Bulgaria has highest income inequality in the EU

Bulgaria was the country with the highest income inequality in the EU in 2025, with a Gini coefficient of 37.7, compared to the EU average of 29.2. This is according to the Eurostat report "Key figures on European living conditions – 2026 edition," as reported by BTA. The country also records the highest share of employed persons at risk of poverty, while more than three-quarters of the population live in households experiencing at least some difficulty covering their expenses.

The Gini coefficient measures inequality in the distribution of income on a scale of 0 to 100, where zero represents complete equality and 100 represents complete inequality. Following Bulgaria, the highest values ​​in 2025 were recorded in Latvia (35.6) and Lithuania (35.5). Income is most evenly distributed in Slovakia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Poland, where the indicator is below 25. At the same time, Bulgaria is among the countries that have seen a significant long-term increase in real incomes.

Editor: Miglena Ivanova