Population aged 65 and over in Bulgaria

22.2% of the population of Bulgaria was aged 65 or over in 2025. The value for 2025 is the highest in the series, which starts in 1960.

Measure: Share of population aged 65 and over (UN estimates) Unit: % of total population Data: 1960 to 2025 Source: World Bank
Bulgaria, 2025 22.2% % of total population
Change from 2024 +0.2percentage points 2024: 22.0%
European Union, 2025 22.4% Official aggregate
Median of European Union (27 countries), 2025 21.2% Middle value of 27 countries
Position in 2025 18th of 217 See the full ranking

Population aged 65 and over in Bulgaria over time

View
Places
2 selected
Bulgaria European Union ×

% of total population. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.

Share of population aged 65 and over (UN estimates) (% of total population), 2001 to 2025
Period BulgariaEuropean Union
2025 22.2% 22.4%
2024 22.0% 22.0%
2023 21.8% 21.6%
2022 21.7% 21.3%
2021 21.7% 21.0%
2020 21.7% 20.7%
2019 21.5% 20.4%
2018 21.2% 20.1%
2017 20.9% 19.8%
2016 20.6% 19.5%
2015 20.2% 19.2%
2014 19.8% 18.9%
2013 19.4% 18.5%
2012 18.9% 18.2%
2011 18.5% 17.9%
2010 18.1% 17.7%
2009 17.9% 17.5%
2008 17.7% 17.3%
2007 17.6% 17.2%
2006 17.5% 17.0%
2005 17.3% 16.8%
2004 17.2% 16.5%
2003 17.1% 16.3%
2002 17.0% 16.1%
2001 16.8% 15.9%

A dash means no value was published for that period.

In short

  • That is a change of +0.2 percentage points from 22.0% in 2024.
  • Since 2015, when it was 20.2%, the figure has changed by +2.0 percentage points.
  • Among the 217 countries with data for 2025, Bulgaria has the 18th highest value.
  • The figure for the European Union in 2025 was 22.4%.

Source and dates

Original producer
United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects
Distributed by
World Bank, World Development Indicators
Dataset or series code
SP.POP.65UP.TO.ZS · dataset details · view at source
Observation period
1960 to 2025 for Bulgaria
Provider update
8 October 2026
Retrieved
9 November 2026
Published here
9 November 2026
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (per series metadata)
Attribution
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, original data: United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects