Within the framework of the initiative “How Bulgarians Save“, a new economic index was presented – Wealth Index, which measures the wealth of households in Bulgaria. The index combines all types of financial wealth with a new methodology for assessing real estate, aiming to more accurately reflect the real economic value of assets owned by Bulgarian citizens. The initial value of the Index is 100 points in 2015, with its gross value reaching 262 points at the end of 2024.
The press conference was attended by EKIP economist Stoyan Panchev and TAVEX investment expert and CEO Max Baklayan, who presented the main results of the analysis. According to the data, by the end of 2024, the gross wealth of households in Bulgaria exceeded 1 trillion leva for the first time, reaching 1.00052 trillion leva. In nominal terms, this is equivalent to almost five times the size of the country's gross domestic product, or 493% of GDP. Per capita, there is an average of 155,424 leva, and per household - 349,135 leva. For the same year, the total gross wealth of households increased by 113 billion leva, which represents an increase of 12.7%. The value of housing alone increased by 95.5 billion leva, or 15.7% compared to the previous year.
In the long term, for the period between 2015 and 2024, a significant increase in accumulated wealth is reported. Total gross household wealth increased by BGN 618 billion, a 2.7-fold increase. The value of the housing stock increased by BGN 446 billion, or 174%, while gross financial wealth increased by BGN 172 billion, an increase of 138%. When liabilities are subtracted, the net growth in financial wealth amounts to BGN 138 billion.
“The study draws important conclusions regarding the structure of wealth in the country. About 70% of it is concentrated in real estate, while only 1.1% is accounted for by investments in other assets. This highlights the serious potential for the development of the investment culture in our country. At the same time, a previous study from the same campaign shows that only 22% of Bulgarians have the habit of saving, and only 6% of them invest, which means that only 1.3% of the population actively participates in the investment markets,” shared Max Baklayan.
The experts also drew attention to the fact that after 2021, inflationary processes begin to significantly affect the real value of accumulated wealth, with nominal values increasingly reflecting the purchasing power of assets. “Furthermore, the dominant weight of real estate in household portfolios poses a potential risk to financial stability in the event of a repeat of scenarios similar to the 2008 crisis”, added Stoyan Panchev.
The introduction of the new index marks an important step towards a deeper understanding of the economic situation of households and sets the stage for a public debate on the need for better management of personal finances.