Over 21% of Bulgarians below poverty line in 2025

In 2025, the national poverty line stood at an average of 866.67 BGN per person per month. A total of 1,368,700 people, or 21.2% of the country’s population, were below this threshold. These figures are according to data published today by the National Statistical Institute.

Compared to 2024, the poverty line increased by 13.5%, while the proportion of the population living in poverty decreased by 0.5 percentage points.

The highest relative share of the poor is among the unemployed aged 18 and over (55.1%). Among the employed in the same age group, the share of the poor was 11.8%. The highest proportion of working poor people have primary education or no education (47.2%).

Editor: Miglena Ivanova