site.btaHousehold Income Up 9.8%, Spending Up 6% in Q3 2025

The average quarterly household income per person in Bulgaria in the third quarter of 2025 was BGN 3,680, an increase of 9.8% compared to the same period of 2024, while average expenditure amounted to BGN 3,344, up 6% compared to the same period of the previous year, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) reported Friday.

In the second quarter of 2025, income was BGN 3,620, a 12.6% rise compared to the same period of 2024, while in the third quarter of 2024 it was BGN 3,351, representing an annual increase of 16.6%.

In the third quarter of 2025, the structure of total income showed the highest relative share coming from wages (58.1%), followed by pensions (29.4%) and self-employment (7.8%). Compared to the third quarter of 2024, the share of income from wages increased by 3.5 percentage points, while the share from pensions decreased by 0.9 percentage points.

The largest share of expenditures was for food and non-alcoholic beverages (28.6%), followed by housing costs (15%), taxes and social insurance contributions (14.9%), and transport and communications (10.7%).

In absolute terms, in the third quarter of 2025 compared with the same quarter of 2024, the expenditures per household member that increased include:

• food and non-alcoholic beverages: from BGN 881 to BGN 957 (up 8.6%)
• alcoholic beverages and cigarettes: from BGN 118 to BGN 136 (up 15%)
• taxes and social insurance contributions: from BGN 420 to BGN 498 (up 18.6%)

Among the expenditures that decreased were healthcare costs, which dropped from BGN 183 to BGN 166 (down 9.5%).

Regarding the consumption of staple foods per household member in the third quarter of 2025 compared with the same period of 2024, the largest increase was in the consumption of fruit—from 21.2 to 21.5 kilograms. The largest decreases were recorded in bread and bakery products—from 16.8 to 16.5 kg, cheese—from 3 to 2.7 kg, and vegetables—from 24.4 to 24.2 kg. Consumption of meat products, dry beans, and potatoes remained unchanged.