{"version":1,"asset_type":"statistical_series","data_type":"time_series","slug":"bg-median-income","url":"https://apiardata.com/statistics/bg-median-income","html_url":"https://apiardata.com/statistics/bg-median-income/","title":"Median Equivalised Net Income in Bulgaria (2025)","description":"Bulgaria's Median Equivalised Net Income: 8,862 EUR per person in 2025, +13.5% YoY, roughly 39% of the EU-27 average. Eurostat (ILC_DI03), 2010–2025.","domain":"demo","category":"Demographics","keywords":["Demographics","Eurostat","Bulgaria","2025"],"publisher":"Eurostat","frequency":"Annual","geography":"Bulgaria","temporal_coverage":"2010/2025","unit":"EUR per person","last_updated":"2026-07-25","last_updated_text":"25 July 2026","data_as_of":"2025","variable_measured":"Median Equivalised Net Income in Bulgaria","license":"https://apiardata.com/data-license","is_accessible_for_free":true,"sources":[{"name":"Eurostat","url":"https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ILC_DI03/default/table?lang=en"}],"meta":[{"label":"Frequency","value":"Annual"},{"label":"Coverage","value":"2010–2025"},{"label":"Observations","value":"16"},{"label":"Geography","value":"Bulgaria"},{"label":"Last updated","value":"25 July 2026"}],"kpis":[{"label":"Bulgaria (2025)","value":"8,862","unit":"EUR per person per year","trend":{"direction":"up","value":"+13.5% YoY"}},{"label":"YoY Change","value":"+13.5%","unit":"year-on-year"},{"label":"vs. EU-27 Average","value":"38.6%","unit":"of EU-27 median, 2025","trend":{"direction":"up","value":"+18pp since 2010"}},{"label":"Series length","value":"16","unit":"years of data"}],"series":[{"key":"value","label":"Bulgaria Median Equivalised Net Income"}],"observation_count":16,"observations":[{"period":"2010","value":3017},{"period":"2011","value":2914},{"period":"2012","value":2860},{"period":"2013","value":2924},{"period":"2014","value":3311},{"period":"2015","value":3332},{"period":"2016","value":3151},{"period":"2017","value":3590},{"period":"2018","value":3590},{"period":"2019","value":4224},{"period":"2020","value":4612},{"period":"2021","value":5157},{"period":"2022","value":5378},{"period":"2023","value":6523},{"period":"2024","value":7811},{"period":"2025","value":8862}],"table":{"columns":[{"key":"year","label":"Year"},{"key":"value","label":"EUR per person"},{"key":"yoyChange","label":"YoY Change"}],"rows":[{"year":"2025","value":"8862","yoyChange":"+13.5%"},{"year":"2024","value":"7811","yoyChange":"+19.7%"},{"year":"2023","value":"6523","yoyChange":"+21.3%"},{"year":"2022","value":"5378","yoyChange":"+4.3%"},{"year":"2021","value":"5157","yoyChange":"+11.8%"},{"year":"2020","value":"4612","yoyChange":"+9.2%"},{"year":"2019","value":"4224","yoyChange":"+17.7%"},{"year":"2018","value":"3590","yoyChange":"+0.0%"},{"year":"2017","value":"3590","yoyChange":"+13.9%"},{"year":"2016","value":"3151","yoyChange":"-5.4%"},{"year":"2015","value":"3332","yoyChange":"+0.6%"},{"year":"2014","value":"3311","yoyChange":"+13.2%"},{"year":"2013","value":"2924","yoyChange":"+2.2%"},{"year":"2012","value":"2860","yoyChange":"-1.9%"},{"year":"2011","value":"2914","yoyChange":"-3.4%"},{"year":"2010","value":"3017","yoyChange":"n/a"}]},"qa":[{"question":"What was Bulgaria's median equivalised net income in 2025?","answer":"Eurostat's EU-SILC data (dataset ILC_DI03) put Bulgaria's median equivalised net income at approximately 8,862 EUR per person in 2025, up from 7,811 EUR in 2024 — a year-on-year increase of roughly 13.5%. Equivalised income adjusts household disposable income for household size and composition using the modified OECD scale, so the figure represents typical per-person purchasing power rather than a raw household total."},{"question":"How does Bulgaria's median income compare with the EU-27 average?","answer":"In 2025, Bulgaria's median equivalised net income of roughly 8,862 EUR was about 39% of the EU-27 average of approximately 22,939 EUR, leaving an absolute gap of around 14,077 EUR. That proportional gap has likely narrowed compared with 2010, when Bulgaria's 3,017 EUR was only around 21% of the EU-27's 14,521 EUR, even though the absolute euro gap has widened over the period (from about 11,504 EUR to 14,077 EUR)."},{"question":"How much has Bulgaria's median income grown since 2010?","answer":"Bulgaria's median equivalised net income rose from about 3,017 EUR in 2010 to approximately 8,862 EUR in 2025 — nearly tripling, at around +194% over 15 years. The EU-27 average grew far more slowly over the same period, from roughly 14,521 EUR to about 22,939 EUR (+58%), which is the main reason Bulgaria's income has likely been converging toward the EU average even though it remains among the lowest in the bloc."},{"question":"Why did Bulgaria's median income decline in 2011–2012?","answer":"The series shows two consecutive years of decline: -3.4% in 2011 (to 2,914 EUR) and -1.9% in 2012 (to 2,860 EUR). This period likely reflects the lagged domestic impact of the 2009 global financial crisis and the eurozone debt crisis, which weighed on Bulgarian household incomes and labour markets well after the initial shock, before growth resumed from 2013 onward."},{"question":"Has convergence with the EU average been steady, or were there setbacks?","answer":"Convergence has not been linear. After a slow recovery through the mid-2010s, growth accelerated sharply from 2017, including a further break in the underlying EU-SILC series in 2016 that Eurostat flags as a methodology change. The most recent three years show particularly strong gains — +21.3% in 2023, +19.7% in 2024, and +13.5% in 2025 — suggesting the pace of convergence toward the EU-27 average has likely picked up markedly in the post-pandemic period."}]}