Household income
The annual total income average per capita was 14 403 BGN in 2025, there was an increase of 12.0% compared to 2024. The total income average per household member had increased 2.8 times during the 2016 - 2025 period.
| Sources of income | 2016 - BGN | 2016 - % | 2020 - BGN | 2020 - % | 2024 - BGN | 2024 - % | 2025 - BGN | 2025 - % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total income | 5167 | 100.0 | 7002 | 100.0 | 12857 | 100.0 | 14403 | 100.0 |
| Total gross income | 4989 | 96.6 | 6749 | 96.4 | 12488 | 97.1 | 14031 | 97.4 |
| Wages and salaries | 2807 | 54.3 | 3927 | 56.1 | 7071 | 55.0 | 8231 | 57.2 |
| Other earnings | 150 | 2.9 | 46 | 0.7 | 171 | 1.3 | 144 | 1.0 |
| Self-employment income | 319 | 6.2 | 434 | 6.2 | 923 | 7.2 | 1072 | 7.4 |
| Property income | 36 | 0.7 | 43 | 0.6 | 35 | 0.3 | 21 | 0.1 |
| Pensions | 1432 | 27.7 | 2018 | 28.8 | 3863 | 30.0 | 4224 | 29.3 |
| Unemployment benefits | 20 | 0.4 | 32 | 0.5 | 41 | 0.3 | 39 | 0.3 |
| Family allowances | 40 | 0.8 | 82 | 1.2 | 111 | 0.9 | 99 | 0.7 |
| Other social benefits | 119 | 2.3 | 90 | 1.3 | 129 | 1.0 | 107 | 0.7 |
| Regular transfers from other households | 65 | 1.3 | 78 | 1.1 | 144 | 1.1 | 93 | 0.6 |
| Receipt sale | 31 | 0.6 | 20 | 0.3 | 80 | 0.6 | 235 | 1.6 |
| Miscellaneous | 147 | 2.9 | 233 | 3.3 | 290 | 2.3 | 137 | 0.9 |
| Drawn savings | 179 | х | 219 | х | 437 | х | 412 | х |
| Loans and credits | 57 | х | 66 | х | 125 | х | 63 | х |
Real household income[1] increased by 9.7% in 2025 compared to 2024. The highest value of the index of real income was in 2025 - 181.4% compared to 2016.
| Years | Base years | |||||||||
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
| 2016 | 100.0 | |||||||||
| 2017 | 105.9 | 100.0 | ||||||||
| 2018 | 110.9 | 104.7 | 100.0 | |||||||
| 2019 | 117.9 | 111.3 | 106.3 | 100.0 | ||||||
| 2020 | 123.2 | 116.3 | 111.1 | 104.4 | 100.0 | |||||
| 2021 | 131.2 | 123.9 | 118.3 | 111.3 | 106.5 | 100.0 | ||||
| 2022 | 133.0 | 125.6 | 120.0 | 112.8 | 108.0 | 101.4 | 100.0 | |||
| 2023 | 146.3 | 138.1 | 131.9 | 124.1 | 118.8 | 111.5 | 110.0 | 100.0 | ||
| 2024 | 169.4 | 159.9 | 152.7 | 143.6 | 137.5 | 129.0 | 127.3 | 115.7 | 100.0 | |
| 2025 | 181.4 | 171.3 | 163.6 | 153.8 | 147.3 | 138.2 | 136.4 | 124.0 | 109.7 | 100.0 |
[1] Real income is calculated as nominal income is deflated by annual average indices of consumer prices.
The following more important changes with respect to the sources of total average income per household member had been observed during the 2016 - 2025 period:
Income from wages and salaries had the highest relative share within the total household structure. This share was 57.2% in 2025, 2.2 percentage points (pp) more than in 2024 and 2.9 pp more than in 2016 (Figure 1).
Social transfers (pensions, unemployment benefits, family allowances and other social benefits) formed 31.0% of the total income in 2025.
Income from pensions had the highest relative share within the social transfers - 29.3% of the total income in 2025, a decrease of 0.7 pp compared to 2024, and an increase of 1.6 pp compared to 2016 (Figure 2).
In 2025, the relative share of income from self-employment was 7.4%, an increase of 0.2 pp compared to 2024, and 1.2 pp compared to 2016 (Figure 3).
The relative share of income from other earnings was 1.0% in 2025, a decrease of 0.3 pp compared to 2024 and a decrease of 1.9 pp compared to 2016.
