Bulgaria is among the EU countries with the highest share of working people at risk of poverty, according to Eurostat data. The EU statistical office's study indicates that the risk of poverty does not only affect unemployed or underemployed people, but also people who work but fail to provide sufficient income for their household.
In 2024, 11.8 percent of employed Bulgarians aged 18 and over were at risk of poverty – significantly above the EU average of 8.2 percent. This places the country in the group of countries with the highest indicator, along with Luxembourg (13.4 percent), Spain (11.2 percent) and Greece (10.7 percent).
According to Eurostat data, the risk of poverty for men in Bulgaria was 13.0 percent, while for women - 10.4 percent. The gender gap of 2.6 percentage points is close to the EU average, where the indicator is higher for men (9.0 percent) compared to women (7.3 percent).
The lowest share of employed people at risk of poverty was reported in Finland (2.8 percent), the Czech Republic (3.6 percent) and Belgium (4.3 percent).
The indicator “risk of poverty for employed“ includes individuals who are employed or self-employed and live in households whose disposable income is below 60 percent of the national median.