site.btaBulgaria Records Second Highest Share of People at Risk of Poverty and Unable to Afford Proper Meal in EU

Bulgaria recorded the second highest share of people at risk of poverty and unable to afford a proper meal in the EU in 2024 at 37.7%, reported Eurostat here today. Slovakia ranked the first highest at almost 40%, while Hungary followed Bulgaria closely in third with 37.3%.  

Bulgaria was not ranked first for this indicator in 2023 neither, but third at 40.2%, experiencing about a 3% decrease between 2023 and 2024.  

The EU reported a similar tendency. The same figure stood at 19% in 2024, almost 3% less than 2023.  

In 2024, 18.7% of the total population in Bulgaria could not afford adequate food, marking the highest share in the EU for the first time in three years, compared to the EU’s average of 6.4%.  

In 2007, when Bulgaria joined the EU, 88.5% of Bulgarians with the lowest incomes were unable to afford adequate food, according to Eurostat.