Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) was 18.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Bulgaria, 1924–2023
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Bulgaria is 18.3%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.3% on the previous year and up 45.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Bulgaria peaked at 19.6% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 2.0%, in 1988.
That places Bulgaria 28th out of 113 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 58 years of available data.
Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1924 | 11.7% | — |
| 1925 | 11.3% | -2.8% |
| 1926 | 10.7% | -5.7% |
| 1927 | 10.6% | -1.2% |
| 1928 | 10.5% | -0.6% |
| 1929 | 10.1% | -3.4% |
| 1930 | 10.2% | +0.7% |
| 1931 | 10.4% | +1.6% |
| 1932 | 10.1% | -2.7% |
| 1933 | 10.5% | +4.5% |
| 1934 | 10.3% | -2.1% |
| 1935 | 10.0% | -3.4% |
| 1936 | 9.6% | -3.4% |
| 1937 | 9.8% | +2.3% |
| 1938 | 9.6% | -2.7% |
| 1939 | 9.1% | -5.1% |
| 1940 | 9.5% | +4.4% |
| 1941 | 9.2% | -2.7% |
| 1942 | 9.2% | +0.2% |
| 1943 | 8.6% | -7.5% |
| 1944 | 8.6% | +0.8% |
| 1945 | 8.8% | +2.1% |
| 1980 | 3.3% | -62.7% |
| 1981 | 3.5% | +7.0% |
| 1982 | 5.5% | +54.8% |
| 1983 | 5.4% | -0.6% |
| 1984 | 5.1% | -5.4% |
| 1987 | 2.2% | -57.5% |
| 1988 | 2.0% | -6.0% |
| 1989 | 4.5% | +119.5% |
| 1990 | 5.7% | +26.2% |
| 1993 | 10.5% | +84.3% |
| 1994 | 12.7% | +21.5% |
| 1995 | 13.8% | +8.6% |
| 1996 | 12.8% | -7.1% |
| 1997 | 12.2% | -5.1% |
| 1998 | 11.2% | -8.3% |
| 1999 | 10.9% | -2.5% |
| 2000 | 10.2% | -6.0% |
| 2001 | 11.2% | +9.4% |
| 2002 | 12.2% | +8.9% |
| 2003 | 11.0% | -10.1% |
| 2006 | 11.5% | +4.9% |
| 2009 | 11.9% | +3.1% |
| 2010 | 11.9% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 12.5% | +5.6% |
| 2012 | 14.0% | +11.3% |
| 2013 | 12.6% | -9.7% |
| 2014 | 13.9% | +10.1% |
| 2015 | 14.3% | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 16.9% | +18.4% |
| 2017 | 19.6% | +16.4% |
| 2018 | 19.1% | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 16.5% | -13.4% |
| 2020 | 16.5% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 17.6% | +6.6% |
| 2022 | 18.6% | +5.5% |
| 2023 | 18.3% | -1.3% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 18.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 11.8%, 1.5× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 18.3% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 10.8%, 1.7× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Bulgaria changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | +119.5% | 2.0% | 4.5% |
| 1993 | +84.3% | 5.7% | 10.5% |
| 1980 | -62.7% | 8.8% | 3.3% |
| 1987 | -57.5% | 5.1% | 2.2% |
| 1982 | +54.8% | 3.5% | 5.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 10.8% | 10.1% | 11.7% | 6 |
| 1930s | 10.0% | 9.1% | 10.5% | 10 |
| 1940s | 9.0% | 8.6% | 9.5% | 6 |
| 1980s | 3.9% | 2.0% | 5.5% | 8 |
| 1990s | 11.2% | 5.7% | 13.8% | 8 |
| 2000s | 11.3% | 10.2% | 12.2% | 6 |
| 2010s | 15.1% | 11.9% | 19.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.7% | 16.5% | 18.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More reference data data for Bulgaria
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3067 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2728 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2506 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.73 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.608 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.36 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Bulgaria?
- Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Bulgaria was 18.3% in 2023, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest income share of the richest 1% (before tax) recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 19.6% in 2017.
- What is the lowest income share of the richest 1% (before tax) recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.0% in 1988.
- How does Bulgaria rank for income share of the richest 1% (before tax)?
- Bulgaria ranks 28th out of 113 countries with data for 2023.
- Is income share of the richest 1% (before tax) rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 45.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Income share of the richest 1% (before tax). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of income received by the richest 1%. Income here is measured before taxes and benefits.