In-patient, out-patient and other health care establishments as of 31.12.2025

1. Health establishments and beds in health establishments

The number of health establishments for hospital aid as of 31.12.2025 was 338 with 56 925 beds as the number of establishments decreased by 3, and hospital beds increased by 864, or 1.5% compared to the previous year. In absolute terms, the increase in the number of beds was the largest for multi-profile hospitals - by 633, or 1.6%, while for specialized hospitals the increase was by 235, or 1.7%. Beds in complex oncological centres decreased slightly.

The number of hospitals was 316 with 54 674 beds, as for 202 of them the type of ownership was public and for 114 - private. The distribution of hospitals by form of ownership had remained relatively constant in the recent years. However, there was an increase in the beds in privately-owned establishments and as of 31.12.2025, 31.3% of the beds were in such hospitals.

The number of multi-profile hospitals was 178 with 40 434 beds. These establishments represented 56.3% of all hospitals, and in them were concentrated 74.0% of the total number of hospital beds in the country.

The number of specialized hospitals was 138 with 14 240 beds in them. Their distribution by type was as follows:

• For active treatment - 72 with 4 466 beds;
• For long-term medical treatment - one with 145 beds;
• For long-term medical treatment and rehabilitation - 18 with 2 146 beds;
• For rehabilitation - 35 with 5 626 beds;
• Psychiatric hospitals - 12 with 1 857.

The number of hospital beds at the end of 2025 was 886.2 per 100 000 persons of the total population.

The highest values of that indicator were registered in the districts Pleven (1 347.1 per 100 000 persons of the population), Smolyan (1 247.5) and Plovdiv (1 107.6), and the lowest - in Pernik (424.4), Yambol (432.2) and Vidin (446.3) (Figure 1).

As of 31.12.2025, the number of out-patient health establishments was 2 380 with 1 382 beds for short-term treatment.

Among out-patient health establishments with activities in clinical medicine, the largest was the number of medical centers - 906 establishments with 1 017 beds, followed by diagnostic-consultation centers - 114 with 288 beds. There were 70 dental centers with 3 beds, and 76 medical-dental centers with 74 beds.

At the end of 2025, the number of other health establishments was 148 with 1 875 beds in them.

2. Medical personnel

At the end of 2025, 30 409 physicians were in practice under a basic labour contract in health establishments. Compared to the previous year, their number increased by 260, or 0.9% (Table 2). The dentists were 8 080, as 6 922 of them worked in practices that had signed а contract with the National Health Insurance Fund. The health care professionals and other medical specialists who worked on a basic labour contract in health establishments were 44 772, as 28 357 of them were nurses.

• 18 437 physicians and 43 dentists practiced in in-patient health establishments (hospitals and centres with stationaries). The health care professionals and other medical specialists were 26 102, 17 983 of which were nurses.
• 10 153 physicians and 7 623 dentists worked under basic labour contract in out-patient health establishments. This group covers all physicians (6 589) and dentists (6 922), which were working in individual or group practices under agreement with the National Health Insurance Fund. The health care professionals and other medical specialists were 7 348, with 70 of them working on a main contract in outpatient establishments for individual and group health care.
• 1 819 physicians and 414 dentists worked in other health care establishments (incl. crèches and medical consulting rooms in the schools) under a basic labour contract.

Practicing physicians by sex and age

The distribution of practicing physicians by sex and by age as of 31.12.2025 is as follows - 13 464 (44.3%) were males and 16 945 (55.7%) - females.

In the structure of physicians by age, the highest number and share of physicians was in the age group 55 - 64 years - 8 890 persons, or 29.2%. At second place was the group 65 - 74 years - 6 126, or 20.1%. The young practicing physicians, aged up to 35 years - 5 959 persons, or 19.6%. The elderly physicians (aged 75 and over) were 1 591, or 5.2% (Тable 3).

The territorial distribution of physicians by age groups and districts as of 31.12.2025 shows strongly pronounced disproportions (Figure 2).

The relative share of young physicians (up to 35 years old) varied from 3.4% in Montana district to 28.8% in Pleven district. The relative share of young physicians was also significantly lower than the national average in Vidin (4.0%), Lovech (4.6%) and Kyustendil (6.1%).

Among the oldest physicians (75 and over), the relative shares by district varied from 2.2% in Stara Zagora to 13.7% in Silistra. The districts of Pleven (3.5%), Ruse (3.8%) and Burgas (3.9%) also had lower shares, while in Gabrovo and Vratsa the share of the oldest physicians was twice as high as that for the country (11.7 and 10.3%, respectively).

The distribution of practicing physicians by age groups and types of establishments shows that the largest share of young physicians practicing under a basic labour contract was in health establishments for hospital aid (27.9%), and the smallest - in out-patient health establishments (5.1%) (Figure 3). More than two-thirds of the physicians practicing under a basic labour contract in out-patient health establishments were over 55 years old (75.2%).

