Almost half of Bulgarians are unable to cope with unexpected expenses, and nearly one-fifth struggle to make their mortgage payments on time, according to an analysis by the Institute for Market Economics (IME) based on data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI). Last year, the share of people living below the poverty line increased to 21.7%, with those most affected being individuals with low education levels, families with multiple children, unemployed persons, and factors such as age and ethnicity also playing a role.
Data from IME shows that poverty entails various deprivations – for almost 46% it means not being able to cover unexpected expenses. A similar proportion of people cannot afford a week-long vacation outside their homes. For 18.7% timely repayment of a mortgage is a challenge. An equal percentage of people deprive themselves of certain foods. Every fifth person over the age of 16 struggles to purchase clothing and footwear and does not have even a small amount of money for personal needs, according to IME.
The statistics do not account for the portion of people struggling with non-mortgage debt repayments – consumer credits and fast loans are excluded, where default rates are traditionally higher (see the chart). According to BNB data, 7.24% of non-bank loans were non-performing at the end of 2024, including genuinely overdue loans with no payments for over 90 days. Non-bank loans include both quick loans and consumer loans from some banking groups that have separated this activity from the main bank.
A slight decrease is observed in the number of people, experiencing severe material deprivation – by the end of 2024 they are 16.6% of people in Bulgaria. Children are the most vulnerable group, with over a quarter facing financial difficulties in at least one of the 13 indicators measured by NSI. IME also reports an increase in inequality – the Gini coefficient rose to 38.4 last year, which is 1.2 points higher than in 2023. Experts believe that efforts for social protection and support should be more targeted. Last year, the income of the poorest 20% of the population was exactly seven times lower than that of the richest 20%. However, there has been improvement over the past five years, according to IME. The Gini coefficient measures how much the distribution of income within a country deviates from the ideal – when its value is 0, all people receive equal incomes. As it approaches 100, fewer people receive a significant portion of the income, indicating growing inequality.
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