IME raises alarm over shortage of healthcare professionals in Bulgaria

In five Bulgarian municipalities, Opan, Treklyano, Koprivshtitsa, Dulgopol and Kovachevtsi, there is not a single nurse, according to an analysis by the Institute for Market Economics (IME). In more than 100 other municipalities, the number of nurses and midwives ranges from just one to 10.

According to the IME analysis, Bulgaria is gradually turning into a “desert” in terms of healthcare professionals. In 2025, just over 42,000 healthcare professionals were working in the country, but they were unevenly distributed. The largest number, nearly 10,000, are in the capital Sofia, while around 4,000 work in Plovdiv. A further seven Bulgarian municipalities have more than 1,000 healthcare professionals each.

In terms of the average number of residents per healthcare professional, the best-served municipalities are Pleven, Panagyurishte, Smolyan, Vratsa and Plovdiv, where there are between 55 and 82 residents per healthcare professional. The municipalities with the poorest provision are Glavinitsa, Bolyarovo, Hitrino, Maglizh and Lesichovo, where each healthcare professional is responsible for more than 2,500 residents.

The IME has proposed a number of measures to address the shortage. These include allowing assistant pharmacists to dispense medicines in small settlements where there is no pharmacy, while paramedics could provide transport for patients to emergency care centres.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov