Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force in Bulgaria

Bulgaria: Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force was 2,472 Persons in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
2,472 Persons
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
25th
of 33 countries
All-time high
3,472 Persons
in 2000
All-time low
2,442 Persons
in 2023
Years of data
26
2000–2025

Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force in Bulgaria, 2000–2025

01.0k2.0k3.0k2000201220252000: 3.5k Persons2001: 3.3k Persons2002: 3.4k Persons2003: 3.4k Persons2004: 3.4k Persons2005: 3.4k Persons2006: 3.2k Persons2007: 3.1k Persons2008: 3.1k Persons2009: 3.1k Persons2010: 3.0k Persons2011: 3.0k Persons2012: 3.0k Persons2013: 2.9k Persons2014: 2.9k Persons2015: 2.8k Persons2016: 2.9k Persons2017: 2.7k Persons2018: 2.7k Persons2019: 2.5k Persons2020: 2.5k Persons2021: 2.5k Persons2022: 2.5k Persons2023: 2.4k Persons2024: 2.4k Persons2025: 2.5k Persons

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Persons.

Analysis

In 2025, population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force in Bulgaria stood at 2,472 Persons.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.9% on the previous year and down 12.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force in Bulgaria peaked at 3,472 Persons in 2000 and was at its lowest, 2,442 Persons, in 2023.

That places Bulgaria 25th out of 33 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 3,279 Persons 3,056 Persons 3,472 Persons 10
2010s 2,829 Persons 2,498 Persons 3,022 Persons 10
2020s 2,481 Persons 2,442 Persons 2,536 Persons 6

Countries ranked near Bulgaria

  1. 22 Sweden 2,812 Persons compare
  2. 23 Israel 2,691 Persons compare
  3. 24 Switzerland 2,491 Persons compare
  4. 26 Costa Rica 1,910 Persons compare
  5. 27 Finland 1,858 Persons compare
  6. 28 Denmark 1,768 Persons compare

See the full ranking of 46 places →

More work & labour data for Bulgaria

All data for Bulgaria →

Frequently asked questions

What is population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force in Bulgaria?
Population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force in Bulgaria was 2,472 Persons in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force recorded in Bulgaria?
The highest recorded value was 3,472 Persons in 2000.
What is the lowest population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force recorded in Bulgaria?
The lowest recorded value was 2,442 Persons in 2023.
How does Bulgaria rank for population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force?
Bulgaria ranks 25th out of 33 countries with data for 2025.
Is population outside the labour force — persons outside the labour force rising or falling in Bulgaria?
Over the last ten years it is down 12.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force in Bulgaria. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 21 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/population-outside-the-labour-force-persons-outside-the-labour-force/bulgaria/

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About this data

Indicator
Population outside the labour force — Persons outside the labour force
Unit
Persons
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
46 places, 1,266 data points, 1955–2025
Last refreshed

The infra-annual dataflow on the outside the labour force population is a subset of the infra-annual labour statistics database, which contains predominantly monthly and quarterly statistics on the outside the labour force population by age groups (15+, 15-24, 25-54, 55-64, 15-64 and 15-74 where available) and sex and associated statistical methodological information and associated statistical methodological information, for the OECD member countries and for selected other economies. The persons outside the labour force comprise all persons of working age who, during the specified reference period, were not in the labour force (that is, were not employed or unemployed). The infra-annual labour statistics compiled for all OECD member countries, are drawn from Labour Force Surveys based on definition provided by the 19th Conference of Labour Statisticians in 2013. The uniform application of these definitions across all OECD member countries results in estimates that are internationally comparable.