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Bulgaria

Location

  • Geographical region: Eastern Europe, Europe
  • SDG region: SDG Europe and Northern America

Land

  • Total area: --- km2
  • Land area: 108,560 km(2020)
  • Land use by sector: 46% agriculture, 36% forest and 18% other (2018 - 2020)

People

  • Total population: 6,465,097 people (2022)
  • Population density: 64 people per km2 (2020)  
  • Urbanisation: 81% lives in urban areas and 26% lives in rural areas (2020)  

Economy

  • Total GDP: 155,176,975,653 USD per year (2020)
  • GDP per capita: 24,002 USD per year (2020)
  • Value added by sector: 4% from agriculture, 61% from services and 26% from industry (2020 - 2022)
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SDG 6 snapshot in Bulgaria

  • Drinking water

    96 % of the population in Bulgaria uses a safely managed drinking water service (SDG indicator 6.1.1, 2022)
  • Sanitation

    73 % of the population in Bulgaria uses a safely managed sanitation service (SDG indicator 6.2.1a, 2022)
  • Hygiene

    --- % of the population in Bulgaria has a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home (SDG indicator 6.2.1b, 2022)
  • Wastewater

    72 % of domestic wastewater in Bulgaria is safely treated (SDG indicator 6.3.1, 2022)
  • Water quality

    33 % of monitored water bodies in Bulgaria has good ambient water quality (SDG indicator 6.3.2, 2023)
  • Efficiency

    10 $/m<sup>3</sup> is the value added from the use of water by people and the economy in Bulgaria (SDG indicator 6.4.1, 2021)
  • Water stress

    38 % of the renewable water resources in Bulgaria is being withdrawn, after taking into account environmental flow requirements (SDG indicator 6.4.2, 2021)
  • Water management

    68 % is the degree of implementation of integrated water resources management in Bulgaria (SDG indicator 6.5.1, 2023) 
  • Transboundary

    100 % of transboundary basin area has an operational arrangement for water cooperation (SDG indicator 6.5.2, 2023)
  • Ecosystems

    8 % of the water basins in Bulgaria is experiencing rapid changes in the area covered by surface waters (SDG 6 indicator 6.6.1, 2020)
  • Cooperation

    n/a is the amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance received by Bulgaria in 2022 (SDG indicator 6.a.1)
  • Participation

    --- is the number of sub-sectors (out of 6) with a high level of participation by communities in Bulgaria (SDG indicator 6.b.1, 2021)

Drinking water

6.1.1 Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services in Bulgaria, progress over time

6.1.1 Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services in Bulgaria, by service level and location (2022)

Sanitation and hygiene

6.2.1a Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services in Bulgaria, progress over time

6.2.1a Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services in Bulgaria, by service level and location (2022)

6.2.1b Proportion of population with a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home in Bulgaria, by service level and location (2022)

Water quality and wastewater

6.3.1 Proportion of wastewater flow (safely) treated > Domestic in Bulgaria (2022), compared to other countries (and areas) in the region

6.3.1 Proportion of wastewater flow (safely) treated in Bulgaria, by source (2015 - 2022)

6.3.2 Level 1 Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality in Bulgaria (2023), compared to other countries (and areas) in the region

Water use and scarcity

Water resources and withdrawal in Bulgaria, total and per capita

Long-term average annual precipitation in depth: 608 (mm/year) (2020)

Renewable water resources: 3,006 m3 per capita (2017)

Water withdrawal: 794 m3 per capita (2015)

Environmental flow requirements: % of the renewable water resources ()

6.4.2 Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources in Bulgaria, change over time, compared to other countries (and areas) in the region

6.4.1 Change in water-use efficiency over time in Bulgaria, by sector (2020)

Water-use efficiency for ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ only takes into account the proportion of gross value added that comes from irrigated agriculture, since that activity is associated with water withdrawal (other activities are rain-fed).

6.4.1 Change in water-use efficiency over time in Bulgaria, progress over time, compared to other countries (and areas) in the region

Water resources management

6.5.1 Degree of integrated water resources management implementation (0-100) in Bulgaria, progress over time, by dimension

Very low (0-10) – Low (11-30) – Medium-low (31-50) – Medium-high (51-70) – High (71-90) – Very high (91-100)

6.5.2 Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation in Bulgaria, progress over time, by component

Very low (0-10) – Low (11-30) – Medium-low (31-50) – Medium-high (51-70) – High (71-90) – Very high (91-100)

International cooperation and capacity-building

Annual expenditure for drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in Bulgaria, by funding source

Community participation

6.b.1 Procedures in law or policy for participation by users/communities and level of participation in Bulgaria

6.b.1 Level of participation by users/communities in Bulgaria, progress over time, by sub-sector