Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median was 8.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Bulgaria, 1992–2023
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Bulgaria recorded 8.8% for relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in 2023.
The figure is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 26.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Bulgaria peaked at 12.5% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 4.5%, in 1992.
That places Bulgaria 34th out of 120 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 4.5% | — |
| 2006 | 11.9% | +165.8% |
| 2007 | 9.1% | -23.9% |
| 2008 | 8.3% | -8.7% |
| 2009 | 9.2% | +10.4% |
| 2010 | 10.5% | +15.2% |
| 2011 | 10.1% | -4.0% |
| 2012 | 10.2% | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 12.0% | +17.6% |
| 2014 | 9.9% | -17.5% |
| 2015 | 12.5% | +26.2% |
| 2016 | 10.8% | -13.8% |
| 2017 | 10.0% | -7.7% |
| 2018 | 9.5% | -4.2% |
| 2019 | 9.7% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 8.5% | -12.3% |
| 2021 | 9.0% | +5.7% |
| 2022 | 8.9% | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 8.8% | -0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 4.5% | 4.5% | 4.5% | 1 |
| 2000s | 9.6% | 8.3% | 11.9% | 4 |
| 2010s | 10.5% | 9.5% | 12.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.8% | 8.5% | 9.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
- 31 Dominican Republic 9.3% compare
- 32 Mexico 9.0% compare
- 33 Italy 8.9% compare
- 35 Japan 8.8% compare
- 36 Luxembourg 8.8% compare
- 37 Palestine, State of 8.7% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Bulgaria
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.75 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 5,224 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 1.41 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 29.97 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 30.0% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Bulgaria?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Bulgaria was 8.8% in 2023, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 12.5% in 2015.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.5% in 1992.
- How does Bulgaria rank for relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median?
- Bulgaria ranks 34th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 26.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below 40% of the median.