Household expenditure
Bulgarian households spent an average of 12 661 BGN per capita in 2025, or 8.1% more compared to 2024. Household expenditure had increased 2.7 times during the 2016 - 2025 period.
| Expenditure groups | 2016 - BGN | 2016 - % | 2020 - BGN | 2020 - % | 2024 - BGN | 2024 - % | 2025 - BGN | 2025 - % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenditure | 4755 | 100.0 | 6220 | 100.0 | 11712 | 100.0 | 12661 | 100.0 |
| Consumer monetary expenditure | 3926 | 82.6 | 5054 | 81.3 | 9466 | 80.8 | 10177 | 80.4 |
| Foods and non-alcoholic beverages | 1464 | 30.8 | 1872 | 30.1 | 3357 | 28.7 | 3713 | 29.3 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 206 | 4.3 | 265 | 4.3 | 452 | 3.9 | 520 | 4.1 |
| Clothing and footwear | 172 | 3.6 | 188 | 3.0 | 435 | 3.7 | 401 | 3.2 |
| Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels | 681 | 14.3 | 861 | 13.8 | 1260 | 10.8 | 1361 | 10.7 |
| Furnishing and maintenance of the house | 175 | 3.7 | 260 | 4.2 | 570 | 4.9 | 589 | 4.7 |
| Health | 263 | 5.5 | 388 | 6.2 | 716 | 6.1 | 707 | 5.6 |
| Transport | 326 | 6.9 | 415 | 6.7 | 839 | 7.2 | 877 | 6.9 |
| Communication | 211 | 4.4 | 285 | 4.6 | 480 | 4.1 | 536 | 4.2 |
| Recreation, culture and education | 226 | 4.8 | 250 | 4.0 | 780 | 6.7 | 820 | 6.5 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 202 | 4.2 | 270 | 4.3 | 577 | 4.9 | 654 | 5.2 |
| Taxes | 247 | 5.2 | 360 | 5.8 | 680 | 5.8 | 789 | 6.2 |
| Social insurance contributions | 310 | 6.5 | 500 | 8.0 | 960 | 8.2 | 1161 | 9.2 |
| Regular transfers to others households | 55 | 1.2 | 56 | 0.9 | 113 | 1.0 | 113 | 0.9 |
| Other expenditure | 216 | 4.5 | 251 | 4.0 | 494 | 4.2 | 421 | 3.3 |
| Saving deposits | 195 | х | 510 | х | 956 | х | 1266 | х |
| Debt paid out and loan granted | 156 | х | 135 | х | 260 | х | 235 | х |
The relative share of consumer expenditure within the total household expenditure decreased from 82.6% in 2016 to 80.4% in 2025.
During the 2016 - 2025 period, within the total household expenditure average per capita, the following changes had been observed:
The relative share of expenditure on food and non-alcoholic beverages within the total household expenditure was 29.3% in 2025, or 0.6 pp more than in 2024 and 1.5 pp less than in 2016 (Figure 4).
The relative share of expenditure on housing within total household expenditure was 15.4% in 2025, or 0.3 pp less than in 2024 and 2.6 pp less than in 2016 (Figure 5).
The share of expenditure on taxes and social insurance contributions within the total household expenditure was 15.4% in 2025, or 1.4 pp more than in 2024 and 3.7 pp more than in 2016.
The relative share of expenditure on health was 5.6% in 2025, 0.5 pp less than in 2024 and 0.1 pp more than in 2016.
The share of expenditure on transport and communication had varied around 11% - 12% during the 2016 - 2025 period.
Household consumption
In 2025, there were changes in the consumption of basic food products and beverages on average per person compared to 2024. The consumption of bread and paste products decreased by 1.8 kg and of potatoes - by 0.1 kg. The biggest increase was in the consumption of soft drinks - by 9.4 liters, of alcoholic beverages - by 1.7 liters, of vegetables and meat - by 0.6 kg.
Methodological notes
The source of the data is the quarterly household budget survey. It is a sample survey. The sample used for the survey is a random sample of 3 060 households.
A regular household is two or more persons who live in one dwelling or part of a dwelling, having their meals together and having a common budget, irrespective of the fact whether they are relatives. A household is also one person living alone, having meals separately and having his/her separate budget.
Institutional households are not studied by the household budget survey.
The main indicators for income, expenditure and consumption are estimated quarterly and annually as average values and relative shares.
Household income in cash and kind includes all receipts of household members from: wages and salaries, pensions, self-employment income, unemployment benefits, social benefits, etc. Other regular or irregular transfers from other households and property sales are also included.
Household expenditure includes expenditure for food, beverages, tobacco, housing (water, electricity, heating, furnishing and maintenance), transport, communications, health, taxes, social insurance contributions, etc.
Consumption expenditure includes household expenditure for goods and services according to the International Classifications of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP).
Consumption average per household member includes the quantities of foods and beverages consumed at home. The catering data are not included.
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