R&D spending share of GDP in Bulgaria
Spending on research and development in Bulgaria was equal to 0.74% of GDP in 2025. The value for 2025 is the lowest since 2017.
The latest value carries the source flag “Provisional”.
Bulgaria, 2025
0.74%p (Provisional)
Change from 2024
−0.03percentage points
European Union, 2024
2.26%e (Estimated)
Median of European Union (27 countries), 2025
1.57%
R&D spending share of GDP in Bulgaria over time
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Bulgaria
European Union
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The chart loads when you scroll to it. The table below shows the same data.
The chart shows a calculation from the published values. The table below keeps the published values.
% of GDP. Source: Eurostat. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.
| Period | Bulgaria | European Union |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.74%p (provisional) | – |
| 2024 | 0.77% | 2.26%e (estimated) |
| 2023 | 0.79% | 2.25%e (estimated) |
| 2022 | 0.75% | 2.22%e (estimated) |
| 2021 | 0.77% | 2.24%e (estimated) |
| 2020 | 0.85% | 2.28%e (estimated) |
| 2019 | 0.84% | 2.21%e (estimated) |
| 2018 | 0.76% | 2.17%e (estimated) |
| 2017 | 0.74% | 2.14% |
| 2016 | 0.77% | 2.10%e (estimated) |
| 2015 | 0.95% | 2.10% |
| 2014 | 0.79% | 2.09%e (estimated) |
| 2013 | 0.63% | 2.08%e (estimated) |
| 2012 | 0.60% | 2.06%e (estimated) |
| 2011 | 0.53% | 2.00%e (estimated) |
| 2010 | 0.56% | 1.96%e (estimated) |
| 2009 | 0.49% | 1.96%e (estimated) |
| 2008 | 0.45% | 1.87%e (estimated) |
| 2007 | 0.43% | 1.79%e (estimated) |
| 2006 | 0.44% | 1.80%e (estimated) |
| 2005 | 0.44% | 1.78%e (estimated) |
| 2004 | 0.47% | 1.79%e (estimated) |
| 2003 | 0.47% | 1.82%e (estimated) |
| 2002 | 0.46% | 1.83%e (estimated) |
| 2001 | 0.45% | 1.82%e (estimated) |
Flags: p provisional; e estimated . A dash means no value was published.
In short
- That is a change of −0.03 percentage points from 0.77% in 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 0.95%, the figure has changed by −0.21 percentage points.
More for Bulgaria
All statistics for Bulgaria
R&D spending share of GDP
0.79%
2023 · World Bank
Researchers per million people
2,401 per million people
2023 · World Bank
Researchers as a share of the labour force
0.60%
2024 · Eurostat
European patent applications
11.2p (Provisional) per million people
2025 · Eurostat
Scientific and technical journal articles
4,998 articles
2023 · World Bank