Data / Self-employed workers / Bulgaria

Self-employed workers in Bulgaria

Self-employed workers in Bulgaria was 11.8% in 2025, according to the World Bank. That is down 0.1 pts from 2024. That is the 20th highest of 27 EU countries in 2025.

202511.8%
Change on 2024-0.1 pts
Rank20th of 27EU countries ranked
Series high16.91994
Series low10.72020

Next release: Friday, 8 October 2027, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

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Self-employed workers in Bulgaria, 1991 to 2025

1012141618199119962001200620112016202120251991: 16.4 %1992: 16.6 %1993: 16.8 %1994: 16.9 %1995: 16.9 %1996: 16.7 %1997: 16.7 %1998: 16.6 %1999: 16.8 %2000: 16.9 %2001: 15.7 %2002: 15.6 %2003: 16.2 %2004: 16.1 %2005: 14.3 %2006: 13.1 %2007: 12.4 %2008: 12.3 %2009: 12.3 %2010: 12.8 %2011: 12 %2012: 11.6 %2013: 11.7 %2014: 12.7 %2015: 12.3 %2016: 11.6 %2017: 11.9 %2018: 12 %2019: 11.5 %2020: 10.7 %2021: 11.2 %2022: 11.6 %2023: 12 %2024: 11.9 %2025: 11.8 %101214161819912003201520251991: 16.4 %1992: 16.6 %1993: 16.8 %1994: 16.9 %1995: 16.9 %1996: 16.7 %1997: 16.7 %1998: 16.6 %1999: 16.8 %2000: 16.9 %2001: 15.7 %2002: 15.6 %2003: 16.2 %2004: 16.1 %2005: 14.3 %2006: 13.1 %2007: 12.4 %2008: 12.3 %2009: 12.3 %2010: 12.8 %2011: 12 %2012: 11.6 %2013: 11.7 %2014: 12.7 %2015: 12.3 %2016: 11.6 %2017: 11.9 %2018: 12 %2019: 11.5 %2020: 10.7 %2021: 11.2 %2022: 11.6 %2023: 12 %2024: 11.9 %2025: 11.8 %
%. Source: World Bank (modelled estimate), Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-18, published 2026-10-08.
All 35 values
Period%
202511.8
202411.9
202312
202211.6
202111.2
202010.7
201911.5
201812
201711.9
201611.6
201512.3
201412.7
201311.7
201211.6
201112
201012.8
200912.3
200812.3
200712.4
200613.1
200514.3
200416.1
200316.2
200215.6
200115.7
200016.9
199916.8
199816.6
199716.7
199616.7
199516.9
199416.9
199316.8
199216.6
199116.4

Bulgaria compared with nearby places

Austria: 12.2 %Belgium: 14.6 %Bulgaria: 11.8 %Cyprus: 10.2 %Czechia: 15.7 %Germany: 8.1 %Denmark: 7.9 %Estonia: 12.1 %Spain: 14.5 %Finland: 12.5 %France: 13.3 %Greece: 30.5 %Croatia: 12.7 %Hungary: 11.6 %Ireland: 13.4 %Italy: 21.1 %Lithuania: 11.5 %Luxembourg: 10.3 %Latvia: 13.7 %Malta: 13.9 %Netherlands: 16.8 %Poland: 18.9 %Portugal: 14.4 %Romania: 14.5 %Sweden: 10.2 %Slovenia: 14 %Slovakia: 14.9 %
  • Under 12
  • 12 to 13
  • 13 to 14
  • 14 to 15
  • 15 and over
Self-employed workers, 2025, %. Bulgaria is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: World Bank. Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

Rankings

Definition

Employers, own-account workers, members of producers' cooperatives and contributing family workers, whose pay depends directly on the profits of what they produce, as a percentage of total employment. ILO modelled estimates, ages 15 and over.

ILO modelled estimates: model outputs that fill years without a survey, not survey results. The latest year is a nowcast and is revised as surveys arrive. Includes unpaid family workers, so it is high where small farms dominate and is not a measure of entrepreneurship.

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How to cite

World Bank, World Development Indicators, modelled estimate. Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-18. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

World Bank. (2026). Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS) (Self-employed workers, Bulgaria, 1991 to 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS

MLA 9

Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS), Self-employed workers, Bulgaria, 1991 to 2025. World Bank, 8 Oct. 2026, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/self-employed-share/bulgaria. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

World Bank. 2026. Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS). Self-employed workers, Bulgaria, 1991 to 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/self-employed-share/bulgaria.

Harvard

World Bank (2026) Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS), Self-employed workers, Bulgaria, 1991 to 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/self-employed-share/bulgaria (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{world_self_employed_workers_bulgaria_2025,
  author = {{World Bank}},
  title = {{Self-employed, total (\% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS): Self-employed workers, Bulgaria, 1991 to 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS},
  urldate = {2026-10-18},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/self-employed-share/bulgaria. Publisher attribution: World Bank, World Development Indicators, modelled estimate. Self-employed, total (\% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-18. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - World Bank
TI  - Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS): Self-employed workers, Bulgaria, 1991 to 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
PB  - World Bank
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/self-employed-share/bulgaria
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/self-employed-share/bulgaria.
N1  - Publisher attribution: World Bank, World Development Indicators, modelled estimate. Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.EMP.SELF.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-18. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the self-employed workers in Bulgaria?

Self-employed workers in Bulgaria was 11.8% in 2025, according to the World Bank. That is down 0.1 pts from 2024. That is the 20th highest of 27 EU countries in 2025.

Where does this figure come from?

World Bank. Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS). Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-18.

What was the highest self-employed workers in Bulgaria?

16.9% in 1994, the highest value since 1991 in this series.

Self-employed workers elsewhere in European Union (27)

Related statistics for Bulgaria

All statistics for Bulgaria | Bulgaria in figures