Debts of Bulgarian households are increasing at the most rapid pace since the years before the global financial crisis, according to the latest Allianz Global Wealth Report. According to the study the liabilities of Bulgarian households in 2023 increased by 13.6% compared to the previous year.
At the same time, the net financial assets (shares, bonds, shares, properties, etc.) of Bulgarian households increased by 5.8% for the same period. In absolute value the assets have reached EUR 16 410 per capita, which sets Bulgaria in the 35th position among the richest countries in the world.
In terms of the average amount of assets owned, the richest households are in the USA, Switzerland and Denmark. Interestingly, in ten years, from 2003 to 2023, Denmark climbed from 15th to second place. Bulgaria has also made progress, climbing from 41st position ten years ago. There is no country from Eastern Europe in the top 20, and Austria is the only representative of Central Europe with its 17th place (see the chart).
The global debt of households in the world has reached EUR 56.8 trillion. at the end of 2023. In almost all regions debt growth is slowing, especially in Western Europe and North America, where the increase is 1.1% and 2.9%, respectively. The debt-to-GDP ratio at the global level decreased for the third year in a row – this time by 1.5 percentage points, to 65.4%. This is 3 points lower than in 2003.
Total household assets around the world have increased by 7.6% for the year, which completely compensates for the losses from the previous year 2022 (3.5% decline) and there is even real growth.
Allianz notes a normalization of the growth of new savings after the boom years due to the pandemic. As interest rates rose, private debt growth fell to 4.1%, the lowest in nine years. However, higher interest rates are affecting the rise in asset prices, such as in the real estate sector, which is expected to increase in value by just 1.8% in 2023.
What is interesting about Bulgaria is our ranking among the countries with a stable middle class. The authors of the report note the fact that the rich are getting richer around the world, but in general the middle class is not collapsing, and in some countries, mainly in Europe, the number of people in this segment is growing. Among these countries are Portugal, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Latvia, Ireland, and outside the continent – Argentina and Colombia. Bulgaria stayed in the same ranking with Greece, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria. However, the middle class is shrinking in China, India, Brazil, Russia, Serbia and other countries.
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