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Bulgaria — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Bulgaria, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
3.54%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -68.1% since 1991
Unemployment for Bulgaria was 3.54% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 19.92% in 2001. Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -3.31% per year.
Bulgaria ranks 129 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 69%. The median for Europe & Central Asia is 5.58%, so Bulgaria sits below it. It peaked in 2001 and has fallen 82% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 61%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
3.54%
First (1991)
11.10%
Change
-68.1%
Highest
19.92%
in 2001
Lowest
3.54%
in 2025
Average
10.13%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-3.31%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.54% |
| 2024 | 4.2% |
| 2023 | 4.32% |
| 2022 | 4.15% |
| 2021 | 5.17% |
| 2020 | 5.04% |
| 2019 | 4.15% |
| 2018 | 5.21% |
| 2017 | 6.16% |
| 2016 | 7.58% |
| 2015 | 9.14% |
| 2014 | 11.42% |
Reading this correctly. Share of the labor force without work but available for and seeking employment. National definitions differ, so cross-country comparison needs care. Figures are in % of total labor force. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS — Unemployment Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.