Bulgaria Government Spending

Bulgaria’s government spending as a share of GDP has fallen sharply since the early 1990s, moving from an all‑time peak of 53.52 percent in 1990 to a historic low of 26.23 percent in 1997, before stabilising at 39.67 percent in 2025, which places the country at rank 23 globally. The decline reflects the fiscal consolidation that followed the transition from a centrally planned economy, with the 1997 trough coinciding with severe macro‑economic adjustment programmes. Over the subsequent three decades the level has hovered around the high‑30s, closely matching peers such as Poland (39.74 percent) and Czechia (39.58 percent), suggesting a convergence toward the fiscal norms of other Central‑European economies. The modest rise from the 1997 trough indicates a gradual re‑expansion of public expenditure, yet the figure remains well below the 1990 peak, implying limited scope for large‑scale fiscal stimulus without risking debt sustainability. Future trajectories will depend on the balance between demographic pressures, EU structural fund inflows and the government’s willingness to raise taxes or re‑allocate spending toward growth‑enhancing sectors.