Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Bulgaria

Bulgaria: Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) was 88.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
88.2%
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
26th
of 187 countries
All-time high
89.3%
in 2020
All-time low
83.1%
in 1994
Years of data
35
1991–2025

Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Bulgaria, 1991–2025

0204060801991200820251991: 83.61992: 83.41993: 83.21994: 83.11995: 83.11996: 83.31997: 83.31998: 83.41999: 83.22000: 83.12001: 84.32002: 84.42003: 83.82004: 83.92005: 85.72006: 86.92007: 87.62008: 87.72009: 87.72010: 87.22011: 882012: 88.42013: 88.32014: 87.32015: 87.72016: 88.42017: 88.12018: 882019: 88.52020: 89.32021: 88.82022: 88.42023: 882024: 88.12025: 88.2

Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).

Analysis

The most recent figure for wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Bulgaria is 88.2%, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 0.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Bulgaria peaked at 89.3% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 83.1%, in 1994.

That places Bulgaria 26th out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.

Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Bulgaria, year by year

Annual values for Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in Bulgaria, 1991 to 2025.
Year Value Change
1991 83.6%
1992 83.4% -0.3%
1993 83.2% -0.2%
1994 83.1% -0.1%
1995 83.1% +0.0%
1996 83.3% +0.2%
1997 83.3% -0.0%
1998 83.4% +0.1%
1999 83.2% -0.2%
2000 83.1% -0.1%
2001 84.3% +1.3%
2002 84.4% +0.2%
2003 83.8% -0.8%
2004 83.9% +0.1%
2005 85.7% +2.2%
2006 86.9% +1.3%
2007 87.6% +0.8%
2008 87.7% +0.2%
2009 87.7% -0.1%
2010 87.2% -0.5%
2011 88.0% +0.8%
2012 88.4% +0.5%
2013 88.3% -0.2%
2014 87.3% -1.1%
2015 87.7% +0.5%
2016 88.4% +0.8%
2017 88.1% -0.4%
2018 88.0% -0.1%
2019 88.5% +0.6%
2020 89.3% +0.8%
2021 88.8% -0.6%
2022 88.4% -0.4%
2023 88.0% -0.5%
2024 88.1% +0.1%
2025 88.2% +0.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 83.3% 83.1% 83.6% 9
2000s 85.5% 83.1% 87.7% 10
2010s 88.0% 87.2% 88.5% 10
2020s 88.5% 88.0% 89.3% 6

Countries ranked near Bulgaria

  1. 23 Israel 88.7% compare
  2. 24 Lithuania 88.5% compare
  3. 25 Hungary 88.4% compare
  4. 27 Estonia 87.9% compare
  5. 28 Austria 87.8% compare
  6. 29 Finland 87.5% compare

See the full ranking of 235 places →

More work & labour data for Bulgaria

All data for Bulgaria →

Frequently asked questions

What is wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Bulgaria?
Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Bulgaria was 88.2% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
What is the highest wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) recorded in Bulgaria?
The highest recorded value was 89.3% in 2020.
What is the lowest wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) recorded in Bulgaria?
The lowest recorded value was 83.1% in 1994.
How does Bulgaria rank for wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment)?
Bulgaria ranks 26th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
Is wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Bulgaria?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) in Bulgaria. Statizoid, drawing on ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO). Retrieved 09 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/wage-and-salaried-workers-total-percent-of-total-employment-modeled-ilo-estimate/bulgaria/

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About this data

Indicator
Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)
Source
ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
235 places, 8,211 data points, 1991–2025
Last refreshed

Wage and salaried workers (employees) are those workers who hold the type of jobs defined as "paid employment jobs," where the incumbents hold explicit (written or oral) or implicit employment contracts that give them a basic remuneration that is not directly dependent upon the revenue of the unit for which they work.