NUTS 3 areas of Bulgaria by population

Name: NUTS 3 areas of Bulgaria by population, 2021
Creator: Eurostat, European Commission
License: Eurostat reuse policy (commercial and non-commercial reuse, attribution required)

Sofia (stolitsa) had the highest population of 28 areas in 2021, at 1.27 million. Vidin had the lowest, at 76,166. The median was 152,979 and the figure for Bulgaria was 6.53 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest1,271,214Sofia (stolitsa)

Lowest76,166Vidin

Median152,97928 areas

Bulgaria6,532,117History

All areas, 2021

CSV Chart (SVG)

persons. Source: Eurostat. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

Rank	Areas	2021 persons	Change on 2020
1	Sofia (stolitsa)	1,271,214	+1%
2	Plovdiv	633,757	-0.1%
3	Varna	430,784	-0%
4	Burgas	378,405	+0.1%
5	Stara Zagora	297,552	-0.7%
6	Blagoevgrad	292,149	-0.5%
7	Sofia	233,785	-8.3%
8	Pazardzhik	230,946	-0.7%
9	Pleven	228,051	-1.3%
10	Haskovo	212,175	-0.8%
11	Veliko Tarnovo	209,158	-1.4%
12	Ruse	194,978	-1.4%
13	Sliven	173,110	-1%
14	Vratsa	154,009	-1.2%
15	Shumen	151,948	-0.3%
16	Dobrich	151,085	-1%
17	Kardzhali	139,819	+1.8%
18	Montana	120,978	-1.3%
19	Lovech	117,124	-0.1%
20	Pernik	115,045	+1.1%
21	Kyustendil	112,784	-0.2%
22	Yambol	110,264	-0.8%
23	Razgrad	103,632	-1%
24	Gabrovo	99,061	-0.8%
25	Targovishte	98,509	-1%
26	Silistra	98,412	-1.3%
27	Smolyan	97,217	-1.7%
28	Vidin	76,166	-2.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the areas are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Population on 1 January by NUTS 3 region (demo_r_pjanaggr3). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_r_pjanaggr3/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which area has the highest population?

Sofia (stolitsa), with 1.27 million in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which area has the lowest population?

Vidin, with 76,166 in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Population on 1 January by NUTS 3 region (demo_r_pjanaggr3). Retrieved 2026-10-08.