Bulgaria's cities at a glance
Dots sized by population · Sofia in orange
Bulgaria has 1 city with more than a million inhabitants and 6 with more than 100,000 (city-proper figures). The largest is Sofia with 1,152,556 people, followed by Plovdiv (329,489) and Varna (318,737). The three largest cities together hold about 27.1% of the country's 6.7 million people.
The capital, Sofia, is also the largest city.
By region, the most large cities are in Veliko Tarnovo (3), Blagoevgrad (2).
Country-level figures — live population, births and deaths, growth, density and history — are on the Bulgaria population page; provinces, terrain, rivers and society maps are in the Bulgaria atlas.
Bulgaria cities by population
| # | City | Region | Population | Share of Bulgaria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SofiaCapital | Sofia-Capital | 1,152,556 | 17.3% |
| 2 | Plovdiv | Plovdiv | 329,489 | 5% |
| 3 | Varna | Varna | 318,737 | 4.8% |
| 4 | Burgas | Burgas | 210,646 | 3.2% |
| 5 | Stara Zagora | Stara Zagora | 121,582 | 1.8% |
| 6 | Ruse | Ruse | 121,168 | 1.8% |
| 7 | Pleven | Pleven | 90,209 | 1.4% |
| 8 | Sliven | Sliven | 83,740 | 1.3% |
| 9 | Pernik | Pernik | 82,467 | 1.2% |
| 10 | Shumen | Shumen | 72,342 | 1.1% |
| 11 | Dobrich | Dobrich | 69,434 | 1% |
| 12 | Blagoevgrad | Blagoevgrad | 67,810 | 1% |
| 13 | Haskovo | Haskovo | 64,564 | 1% |
| 14 | Yambol | Yambol | 63,656 | 1% |
| 15 | Veliko Tŭrnovo | Veliko Tarnovo | 59,166 | 0.9% |
| 16 | Pazardzhik | Pazardzhik | 55,220 | 0.8% |
| 17 | Vratsa | Vratsa | 49,569 | 0.7% |
| 18 | Gabrovo | Gabrovo | 48,133 | 0.7% |
| 19 | Montana | Montana | 47,445 | 0.7% |
| 20 | Kyustendil | Kyustendil | 46,856 | 0.7% |
| 21 | Kardzhali | Kardzhali | 44,071 | 0.7% |
| 22 | Vidin | Vidin | 34,797 | 0.5% |
| 23 | Targovishte | Targovishte | 34,793 | 0.5% |
| 24 | Gorna Oryahovitsa | Veliko Tarnovo | 32,792 | 0.5% |
| 25 | Petrich | Blagoevgrad | 30,722 | 0.5% |
| 26 | Smolyan | Smolyan | 30,689 | 0.5% |
| 27 | Svishtov | Veliko Tarnovo | 30,157 | 0.5% |
| 28 | Silistra | Silistra | 29,498 | 0.4% |
| 29 | Razgrad | Razgrad | 28,931 | 0.4% |
| 30 | Lovech | Lovech | 27,910 | 0.4% |
Cities with 300,000 or more people link to their own page. The list keeps every city of 100,000+ and at least the 30 largest places of the country.
Frequently asked questions
What is the largest city in Bulgaria?
Sofia, with about 1,152,556 inhabitants (city proper).
What is the capital of Bulgaria?
Sofia — population 1,152,556, the largest city in the country.
How many cities in Bulgaria have over one million people?
1: Sofia.
Are these metropolitan-area populations?
No. They are city-proper figures (the administrative city) from GeoNames, based on the latest census or official estimate. Metropolitan areas, which include suburbs and satellite towns, are larger — often several times larger for the biggest cities.
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PolandCite or link to this page
Glostats. (2026). Largest Cities in Bulgaria 2026: Population Ranking. Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://glostats.com/cities/bulgaria/<a href="https://glostats.com/cities/bulgaria/">Largest Cities in Bulgaria 2026: Population Ranking</a> — GlostatsFigures on this page may be quoted, charted or republished as long as the page is credited with a link. Terms · Download the data as CSV · Embed a live counter.
City populations are GeoNames figures (CC BY 4.0): the latest official census or estimate for the city proper — the municipality, not the wider metropolitan area — so they can differ from "metro area" numbers you see elsewhere. Country populations are live Glostats estimates from the UN World Population Prospects. Page generated 2026-10-21. More about our data.