,530 more females than males overall. Among people aged 65 and older, the ratio is 66.1 males per 100 females.
The overall balance can conceal large differences by age; how sex ratios change with age explains the usual pattern. The ratio reflects the male/female categories in the UN source and is not a measure of gender identity. Compare all profiles in the sex-ratio ranking.
At birth, 106.0 boys are projected to be born for every 100 girls in 2026, close to the biological norm of about 105 (compare the sex ratio at birth ranking). The ratio at birth sets the balance at the base of the pyramid; how it changes with age then depends on survival and migration.
How Bulgaria has changed since 1950
The population has decreased from 7,248,510 in 1950 to 6,667,660 in 2026, a change of 8%. Over the same span, median age moved from 26.0 to 45.0 years.
The under-15 share changed from 27.0% to 14.3%, while the share aged 65 and older changed from 6.3% to 22.5%. These shifts show why total population growth and age-structure change need to be read separately.
How the population could change by 2050
Under the UN medium scenario, Bulgaria’s population is projected to decline by about 19%, reaching 5,402,217 in 2050. The median age changes from 45.0 to 48.0 years.
The 65+ share is projected to rise by 6.9 percentage points to 29.4%. At the same time, the under-15 share is projected at 13.8%. How UN projections work explains the assumptions behind these figures.
The annual UN series reaches its highest estimated population of 8,985,715 in 1988. Historical population totals are estimates rather than exact head counts. Compare timing across countries in the population peak ranking.
Population trend: 1950–2100
Mid-year population for every year. Estimates through 2023; dashed line shows the UN medium projection.
| Year | Population | Median age | Fertility | Life exp. | Births | Deaths | Net migration | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 7,248,510 | 26.0 | 2.48 | 61.5 | 155,976 | 72,270 | −1,427 | +1.1% |
| 1960 | 7,862,926 | 29.4 | 2.31 | 69.2 | 139,856 | 63,371 | −1,112 | +1.0% |
| 1970 | 8,490,824 | 32.3 | 2.18 | 71.3 | 139,135 | 77,005 | −11,315 | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 8,859,536 | 33.2 | 2.06 | 71.1 | 128,347 | 97,468 | −2,045 | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 8,822,365 | 35.6 | 1.79 | 71.3 | 106,675 | 109,393 | −116,817 | -1.4% |
| 2000 | 8,000,520 | 38.7 | 1.29 | 71.6 | 72,135 | 115,128 | −26,211 | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 7,437,598 | 41.1 | 1.57 | 73.8 | 76,057 | 109,565 | −21,668 | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 6,933,652 | 43.9 | 1.56 | 73.6 | 58,839 | 124,104 | +30,167 | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 6,795,803 | 44.3 | 1.75 | 75.6 | 62,645 | 102,980 | +5,173 | -0.5% |
| 2024* | 6,757,688 | 44.5 | 1.75 | 75.8 | 61,463 | 103,053 | +524 | -0.6% |
| 2026* | 6,667,660 | 45.0 | 1.74 | 76.1 | 59,343 | 102,232 | −5,722 | -0.7% |
| 2030* | 6,458,243 | 45.9 | 1.73 | 76.7 | 55,667 | 101,108 | −9,742 | -0.8% |
| 2040* | 5,907,728 | 48.4 | 1.71 | 78.3 | 52,026 | 96,736 | −9,319 | -0.9% |
| 2050* | 5,402,217 | 48.0 | 1.70 | 79.9 | 47,774 | 88,871 | −7,217 | -0.9% |
| 2060* | 4,926,388 | 47.8 | 1.70 | 81.4 | 42,088 | 83,736 | −6,288 | -1.0% |
| 2070* | 4,463,711 | 47.9 | 1.69 | 82.8 | 38,474 | 76,464 | −5,468 | -1.0% |
| 2080* | 4,076,462 | 48.0 | 1.69 | 84.1 | 35,623 | 64,558 | −5,132 | -0.8% |
| 2090* | 3,785,849 | 48.5 | 1.69 | 85.3 | 31,885 | 53,833 | −3,593 | -0.7% |
| 2100* | 3,531,198 | 49.7 | 1.68 | 86.5 | 28,933 | 51,170 | −3,640 | -0.7% |
* 2024 onward is the UN medium projection. Fertility is births per woman; life expectancy is years at birth; births, deaths, and net migration are counts for that calendar year.
Download every year, 1950–2100 (CSV)
2026 population by age and sex
The table provides the counts behind the chart. Age groups are five-year bands, with everyone aged 100 or older combined.
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | 157,529 | 148,768 | 306,297 | 4.6% |
| 5–9 | 160,721 | 152,205 | 312,926 | 4.7% |
| 10–14 | 173,126 | 163,561 | 336,687 | 5.0% |
| 15–19 | 179,008 | 169,411 | 348,419 | 5.2% |
| 20–24 | 163,387 | 153,933 | 317,320 | 4.8% |
| 25–29 | 158,922 | 150,622 | 309,544 | 4.6% |
| 30–34 | 183,432 | 174,129 | 357,561 | 5.4% |
| 35–39 | 240,420 | 229,201 | 469,621 | 7.0% |
| 40–44 | 246,184 | 230,880 | 477,064 | 7.2% |
| 45–49 | 261,542 | 248,058 | 509,600 | 7.6% |
| 50–54 | 262,957 | 255,901 | 518,858 | 7.8% |
| 55–59 | 237,196 | 239,274 | 476,470 | 7.1% |
| 60–64 | 205,529 | 224,060 | 429,589 | 6.4% |
| 65–69 | 190,131 | 230,791 | 420,922 | 6.3% |
| 70–74 | 162,827 | 227,637 | 390,464 | 5.9% |
| 75–79 | 128,274 | 210,741 | 339,015 | 5.1% |
| 80–84 | 70,767 | 133,964 | 204,731 | 3.1% |
| 85–89 | 31,692 | 68,463 | 100,155 | 1.5% |
| 90–94 | 10,719 | 25,564 | 36,283 | 0.5% |
| 95–99 | 1,585 | 4,116 | 5,701 | 0.1% |
| 100+ | 116 | 318 | 434 | 0.0% |
Countries with the most similar age structure
These profiles have the 2026 age distributions closest to Bulgaria’s, measured by the total difference in the share of the population in each five-year band. Similar shapes can arise from very different histories, so the match is a starting point for comparison, not an explanation.
- Slovenia97% overlap · median age 45.0
- Czechia97% overlap · median age 44.3
- Serbia96% overlap · median age 44.7
- Hungary96% overlap · median age 44.2
- Slovakia96% overlap · median age 42.8
- Latvia96% overlap · median age 43.8
To calculate school-age, working-age, or older groups with other boundaries, use the age-group calculator for Bulgaria.
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APA
World Population Pyramid. (2026, October 19). Bulgaria Population Pyramid 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/bulgaria/
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“Bulgaria Population Pyramid 2026.” World Population Pyramid, 19 Oct. 2026, worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/bulgaria/.
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World Population Pyramid. “Bulgaria Population Pyramid 2026.” Last modified October 19, 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/bulgaria/.
Underlying data: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
Frequently asked questions
What is the population of Bulgaria in 2026?
Under the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium scenario, Bulgaria's population in 2026 is projected at 6,667,660.
What is the median age in Bulgaria?
The projected median age in Bulgaria in 2026 is 45.0 years: half the population is younger and half is older.
What is the fertility rate in Bulgaria?
The projected total fertility rate in 2026 is 1.74 births per woman, below the replacement level of about 2.1 in low-mortality populations.
Is Bulgaria's population projected to grow?
Between 2026 and 2050, the UN medium scenario indicates the population will decline by about 19%, from 6.7M to 5.4M.
What share of Bulgaria is aged 65 or older?
In 2026, 22.5% of the projected population is aged 65 or older. By 2050, the medium scenario places the share at 29.4%.
How many babies are born in Bulgaria each year?
The UN medium scenario projects 59,343 births and 102,232 deaths in 2026, about 162 births a day. Deaths exceed births by 42,889.
What is life expectancy in Bulgaria for men and women?
Life expectancy at birth in 2026 is projected at 79.7 years for women and 72.7 years for men, a gap of 7.0 years in favour of women.
Does Bulgaria have more immigrants or emigrants?
Bulgaria is projected to lose about 5,722 more people through emigration than it gains in 2026. Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates cumulative net migration of −206,218.
What is the sex ratio in Bulgaria?
The projected 2026 population sex ratio is 93.7 males per 100 females. This all-age ratio is different from the sex ratio at birth and can vary substantially by age.
Sources and notes
- United Nations, DESA, Population Division: World Population Prospects 2024, medium scenario.
- Population values are mid-year figures. Source values published in thousands are converted to people; displayed figures may imply more precision than is appropriate for planning.
- Historical values through 2023 are estimates. Values from 2024 onward are projections.
- Calculations follow the site methodology.