Strong Elected Local Governments Index in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Strong Elected Local Governments Index was 0.829 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.829
Change on year
down 14.4%
World rank
87th
of 175 countries
All-time high
0.969
in 2013
All-time low
0
in 1878
Years of data
151
1875–2025
Strong Elected Local Governments Index in Bulgaria, 1875–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, strong elected local governments index in Bulgaria stood at 0.829.
That represents a change of down 14.4% on the previous year and down 14.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, strong elected local governments index in Bulgaria peaked at 0.969 in 2013 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1878.
Bulgaria ranks 87th of 175 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 151 years of available data.
Strong Elected Local Governments Index in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1875 | 0.003 | — |
| 1876 | 0.003 | +0.0% |
| 1877 | 0.005 | +66.7% |
| 1878 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 1879 | 0.486 | — |
| 1880 | 0.497 | +2.3% |
| 1881 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1882 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1883 | 0.497 | +0.0% |
| 1884 | 0.861 | +73.2% |
| 1885 | 0.861 | +0.0% |
| 1886 | 0.861 | +0.0% |
| 1887 | 0.121 | -85.9% |
| 1888 | 0.121 | +0.0% |
| 1889 | 0.121 | +0.0% |
| 1890 | 0.121 | +0.0% |
| 1891 | 0.119 | -1.7% |
| 1892 | 0.121 | +1.7% |
| 1893 | 0.121 | +0.0% |
| 1894 | 0.121 | +0.0% |
| 1895 | 0.936 | +673.6% |
| 1896 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1897 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1898 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1899 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1900 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1901 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.936 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.917 | -2.0% |
| 1914 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.917 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.659 | -28.1% |
| 1936 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.659 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.586 | -11.1% |
| 1958 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.621 | +6.0% |
| 1974 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.621 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.941 | +51.5% |
| 1991 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.941 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.887 | -5.7% |
| 2010 | 0.887 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.943 | +6.3% |
| 2012 | 0.943 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.969 | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 0.969 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 0.829 | -14.4% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 0.829 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.963, 86% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 0.829 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.9305, 89% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.0994 | 0 | 0.486 | 5 |
| 1880s | 0.4934 | 0.121 | 0.861 | 10 |
| 1890s | 0.5283 | 0.119 | 0.936 | 10 |
| 1900s | 0.936 | 0.936 | 0.936 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.9227 | 0.917 | 0.936 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.917 | 0.917 | 0.917 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.788 | 0.659 | 0.917 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.659 | 0.659 | 0.659 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.6371 | 0.586 | 0.659 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.586 | 0.586 | 0.586 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.6105 | 0.586 | 0.621 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.621 | 0.621 | 0.621 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.941 | 0.941 | 0.941 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9356 | 0.887 | 0.941 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9556 | 0.887 | 0.969 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9457 | 0.829 | 0.969 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
- 84 Mozambique 0.858 compare
- 85 Malta 0.855 compare
- 86 Georgia 0.848 compare
- 88 Papua New Guinea 0.827 compare
- 89 Trinidad and Tobago 0.826 compare
- 90 India 0.813 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 strong elected local governments index in Bulgaria?
- Strong elected local governments index in Bulgaria was 0.829 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest strong elected local governments index recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 0.969 in 2013.
- What is the lowest strong elected local governments index recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1878.
- How does Bulgaria rank for strong elected local governments index?
- Bulgaria ranks 87th out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is strong elected local governments index rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Strong Elected Local Governments Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 151 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent to which elected local governments exist, and they operate without interference from local unelected bodies.