Bulgaria Among EU’s Lowest Debt Countries - But Deficit Still Rising

Bulgaria ranks as one of the three European Union member states with the lowest government debt relative to GDP in the third quarter of 2025, though it also registered the second-highest increase in debt compared with the previous quarter, according to Eurostat.

At the same time, the country’s budget deficit in the same period exceeded the EU and eurozone averages. Eurostat data show that by the end of Q3 2025, the gross government debt-to-GDP ratio in the eurozone reached 88.5%, up from 88.2% in Q2, while the EU-wide ratio increased from 81.9% to 82.1%. Compared with the third quarter of 2024, debt levels also rose across both the euro area (from 87.7% to 88.5%) and the EU (from 81.3% to 82.1%).

Bulgaria’s government debt remained low at 28.4% of GDP, trailing only Estonia at 22.9% and Luxembourg at 27.9%. Among the EU countries, the highest debt-to-GDP ratios were recorded in Greece (149.7%), Italy (137.8%), France (117.7%), Belgium (107.1%), and Spain (103.2%).

Despite its low absolute debt, Bulgaria’s ratio climbed by 2.1 percentage points from the second quarter of 2025, from 26.3% to 28.4%, second only to Luxembourg’s 2.6-point increase within the EU.

Eurostat also highlighted changes in the budget deficit. In the euro area, the seasonally adjusted deficit rose to 3.2% of GDP in Q3 2025 from 2.8% in Q2, while in the EU overall it increased to 3.2% from 2.9%. Bulgaria’s seasonally adjusted general government deficit reached 3.6% of GDP in Q3 2025, improving from 5.9% in Q2 but slightly lower than 4.6% in Q3 2024.