Bulgaria records 3.67 billion euro Budget deficit in January-September 2026
Bulgaria’s Finance Ministry has recorded a consolidated Budget deficit of 3.67 billion euro in the first nine months of the year, or 2.8 per cent of this year’s estimated gross domestic product, the ministry said late on November 2.
The Budget deficit was wider than the figure recorded in same period of 2025, when Bulgaria recorded a Budget deficit of 6.06 billion leva, or 3.1 billion euro.
Preliminary data for October indicated a significant spike in the deficit, to 5.2 billion euro, which the ministry attributed to “an extensive increase in capital spending and transfers.”
Consolidated budget revenue in first nine months of the year was 33.9 billion euro, up 10.9 per cent compared to the same period of 2025, with tax revenues recording an increase of 9.9 per cent to 27.2 billion euro, the ministry said.
Spending was 37.57 billion euro, up 11.6 per cent from the same period of last year, with the bulk of the increase due to higher pensions and salaries in the public sector.
The ministry said that capital expenditures also saw “significant growth” due to the implementation of projects from the Bulgaria’s municipal investment programme and the country’s recovery and resilience plan under the EU’s NextGenerationEU programme.
(Photo: Alessandro Paiva/sxc.hu)
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