EVERY FIFTH PERSON IN BULGARIA LIVES IN POVERTY

The income of more than one and a half million Bulgarians in 2014 was below the poverty line of BGN 323.75 per month. This means that almost 22% of the population lives in poverty, national statistics show.

Since 2008, when the survey was first conducted, the highest poverty rate was in 2011. According to Bulgaria’s National Statistical Institute, the number of poor people would have been even higher, over 27%, if there weren’t social welfare payments from the government – benefits, social and family allowances.

Almost three thirds of the working poor do not have higher education or are not educated. Typical poor family consists of an elderly person who lives alone, or a single parent with children or a couple with more than three children