Eurostat: Gender Pay Gap in Bulgaria at 15%

Women's gross hourly earnings were on average 15 % below those of men in Bulgaria in 2012, according to Eurostat data.

According to the gender pay gap survey, for the economy as a whole, in 2012, women's gross hourly earnings were on average 16.4 % below those of men in the European Union (EU-28) and 16.7% in the euro area (EA-17). Across Member States the gender pay gap varied by 27.5 percentage points, ranging from 2.5 % in Slovenia to 30.0 % in Estonia.

According to the analysis, the gender pay gap tended to be wider in the private sector than in the public sector.

The biggest private sector gender pay gaps were recorded in Portugal (29.4%), Germany (25.7%), Cyprus (24.3%), the United Kingdom (24.5%), and Slovakia (23.1%).

The smallest private sector gender pay gap was recorded in Slovenia (8.9%).

In Bulgaria, the private sector gender pay gap stood at 12.6%.

The biggest public sector gender pay gaps were recorded in Hungary (24.4%), the Czech Republic (21.2%) and Bulgaria (20.9%).

The smallest public sector gender pay gaps were recorded in Poland (3.7%) and Slovenia (5.3%).

In Bulgaria, gender pay gap by economic activities was, as follows, business economy (14.7%), manufacturing (25.7%), financial and insurance activities (26.7%), education (13%), and arts, entertainment and recreation (26%).