Happiness vs. life satisfaction in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Happiness vs. life satisfaction was 5.7 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Happiness vs. life satisfaction in Bulgaria, 2011–2025
Source: Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Bulgaria recorded 5.7 for happiness vs. life satisfaction in 2025. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.7% on the previous year and up 35.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, happiness vs. life satisfaction in Bulgaria peaked at 5.7 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 3.89, in 2011.
That places Bulgaria 84th out of 157 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Happiness vs. life satisfaction in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 3.89 | — |
| 2012 | 3.98 | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 4.22 | +6.0% |
| 2015 | 4.22 | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 4.71 | +11.8% |
| 2017 | 4.93 | +4.6% |
| 2018 | 5.01 | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 5.1 | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 5.27 | +3.2% |
| 2021 | 5.37 | +2.0% |
| 2022 | 5.47 | +1.8% |
| 2023 | 5.46 | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 5.55 | +1.7% |
| 2025 | 5.7 | +2.7% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 5.7 is below the median for high income countries, which is 6.63, 86% of the median. (51 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 5.7 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 6.4, 89% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.51 | 3.89 | 5.1 | 8 |
| 2020s | 5.47 | 5.27 | 5.7 | 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 happiness vs. life satisfaction in Bulgaria?
- Happiness vs. life satisfaction in Bulgaria was 5.7 in 2025, according to Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest happiness vs. life satisfaction recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 5.7 in 2025.
- What is the lowest happiness vs. life satisfaction recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.89 in 2011.
- How does Bulgaria rank for happiness vs. life satisfaction?
- Bulgaria ranks 84th out of 157 countries with data for 2025.
- Is happiness vs. life satisfaction rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 35.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from Wellbeing Research Centre (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Happiness vs. life satisfaction. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average of survey responses. The survey question asks respondents their current position on a hypothetical ladder, where the best possible life for them is a 10, and the worst possible life is a 0.