Bulgaria faces high food insecurity and income inequality, Eurostat reports

According to 2025 data from Eurostat’s ‘Key Data on Living Conditions in Europe – 2026’, approximately 15.8% of people in Bulgaria are unable to afford meat, poultry, fish, or vegetarian equivalents at least once every two days. This figure is nearly double the European Union average of 8.5%, surpassed in the EU only by Romania at 18.1%.

While the inability to afford protein is high, the data shows a consistent long-term improvement in Bulgaria. In 2012, 51.9% of the population faced this issue; by 2025, it had dropped to 15.8%.

Bulgaria also faces significant material and social deprivation. In 2025, 15.0% of Bulgarians were classified as severely deprived, meaning they could not afford at least seven of thirteen essential goods and services. This is higher than the EU average of 6.3%, with only Romania (16.8%) and Greece (14.9%) reporting higher rates. Additionally, Bulgaria maintains the highest Gini coefficient in the EU at 37.7, indicating the highest level of income inequality among member states.