Bulgarian households remain among the least indebted in the European Union, according to the latest Eurostat data. Household debt in Bulgaria represents 28% of the country’s gross domestic product, placing it among the lowest levels in the bloc.
Only seven EU countries report a lower household debt-to-GDP ratio, with Romania recording the smallest share at 12.3%. At the same time, Bulgaria registered a 5.4% increase in household debt between 2017 and 2025.
The latest figures challenge the common perception that southern European households are the most heavily reliant on borrowing, while northern Europeans are more financially cautious. Eurostat data show that the highest levels of household debt are concentrated mainly in wealthy northern and western European economies.
Across the European Union, household debt stood at 49.4% of GDP in 2025, while the euro area average reached 50.7%. Both indicators have been declining every year since 2020, when household debt levels exceeded 60% of GDP.
The indicator includes mortgages, consumer loans and other forms of household credit and measures total household liabilities as a share of national economic output. It does not show the average debt held by individual households but instead reflects how dependent households in a country are on borrowed money compared with the size of the economy.
