site.btaBulgaria Has EU's Second-Lowest Share of Young Entrepreneurs in 2025

In 2025, Bulgaria had the EU's second-lowest share of young entrepreneurs among self-employed people aged 20-64. At 5.3%, the percentage in Bulgaria was higher only compared to Ireland's 5.1% and immediately below Spain's 5.9%, the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) reported on its website on Tuesday.

The highest shares were in Slovakia (12.2%), Malta (10.5%) and Romania (10.3%).

Eurostat commented that as technology reshapes workplaces at an unprecedented pace, some young people are finding their own ways to make a living, turning to self-employment out of creativity and innovation or necessity.

In 2025, 2.06 million people aged 20-29 in the EU were self-employed, representing 7.9% of all self-employed people aged 20-64.

Overall, youth employment in the bloc has been increasing. In 2025, the employment rate of people aged 20-29 was 65.6%, up by 6.3 percentage points compared with 2015.

Bulgaria had the third-lowest youth employment rate in the EU in 2025, at 52.7%, ahead of Italy (47.6%) and Romania (52.0%), Eurostat reported. The Netherlands (84.0%) and Malta (82.1%) had the highest employment rates among people aged 20-29, followed by Germany (77.0%).

The Eurostat news article marks World Creativity and Innovation Day, which takes place on April 21 and aims to raise awareness of the role of creativity and innovation in all aspects of human development.