Bulgaria ends 2025 with 3.1% consolidated Budget deficit
Bulgaria’s Finance Ministry said on February 2 that the consolidated Budget deficit for the full year 2025 was 6.83 billion leva, on cash basis, or 3.1 per cent of the estimated gross domestic product.
The Budget shortfall for 2025 was marginally higher than the previous year, when the Finance Ministry reported a deficit of 6.14 billion leva, or three per cent of GDP.
The Finance Ministry that the budget shortfall was only “a minimal deviation” from the three per cent deficit target, despite “the multitude of comments concerning the significant worsening of the Budget balance.”
The ministry’s statement did not address the prospect that by missing the three per cent target, Bulgaria might face EU’s excessive deficit proceedings later this year.
Consolidated Budget revenues was 86.09 billion leva, an increase of 19.5 per cent over 2024, but 4.6 per cent short of the target set in the 2025 Budget Act.
The ministry said that the revenue increase was owed to the 15.3 per cent increase in tax revenue in 2025. The overall revenue rise was one of the largest year-on-year increases recorded in recent years, the ministry said, but gave no reason for the failure to meet the revenue target.
Consolidated Budget spending was 92.91 billion, 3.9 per cent below the Budget target, and 17.1 per cent higher than in 2024, the ministry said.
The ministry said that the increase was due primarily to higher social spending on pensions and increased “personnel spending” in the public sector, as well as capital spending on projects financed with EU funds.
(Photo: Pedro Moura Pinheiro/flickr.com)
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