Potential labour force (current ILO definition - ICLS19) in Bulgaria

Bulgaria: Potential labour force (current ILO definition - ICLS19) was 58.31 in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
58.31
Change on year
down 19.7%
World rank
39th
of 61 countries
All-time high
256.86
in 2014
All-time low
58.31
in 2024
Years of data
11
2014–2024

Potential labour force (current ILO definition - ICLS19) in Bulgaria, 2014–2024

501001502002502014201920242014: 256.92015: 226.32016: 226.22017: 159.62018: 133.42019: 98.12020: 972021: 112.52022: 95.92023: 72.62024: 58.3

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

Bulgaria recorded 58.31 for potential labour force (current ilo definition - icls19) in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.

That represents a change of down 19.7% on the previous year and down 77.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, potential labour force (current ilo definition - icls19) in Bulgaria peaked at 256.86 in 2014 and was at its lowest, 58.31, in 2024.

Bulgaria ranks 39th of 61 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.

Potential labour force (current ILO definition - ICLS19) in Bulgaria, year by year

Annual values for Potential labour force (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+) in Bulgaria, 2014 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2014 256.86
2015 226.35 -11.9%
2016 226.18 -0.1%
2017 159.59 -29.4%
2018 133.37 -16.4%
2019 98.13 -26.4%
2020 97.03 -1.1%
2021 112.51 +15.9%
2022 95.92 -14.7%
2023 72.58 -24.3%
2024 58.31 -19.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 183.41 98.13 256.86 6
2020s 87.27 58.31 112.51 5

Countries ranked near Bulgaria

  1. 36 Israel 68.32 compare
  2. 37 Hungary 65.52 compare
  3. 38 Costa Rica 63.72 compare
  4. 40 Bosnia and Herzegovina 52.07
  5. 41 Singapore 50.76
  6. 42 Uruguay 50.56 compare

See the full ranking of 61 places →

More work & labour data for Bulgaria

All data for Bulgaria →

Frequently asked questions

What is potential labour force (current ilo definition - icls19) in Bulgaria?
Potential labour force (current ilo definition - icls19) in Bulgaria was 58.31 in 2024, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest potential labour force (current ilo definition - icls19) recorded in Bulgaria?
The highest recorded value was 256.86 in 2014.
What is the lowest potential labour force (current ilo definition - icls19) recorded in Bulgaria?
The lowest recorded value was 58.31 in 2024.
How does Bulgaria rank for potential labour force (current ilo definition - icls19)?
Bulgaria ranks 39th out of 61 countries with data for 2024.
Is potential labour force (current ilo definition - icls19) rising or falling in Bulgaria?
Over the last ten years it is down 77.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Potential labour force (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Potential labour force (current ILO definition - ICLS19) in Bulgaria. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/potential-labour-force-current-ilo-definition-icls19-15/bulgaria/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/potential-labour-force-current-ilo-definition-icls19-15/bulgaria/">Potential labour force (current ILO definition - ICLS19) in Bulgaria</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Potential labour force (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+)
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
61 places, 595 data points, 2014–2025
Last refreshed

With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series includes only countries for which the 19th ICLS definitions are applied. The potential labour force refers to persons not in employment who express an interest in this form of work but for whom existing conditions limit their active job search and/or their availability. This group is used to calculate alternative measures of labour underutilization. For more information, refer to the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database description.