Egalitarian Democracy Index in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Egalitarian Democracy Index was 0.442 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
0.442
Change on year
down 8.3%
World rank
63rd
of 175 countries
All-time high
0.575
in 1997
All-time low
0.145
in 1935
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Egalitarian Democracy Index in Bulgaria, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Bulgaria recorded 0.442 for egalitarian democracy index in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.3% on the previous year and down 14.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, egalitarian democracy index in Bulgaria peaked at 0.575 in 1997 and was at its lowest, 0.145, in 1935.
That places Bulgaria 63rd out of 175 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.
Egalitarian Democracy Index in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.182 | — |
| 1901 | 0.186 | +2.2% |
| 1902 | 0.186 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.185 | -0.5% |
| 1904 | 0.183 | -1.1% |
| 1905 | 0.183 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.183 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.183 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.187 | +2.2% |
| 1909 | 0.189 | +1.1% |
| 1910 | 0.189 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.189 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.185 | -2.1% |
| 1913 | 0.182 | -1.6% |
| 1914 | 0.179 | -1.6% |
| 1915 | 0.178 | -0.6% |
| 1916 | 0.178 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.178 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.178 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.188 | +5.6% |
| 1920 | 0.191 | +1.6% |
| 1921 | 0.191 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.192 | +0.5% |
| 1923 | 0.179 | -6.8% |
| 1924 | 0.169 | -5.6% |
| 1925 | 0.168 | -0.6% |
| 1926 | 0.169 | +0.6% |
| 1927 | 0.17 | +0.6% |
| 1928 | 0.17 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.17 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.174 | +2.4% |
| 1931 | 0.178 | +2.3% |
| 1932 | 0.18 | +1.1% |
| 1933 | 0.177 | -1.7% |
| 1934 | 0.153 | -13.6% |
| 1935 | 0.145 | -5.2% |
| 1936 | 0.145 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.147 | +1.4% |
| 1938 | 0.155 | +5.4% |
| 1939 | 0.152 | -1.9% |
| 1940 | 0.157 | +3.3% |
| 1941 | 0.155 | -1.3% |
| 1942 | 0.153 | -1.3% |
| 1943 | 0.158 | +3.3% |
| 1944 | 0.162 | +2.5% |
| 1945 | 0.185 | +14.2% |
| 1946 | 0.213 | +15.1% |
| 1947 | 0.235 | +10.3% |
| 1948 | 0.25 | +6.4% |
| 1949 | 0.251 | +0.4% |
| 1950 | 0.251 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.25 | -0.4% |
| 1952 | 0.25 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.252 | +0.8% |
| 1954 | 0.257 | +2.0% |
| 1955 | 0.257 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.257 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.258 | +0.4% |
| 1958 | 0.256 | -0.8% |
| 1959 | 0.256 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.258 | +0.8% |
| 1961 | 0.258 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.259 | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 0.259 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.259 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.259 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.259 | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 0.259 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.259 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.259 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.26 | +0.4% |
| 1971 | 0.259 | -0.4% |
| 1972 | 0.259 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.259 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.259 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.26 | +0.4% |
| 1976 | 0.259 | -0.4% |
| 1977 | 0.259 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.259 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.259 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.26 | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 0.26 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.26 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.26 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.26 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.257 | -1.2% |
| 1986 | 0.257 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.256 | -0.4% |
| 1988 | 0.256 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.257 | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 0.479 | +86.4% |
| 1991 | 0.513 | +7.1% |
| 1992 | 0.565 | +10.1% |
| 1993 | 0.562 | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 0.561 | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 0.56 | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 0.568 | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 0.575 | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 0.566 | -1.6% |
| 1999 | 0.574 | +1.4% |
| 2000 | 0.573 | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 0.542 | -5.4% |
| 2002 | 0.57 | +5.2% |
| 2003 | 0.57 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.568 | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 0.553 | -2.6% |
| 2006 | 0.559 | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 0.557 | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 0.563 | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 0.541 | -3.9% |
| 2010 | 0.529 | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 0.528 | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 0.519 | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 0.511 | -1.5% |
| 2014 | 0.523 | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 0.519 | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 0.515 | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 0.482 | -6.4% |
| 2018 | 0.476 | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 0.464 | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 0.451 | -2.8% |
| 2021 | 0.506 | +12.2% |
| 2022 | 0.544 | +7.5% |
| 2023 | 0.512 | -5.9% |
| 2024 | 0.482 | -5.9% |
| 2025 | 0.442 | -8.3% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 0.442 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.671, 66% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 0.442 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.608, 73% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Egalitarian Democracy Index in Bulgaria changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | +86.4% | 0.257 | 0.479 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.1847 | 0.182 | 0.189 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.1824 | 0.178 | 0.189 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.1769 | 0.168 | 0.192 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.1606 | 0.145 | 0.18 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.1919 | 0.153 | 0.251 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.2544 | 0.25 | 0.258 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.2588 | 0.258 | 0.259 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.2592 | 0.259 | 0.26 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2583 | 0.256 | 0.26 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5523 | 0.479 | 0.575 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5596 | 0.541 | 0.573 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5066 | 0.464 | 0.529 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4895 | 0.442 | 0.544 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More social development data for Bulgaria
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 105,596 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 533 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 533 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0164 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is egalitarian democracy index in Bulgaria?
- Egalitarian democracy index in Bulgaria was 0.442 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest egalitarian democracy index recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 0.575 in 1997.
- What is the lowest egalitarian democracy index recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.145 in 1935.
- How does Bulgaria rank for egalitarian democracy index?
- Bulgaria ranks 63rd out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is egalitarian democracy index rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Egalitarian Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent of suffrage, the freedom and fairness of elections, freedoms of association and expression, as well as the extent to which the protection of rights, access to power, and distribution of resources is equal.