Bulgaria vs Portugal: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Bulgaria
2.77 million people
in 2020
Portugal
3.06 million people
in 2020
Bulgaria rank
89th
Portugal rank
86th
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Bulgaria
- Portugal
How they compare
Portugal currently reports 3.06 million people against 2.77 million people in Bulgaria, a difference of 291,780 people.
That makes Portugal's figure about 1.1 times Bulgaria's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Bulgaria ahead.
Bulgaria ranks 89th and Portugal ranks 86th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Bulgaria averaged higher in 5 and Portugal in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Bulgaria | Portugal | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 3.41 million people | 3.18 million people | 228,165 people | Bulgaria |
| 1960s | 3.45 million people | 3.21 million people | 237,080 people | Bulgaria |
| 1970s | 3.48 million people | 3.23 million people | 250,170 people | Bulgaria |
| 1980s | 3.48 million people | 3.31 million people | 174,945 people | Bulgaria |
| 1990s | 3.34 million people | 3.24 million people | 99,355 people | Bulgaria |
| 2000s | 3.11 million people | 3.22 million people | 103,515 people | Portugal |
| 2010s | 2.92 million people | 3.13 million people | 214,225 people | Portugal |
| 2020s | 2.77 million people | 3.06 million people | 291,780 people | Portugal |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas, Bulgaria or Portugal?
- Portugal, at 3.06 million people against 2.77 million people in Bulgaria as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Bulgaria and Portugal?
- 291,780 people, with Portugal ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Bulgaria and Portugal?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Bulgaria and Portugal rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Bulgaria ranks 89th and Portugal ranks 86th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated number of people living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.