The money sent by Bulgarians abroad amounts to 1.3% of GDP

Bulgaria ranks second in the EU in terms of personal transfers- money sent home by Bulgarians working abroad. According to Eurostat, the largest surplus (the difference between money received and money sent) was recorded in Croatia at 2.6% of GDP, followed by Bulgaria at 1.3% of GDP, Portugal at 1.2% of GDP, and Romania at 1% of GDP.

Over the past decade, the inflow of money from Bulgarians abroad has doubled, reaching EUR 2.4 billion in 2024. 60% of these funds come from Bulgarian emigrants to their relatives in Bulgaria, while the rest are wages of Bulgarians temporarily working abroad in seasonal employment.

86% of the money comes from Europe, with the remainder coming from North America. Two-thirds of the migrant transfers come from just six countries—Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, the United States, the Netherlands and Austria. The top 10 also include France, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Greece.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov

Translated by Kostadin Atanasov