site.btaGross Household Wealth in Bulgaria Crosses BGN 1 Trillion Mark for the First Time

Gross household wealth in Bulgaria exceeded BGN 1 trillion for the first time at the end of 2024, economists reported Friday.

At the end of 2024, gross household wealth in Bulgaria crossed the trillion-lev mark for the first time, reaching BGN 1.00052 trillion, the Expert Club for Economics and Politics (EKIP) said.

They have collected information on a new economic index which measures the wealth of households in Bulgaria. The index combines all types of financial wealth with a new real estate valuation methodology aimed at more accurately reflecting the real economic value of assets owned by Bulgarian citizens. The initial value of the index is 100 points in 2015, and its gross value reached 262 points at the end of 2024.

Stoyan Panchev, economist at EKIP, and Max Baklayan, investment expert and CEO of the precious metals trading company TAVEX, presented the main results of the analysis. According to the data, by the end of 2024, the gross household wealth in nominal terms equals almost five times the size of the country's gross domestic product, or 493% of GDP. On average, there are 155,424 BGN per capita and 349,135 BGN per household. For 2024, total gross household wealth has increased by BGN 113 billion.

In the long term, between 2015 and 2024, there was a significant increase in accumulated wealth. Total gross household wealth increased by BGN 618 billion, or 2.7 times. The value of the housing stock has increased by BGN 446 billion, or 174%, while gross financial wealth has increased by BGN 172 billion, or 138%. When liabilities are subtracted, the net growth in financial wealth amounts to BGN 138 billion, EKIP said.

"The study draws important conclusions about the country's wealth structure. About 70% of it is concentrated in real estate, while only 1.1% is accounted for by investments in other assets. This highlights a serious potential for the development of investment culture in the country. At the same time, a previous study from the same campaign shows that only 22% of Bulgarians have the habit of saving, while only 6% of them invest," Baklayan said.

The experts also drew attention to the fact that after 2021 inflationary processes began to significantly affect the real value of accumulated wealth, with nominal values increasingly less reflective of the purchasing power of assets. "Additionally, the dominant weight of real estate in households' portfolios poses a potential risk to financial stability in a repeat of scenarios similar to the 2008 crisis," adds Stoyan Panchev.