Democracy in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Democracy was 4 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Democracy in Bulgaria, 2005–2025
Source: Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, democracy in Bulgaria stood at 4. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 20.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Bulgaria peaked at 5 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 4, in 2019.
That places Bulgaria 16th out of 128 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Democracy in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 5 | — |
| 2007 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 2021 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4 | +0.0% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 4 is below the median for high income countries, which is 4.5, 89% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 4 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 4, 1.0× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| 2010s | 4.8 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| 2020s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
- 16 Albania 4 compare
- 16 Argentina 4 compare
- 16 Armenia 4 compare
- 16 Bhutan 4 compare
- 16 Bolivia 4 compare
- 16 Brazil 4 compare
- 16 Colombia 4 compare
- 16 Dominican Republic 4 compare
- 16 Ecuador 4 compare
- 16 Ghana 4 compare
- 16 Hungary 4 compare
- 16 India 4 compare
- 16 Lesotho 4 compare
- 16 Liberia 4 compare
- 16 Malawi 4 compare
- 16 Malaysia 4 compare
- 16 Mauritius 4 compare
- 16 Moldova 4 compare
- 16 Mongolia 4 compare
- 16 Montenegro 4 compare
- 16 Namibia 4 compare
- 16 Nepal 4 compare
- 16 North Macedonia 4 compare
- 16 Panama 4 compare
- 16 Paraguay 4 compare
- 16 Romania 4 compare
- 16 Senegal 4 compare
- 16 South Africa 4 compare
- 16 Sri Lanka 4 compare
- 16 Ukraine 4 compare
- 16 Zambia 4 compare
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 democracy in Bulgaria?
- Democracy in Bulgaria was 4 in 2025, according to Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 5 in 2005.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 in 2019.
- How does Bulgaria rank for democracy?
- Bulgaria ranks 16th out of 128 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country. It distinguishes between hard-line autocracies (score 1), moderate autocracies (score 2), highly defective democracies (score 3), defective democracies (score 4), and consolidating democracies (score 5).