POPULATION
6.4m
CURRENCY
лв (BGN)
CAPITAL CITY
Sofia
Bulgaria, a country in Southeastern Europe, is known for its rich history, diverse culture, and stunning natural landscapes. From the ancient ruins of Plovdiv to the picturesque landscapes of the Balkan Mountains, Bulgaria offers a unique blend of tradition and modernity.
The country's economy is transitioning towards a market-oriented system, with key sectors including tourism, agriculture, energy, and manufacturing. Bulgaria's strategic location, improving infrastructure, and growing economy present opportunities for investment and regional cooperation.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only. We do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this content. It is not legal advice and shall not be relied on as such.
All employment contracts must be made in writing and must contain information regarding the workplace, nature of the job, duration of the agreement, annual leave, notice period, remuneration, termination, training, etc. Upon the conclusion of an employment contract, the National Revenue Authority must be notified within 3 days. Employees must receive a signed copy of the agreement and a copy of the notification certified by the National Revenue Authority.
There are no provisions or guidance on implied or oral contracts in Bulgaria as written contracts are mandatory.
There are no provisions or guidance on implied or oral contracts in Bulgaria as written contracts are mandatory.
The standard workweek is 40 hours or 8 hours per day. For employees working in risky work environments or employees under 18 years of age, the daily working hours are reduced by 1 hour.
An employer can extend working hours on some working days for business reasons by giving a written order. Employees can then be compensated through a respective reduction of the workday duration on other days. The duration of extended working hours cannot exceed 10 hours a day.
From June 1, 2025, employers are required to maintain a single electronic work record for each employee that contains data and circumstances related to the employee's work activity, including working hours. This record must be uploaded to a digital employment register maintained by the National Revenue Agency.
According to the Labor Code of Bulgaria, employment contracts can include a probationary period of up to 6 months. If the duration of the employment contract is less than 1 year, the probationary period cannot exceed 1 month. An employee can undergo probation only once with the same employer. During the trial period, the parties shall have all rights and duties they would have had under a final employment contract.
The minimum notice period for dismissal is 30 days in the case of indefinite term employment contracts (the notice period cannot exceed 3 months). For fixed-term contracts, the notice period is 3 months but not more than the remainder of the contract term. The notice period must be confirmed in writing. Employment contracts can be terminated without notice in case of misconduct, falsification of identity/qualification, medical reasons, etc.
If a contract is terminated before the expiry of the notice period or without a notice period, the initiating party will be responsible for paying the other party for the remaining notice period.
Severance benefits are paid according to the reason for termination:
Employees dismissed due to disciplinary issues are not entitled to severance pay.
In Bulgaria, the minimum wage is set by the Council of Ministers. Effective January 1, 2024, the minimum wage is BGN 1,077 (Bulgarian lev) per month.
The Labor Code requires the employer to pay labor remuneration in advance or in a lump sum twice a month unless otherwise agreed. The payroll cycle is generally monthly, with payment being made on the last working day.
Work done above the standard working hours of 8 hours a day is considered overtime. Overtime is limited to 3 hours per day or night work and 30 hours of day overtime or 20 hours of night overtime per month. Overtime is only allowed in emergency cases. Overtime is prohibited for employees under 18 years of age and pregnant employees. Actual premium rates for overtime are determined by agreement between the employer and employee. The minimum premium increase rates are as follows:
Employees on annual leave are paid their average remuneration for the duration of the leave.
The following visa categories are issued in Bulgaria:
Foreign nationals wishing to work in Bulgaria are required to obtain a work permit from the Employment Agency in Bulgaria. There are several types of permits available:
Employers must comply with rules limiting foreign workers to 20% of the workforce (35% for small and medium businesses), ensure equal pay and conditions for these workers, and verify that the employee has the qualifications and experience required for the role.
Researchers, third-country nationals admitted as interns, and EU citizens do not require a work permit.
Population 6.4m
Population in total, including all residents regardless of legal status © 2024 - WBG • EUROSTAT
77%
Urban Population
82.4%
Internet access
84.7%
Banking access
100%
Mobile phone access
Population: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), uri: https://population.un.org/wpp/, publisher: UN Population Division; Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices, National Statistical Offices, uri: https://unstats.un.org/home/nso_sites/, publisher: National Statistical Offices; Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, Eurostat (ESTAT), uri: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database?node_code=earn_ses_monthly, publisher: Eurostat; Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), United Nations (UN), uri: https://unstats.un.org, publisher: UN Statistics Division
Urban Population: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), uri: https://population.un.org/wup/, publisher: UN Population Division
Internet access: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, ITU (ITU), uri: https://datahub.itu.int/
Banking access: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • FINDEX, WBG (WB), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/globalfindex
Mobile phone access: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, ITU (ITU)
Employees become entitled to a paid annual leave of at least 20 days once they complete 8 months of service. Annual leave is extended by at least 5 days for employees working in harmful or hazardous conditions and for those who work an unstructured workday. Employees under 18 years of age are entitled to 26 days of paid annual leave.
Employees must pay employees a remuneration equal to the average daily gross remuneration during annual leave. It is prohibited to pay cash in lieu of annual leave, except in cases of termination.