Practicing physicians by specialties

In the structure of physicians by specialties², the highest was the share of ‘General practitioners’ - 3 771 persons, or 12.4% of all physicians practicing in the country, followed by specialists practicing: ‘Cardiology’ - 6.6%, ‘Anesthesiology’ - 6.1%, ‘Obstetrics and Gynecology’ - 5.9%, ‘Surgery’ - 5.1%, ‘Pediatrics’ - 4.7%, and ‘Neurology’ - 4.6%.

Physicians and dentists per 10 000 persons of the population

The number of physicians per 10 000 persons of the total population at the end of 2025 was 47.3 and the number of dentists per 10 000 persons of the total population was 12.6.

The number of physicians per 10 000 persons of the population² by districts varied from 24.6 to 82.1 per 10 000 persons of the total population, as the highest values of that indicator were registered in districts with Medical universities and Universities’ hospitals (Figure 4) - Pleven (82.1 per 10 000 persons of the total population), Plovdiv (58.1), Sofia (stolitsa) (57.8) and Varna (52.3). The lowest values were registered for the districts: Kardzhali (24.6 per 10 000 persons of the total population), Razgrad (29.4), Yambol (29.8) and Haskovo (29.9).

The number of dentists per 10 000 persons of the total population³ was 12.6. The highest values were registered in the districts: Plovdiv (19.9 per 10 000 persons), Varna (18.1), Pernik (16.1) and Sofia (stolitsa) (16.0). The lowest values of the number of dentists per 10 000 persons of the total population were registered in districts: Sofia (6.1), Razgrad (6.5), Montana (6.8) and Targovishte (7.0 per 10 000 persons of the total population) (Figure 5).

Practicing nurses and midwives by sex and age

As of 31.12.2025, 28 357 nurses were practicing in health establishments in the country. Of these, 28 114 were women (99.1%) and 243 were men (0.9%) (Table 4).

In the structure of nurses by age, the largest number and share is in the age group 45 - 54 years - 8 722 (30.8%), followed by the group 55 - 64 years - 7 706 (27.2%). There are 5 213 nurses over the age of 65, or 18.4%. The youngest, under the age of 35, are 3 327, or 11.7%.

At the end of the year, there were 3 338 midwives practicing in health establishments, of which 3 333 were women.

The age structure of midwives is more favorable - the largest relative share is in the age group up to 35 years - 873 (26.2%), followed by the group 45 - 54 years - 792 (23.7%). There are 446 midwives over the age of 65, or 13.4%.

Methodological notes

The statistical survey on in-patient, out-patient and other health establishments provides data on health network by type of health establishments, their regional distribution as well as on medical personnel by specialties and categories. It is carried out in accordance with the Regulation (EU) 2022/2294 of the Commission as regards statistics on healthcare facilities, healthcare human resources and healthcare utilisation, in strict compliance with the definitions laid down in the regulatory document.

Data are presented according to the status as of 31st of December of the year.

Data on hospital beds include all de facto operating hospital beds as well as hospital beds temporary out of use for a period less than six months. Hospital beds for temporary use are excluded.

The place for short stay is specifically defined in the regulations for the structure, activity and internal order of the Health establishments for hospital aid, a separated and designated area/territory/space in a clinic/ward with or without beds for patient accommodation, specially equipped with the necessary household and technical equipment for carrying out certain medical activities of diagnosis and treatment, which require a stay of the patient no longer than 12 hours.

When analyzing the health network data the following has to be taken into account: the number of health establishments and hospital beds has changed not only as a result of the opening or closure of establishments, but also because of the reorganization or merging of establishments.

When analyzing medical service by districts, some specific particularities on medical servicing have to be taken into consideration. The health establishments are not directly connected to the servicing of population of a given settlement or even of a municipality. A great part of health establishments serve the population of a given region or a group of municipalities, and the specialized health care establishments service the population of 2 or 3 regions. The establishments under central administration, regardless of their location, serve the population from the whole country.

The number of medical personnel (individuals working under basic labour contract) includes persons, practicing at healthcare establishments regardless of their ownership and subordination. Data on medical specialists working outside of the country, as well as on medical specialists practicing outside of the health establishments (for example, physicians working for the pharmaceutical industry) are excluded.

In the territorial distribution of the medical specialists working in practices under a contract with the NHIF, which served the population in more than one district, respectively municipality has been included in the total number for the country (district) but not distributed by districts (municipalities).

The distribution of the physicians by specialties is based on the national nomenclature in accordance with the Ordinance No. 1 of 22 January 2015 of the Ministry of Health (amended and supplemented, State Gazette No. 13 of 14 February 2025) and it is according to their practicing specialty. Those who are working in practices under a contract with the NHIF practicing more than one specialty are included in the total number of physicians but not distributed by specialty.

¹ The distribution of physicians by specialties is in accordance with their practicing specialty. The physicians in practices for specialized medical care are also included. The physicians practicing more than one specialty has been included in the total number but has been not distributed by specialities.

² The indicator for the country is calculated by taking into account the total number of physicians practitioners working in individual or group practices under a contract with the National Health Insurance Fund in more than one district.

³ The indicator for the country is calculated by taking into account the total number of dentists practitioners working in individual or group practices under a contract with the National Health Insurance Fund in more than one district.