Bulgaria's Income Divide: Majority Earn Under 1,500 Euros While a Few Make Millions

In 2023, approximately 2,400 Bulgarians earned monthly incomes exceeding 50,000 leva (around 25,000 euros), according to data requested by Mediapool. Of these high earners, around two-thirds received between 50,000 leva and 100,000 leva per month, while the highest earners saw annual incomes of up to 6 million leva, derived from salaries and management fees.

Meanwhile, more than a million people in Bulgaria reported taxable incomes below 1,000 leva (around 500 euros) per month, and only about 175,000 individuals, representing 7% of wage earners, had monthly salaries ranging between 3,000 leva and 5,000 leva. The National Revenue Agency (NRA) data indicates that 9 out of 10 employed individuals earn less than 3,000 leva per month.

Commenting on the stark income inequality in Bulgaria, Maria Zhelyazkova from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Bulgarian Academy of Science (BAS) noted that the income gap between the lowest and highest salaries in the country exceeds 1,000 times. She emphasized that such inequality is detrimental to European societies, comparing Bulgaria's situation to countries like El Salvador, Kenya, and the Dominican Republic, and noting that it is slightly better than that in the United States. Zhelyazkova argued that there should be an annual cap on taxable income rather than a monthly one and that high-income earners should be taxed more comprehensively.