Bulgaria's household income, spending rise 20% in 2023

Income per household member came in at an average of 10,846 levs ($5,899/5,545 euro) last year, while individual expenditure averaged 10,044 levs, NSI said in an annual report.

The relative share of income from wages and salaries in the review period increased to 54.8% from 53.9% a year earlier, remaining the largest contributor. Income from wages and salaries leapt by an annual 22.5% in 2023.

Pensions formed 31.8% of total income, lowering their share by 1.9 percentage points (pp) from 2022, while self-employment accounted for 5.7%, up by 1 pp on the year. Income from pensions added 13.6% year-on-year and that from self-employment surged 47.5%.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages made up the greatest share of total expenditure, or 29.7%, down from 30.1% in 2022. Expenses for food and non-alcoholic beverages climbed by 18.1% in annual terms.

The share of expenses for housing, including utilities, went down to 12.1% in 2023 from 14.1% a year earlier, whereas taxes and social insurance contributions together accounted for 13.5% of total household expenditure, up from 12.1% the prior year. Transport and communication costs combined formed 11.5% of total expenditure, inching down by 0.1 pp year-on-year.

Housing costs increased by an annual 7.6% last year, while expenses for transport and communication widened by 19% and expenses for taxes and social insurance contributions jumped by 32.8%.

(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)