Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita was 27.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
27.6%
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
27th
of 184 countries
All-time high
56.0%
in 1986
All-time low
23.6%
in 2016
Years of data
52
1970–2023
Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Bulgaria, 1970–2023
Source: Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Bulgaria recorded 27.6% for share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in 2023.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and up 7.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Bulgaria peaked at 56.0% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 23.6%, in 2016.
Bulgaria ranks 27th of 184 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 52 years of available data.
Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 47.9% | — |
| 1971 | 48.4% | +1.1% |
| 1972 | 48.9% | +1.0% |
| 1973 | 49.1% | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 48.8% | -0.5% |
| 1975 | 48.7% | -0.3% |
| 1976 | 48.9% | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 48.9% | -0.0% |
| 1978 | 49.4% | +1.0% |
| 1979 | 48.6% | -1.7% |
| 1980 | 48.2% | -0.8% |
| 1981 | 51.0% | +5.8% |
| 1982 | 50.7% | -0.5% |
| 1983 | 51.7% | +1.8% |
| 1984 | 49.8% | -3.6% |
| 1985 | 52.5% | +5.5% |
| 1986 | 56.0% | +6.6% |
| 1987 | 54.0% | -3.6% |
| 1988 | 52.6% | -2.6% |
| 1989 | 54.0% | +2.8% |
| 1990 | 52.5% | -2.8% |
| 1993 | 43.7% | -16.7% |
| 1994 | 39.1% | -10.7% |
| 1995 | 38.5% | -1.5% |
| 1996 | 30.1% | -21.7% |
| 1997 | 28.5% | -5.4% |
| 1998 | 35.2% | +23.6% |
| 1999 | 34.0% | -3.4% |
| 2000 | 32.7% | -3.9% |
| 2001 | 32.9% | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 32.3% | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 33.2% | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 31.1% | -6.3% |
| 2005 | 27.1% | -12.9% |
| 2006 | 27.6% | +2.0% |
| 2007 | 26.8% | -2.9% |
| 2008 | 28.7% | +7.1% |
| 2009 | 27.7% | -3.5% |
| 2010 | 27.1% | -2.1% |
| 2011 | 25.5% | -5.8% |
| 2012 | 24.5% | -4.2% |
| 2013 | 25.7% | +5.0% |
| 2014 | 25.3% | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 24.4% | -3.5% |
| 2016 | 23.6% | -3.4% |
| 2017 | 23.9% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 24.8% | +4.1% |
| 2019 | 25.1% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 27.5% | +9.3% |
| 2021 | 26.6% | -3.1% |
| 2022 | 27.8% | +4.5% |
| 2023 | 27.6% | -0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 48.8% | 47.9% | 49.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 52.0% | 48.2% | 56.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 37.7% | 28.5% | 52.5% | 8 |
| 2000s | 30.0% | 26.8% | 33.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.0% | 23.6% | 27.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.4% | 26.6% | 27.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More economy & growth data for Bulgaria
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 3.48 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 2.58 Percent per annum (2029)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), annual growth rate -0.3239 % change on previous year (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), per unit of GDP 0.4501 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), per capita 9,150 current LCU per person (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.3119 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per capita 6,340 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), annual growth rate 26.84 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2013 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Bulgaria?
- Share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Bulgaria was 27.6% in 2023, according to Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 56.0% in 1986.
- What is the lowest share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.6% in 2016.
- How does Bulgaria rank for share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita?
- Bulgaria ranks 27th out of 184 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Government consumption divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.