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Date stated in the original: 3 April 2016. Review note: 6 November 2026.

The text of the original article

Public debt in Bulgaria: bronze medal in Europe — image from the original website

Bulgaria: one of the EU's strongest performers on public debt. According to the European Commission's 2016 estimates, only 11 of the Union's 28 members have debt below the 60%-of-GDP threshold: five within the euro area and six outside it. Bulgaria is third, behind Luxembourg (21.3% in Q3 2015) and Estonia (9.8%). Despite increases in recent years, Bulgarian debt stood at 27% in 2014, up 9% over 2013, and 26.9% in the third quarter of 2015, the latest available figure. Brussels estimates that it will remain below 30% this year. Experts attribute this mainly to welfare expenditure, at 17.4% of GDP, far below the European average of 29.5%. Italy's debt-to-GDP ratio for 2016 is estimated at over 130%.

Bulgaria’s low public debt is one of the strengths of its economy and development. It will allow the planning of economic policies favourable to investment and businesses, with the assurance of moderate taxation remaining in place over the long term.