Photo: SmartDrones Aarhus, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sofia: population

Sofia, Bulgaria: 1.07 million people in 2025, by the UN estimate.

Rank among the cities of the country: 1 of 9.

In 1975 it had 807,000 people.

In 2000 it had 919,000 people, so it has grown by 16% since then.

For 2050 the UN projects 971,000 people.

A city here is a dense area of at least 1,500 people per km² with at least 50,000 people, drawn on a population grid by the UN degree of urbanisation. It can differ from the city’s administrative borders and from national statistics. Years from 2026 on are projections.

Population, 1975 to 2050Projected from 20260200K400K600K800K1M1.2M19801990200020102020203020402050
2025 Sofia: 1.1M

Largest cities: Bulgaria

City20252050, projected
Sofia1,067,136970,901
Plovdiv329,838300,377
Varna290,572265,758
Burgas103,94695,219
Ruse89,46281,768
Stara Zagora83,63176,242
Pleven57,487–
Yambol51,631–
Sliven51,592–

Bulgaria: population and ages

Sources: World Urbanization Prospects 2025, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).

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