The paid annual leave can be used in parts or at once. Employees must obtain written permission from their employers. Annual leave must be used until the end of the relevant calendar year, but it can be postponed by a year if work circumstances require it.
Employees are entitled to sick leave authorized by health authorities in case of temporary disability resulting from a general disease, an occupational disease, occupational injury, etc. Employers must pay 70% of the daily remuneration for the first 2 days. After that, employees who have worked for at least 6 months are eligible to cash benefits equal to 80% of their remuneration paid by the National Social Insurance Institute. The benefit for temporary disability due to an occupational accident or disease is 90% of the daily remuneration. This benefit is paid for a maximum of 18 months.
The Labor Code of Bulgaria provides a maternity leave of 410 days for each child, 45 days of which are to be taken before delivery. The employee can use the remaining 410 days based on a written request submitted to the employer. If a child is stillborn or dies while in full-time infant state support or adoption, the mother has the right to leave for 42 days from birth. With the mother's consent, after the child has reached the age of six months, the father may use the remaining leave until 410 days instead of her.
When they are married to the mother or living in the same household, fathers are entitled to a 15-day childbirth leave starting from the child's delivery date. Employees must inform their employers in writing when availing themselves of this leave. With the mother's consent, after the child attains 6 months of age, the father may use the remaining days of the 410-day maternity leave instead of the mother. When the father is unknown, the leave can be used by one of the mother's parents.
From March 2023, fathers can also avail a 2 month paid leave until the child turns 8, if they have not utilized the paternity leave of 15 days. This leave can be used all at once or in parts. This leave is paid at the rate of minimum wage by the National Social Security Institute. They must inform their employers at least 10 days in advance.
The legal age of retirement as of 2025 is 62 years and 4 months for women (increasing by 2 months a year until 2029 and 3 months a year after that until it reaches 65 years in 2037) and 64 years and 8 months for men (increasing by 1 month each year till it reaches 65 years in 2037).
To be eligible for a pension, employees must have made contributions for 15 years and worked 36 years and 6 months for women and 39 years and 6 months for men, increasing by 2 months each year till it reaches 37 years for women and 40 years for men in 2027.
The old-age pension amount is calculated as the total of 1.2% of each service year's pensionable income (monthly average income of that year). Currently, the minimum pension is BGN 580.57 (Bulgarian levs) per month, and the maximum social insurance income is BGN 3,750 per month.
Persons who have reached the age of 70 years and do not receive any other pension (including from any other country) are entitled to a social pension if their family's average income is less than the national minimum wage. The current social old-age pension is BGN 307.07 per month.
Eligible survivors include a widow, widower, children under the age of 18 years or 26 years if they are studying, and parents over the typical retirement age who do not receive a pension. The surviving spouse is entitled to pension 5 years before retirement age or earlier if they are disabled.
The pension to survivors is calculated as a percentage of the pension due to the deceased insured person depending on the number of survivors, ranging from 50% for 1 survivor to 100% for 3 and more.
In case of death due to an occupational accident or disease, the spouse, children, and parents are entitled to a lump sum benefit and a survivor's pension. The minimum pension for survivors is BGN 580.57 (Bulgarian levs) per month, and the maximum is BGN 3,400.
Those who have lost 50% or more of their ability to work permanently or for an extended period can receive benefits. They must fulfill certain conditions to be eligible. The disability pension is equal to 1.2% of the average monthly income for each year of service, multiplied by coefficients depending on the degree of disability ranging from 0.5 to 0.9. There are minimum levels of pension determined by the government each year.
People with disability due to work-related accidents or diseases are entitled to monthly pensions if the disability is more than 50% and is permanent. The amount of disability pension is equal to the country's average monthly insurance income for 12 calendar months before the month during which the pension is granted, multiplied by a coefficient depending on the level of disability.
Persons over the age of 16 years and under 70 years with a permanent disability of more than 71% are eligible for social disability pension.
The minimum working age in Bulgaria is 16 years. In exceptional cases, children over 15 years of age can be employed in light work that is not hazardous or harmful to their physical, mental, or moral health and that does not impede their school attendance. Those under the age of 16 may work with the authorization of the labor inspector on a case-by-case basis.
The working hours of employees under 18 are 35 working hours per week and 7 hours per day for a 5-day workweek. Employees under 18 are entitled to a basic paid annual leave of not less than 26 working days, including during the calendar year during which they attain 18 years of age.
Employers must inform minor employees and their parents or guardians about the possible risks of the job and the measures taken to provide healthy and safe labor conditions.
Unemployment 4.1%
Share of the labor force that is unemployed, but available for and seeking employment © 2024 - WBG • ILO
56.7%
Labor force population share
46.8%
Female share of labor force
73%
Healthcare access
Unemployment: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), ILO (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: January 07, 2025.
Labor force (total): The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • ILO (ILO), type: estimates based on external database; United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division; Staff estimates, WBG (WB)
Labor force population share: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), ILO (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: January 07, 2025
Female share of labor force: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • ILO (ILO), type: estimates based on external database; United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division; Staff estimates, WBG (WB)
Healthcare access: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • GHO, WHO (WHO), uri: https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/service-coverage
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