Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Poverty levels in Bulgaria are rising

Study reveals one fifth of Bulgarians live in poverty

Photo: Archive

More than a fifth of Bulgarians are poor, according to an analysis by the Institute for Market Economics. People living in deficit are increasing to 21.7% based on data on unemployment, low education, higher number of children in the household, older age, ethnicity.
Last year, 3 million people or 46% of the population were unable to meet unexpected financial expenses such as urgent repairs to their home or car, sudden illness, replacing a washing machine or refrigerator. 

Over 41% of people could not afford a week-long vacation away from home, over 39% - to replace old furniture, and 19% - to maintain a normal temperature in their home. 

In addition, every fifth person over 16 years of age has experienced difficulties in buying clothes and shoes and did not have even a small amount of money for personal needs.

Material deprivation among children is decreasing, but at the same time remains relatively high. Every tenth child does not have new clothes, two pairs of shoes, one daily meal that includes meat, or the opportunity to celebrate special occasions such as birthdays and name days.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Amendments to the draft budget hint at state's readiness to buy Lukoil assets

Two billion euros in additional state guarantees and a concession of the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator are part of changes to the draft budget for 2026, submitted between the first and second readings. The change that increases the..

published on 11/25/25 4:47 PM

More than 86% of people say that wage growth in 2025 is not sufficient

The increase in the minimum wage is supported by 54.1% of Bulgarians. 1/3 of respondents believe that the minimum wage should be equal to the living wage. This is indicated by the results of a representative survey by the Myara..

published on 11/25/25 1:19 PM

President Rumen Radev: Peace in Ukraine will be written by the victors

“We see a rational plan for a quick peace from President Donald Trump, according to which the situation on the battlefield is developing extremely unfavorably for Ukraine, and he is trying to prevent a worse scenario and additional casualties,”..

published on 11/25/25 11:14 AM