Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) was 1.2% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Armed forces personnel in Bulgaria, 1990–2020
Source: The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies. Measured in % of total labor force.
Analysis
The most recent figure for armed forces personnel in Bulgaria is 1.2%, measured in 2020.
The figure is up 2.5% on the previous year and down 38.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in Bulgaria peaked at 4.0% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2017.
That places Bulgaria 57th out of 171 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % of total labor force | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3.7% | — |
| 1991 | 3.1% | -16.5% |
| 1992 | 2.9% | -7.0% |
| 1993 | 1.5% | -47.2% |
| 1994 | 2.3% | +53.9% |
| 1995 | 4.0% | +70.1% |
| 1996 | 4.0% | +1.6% |
| 1997 | 3.9% | -2.5% |
| 1998 | 3.9% | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 3.3% | -15.9% |
| 2000 | 3.3% | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 3.2% | -3.7% |
| 2002 | 3.0% | -5.5% |
| 2003 | 2.5% | -15.4% |
| 2004 | 2.5% | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 2.6% | +2.0% |
| 2006 | 2.2% | -14.5% |
| 2007 | 2.1% | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 2.1% | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 1.9% | -11.1% |
| 2010 | 1.9% | +1.9% |
| 2011 | 1.4% | -25.7% |
| 2012 | 1.4% | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 1.4% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 1.4% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 1.5% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | -31.7% |
| 2017 | 1.0% | -3.3% |
| 2018 | 1.2% | +21.2% |
| 2019 | 1.2% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 1.2% | +2.5% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 1.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.9%, 1.3× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 1.2% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.9%, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | +70.1% | 2.3% | 4.0% |
| 1994 | +53.9% | 1.5% | 2.3% |
| 1993 | -47.2% | 2.9% | 1.5% |
| 2016 | -31.7% | 1.5% | 1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.3% | 1.5% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.5% | 1.9% | 3.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.3% | 1.0% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More public sector data for Bulgaria
- Democracy, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Arms imports 540.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 0.464 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2022)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 200 % change on previous year (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in Bulgaria?
- Armed forces personnel in Bulgaria was 1.2% in 2020, according to The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies.
- What is the highest armed forces personnel recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 4.0% in 1996.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2017.
- How does Bulgaria rank for armed forces personnel?
- Bulgaria ranks 57th out of 171 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 38.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies, published as part of Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Armed forces personnel are active duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces if the training, organization, equipment, and control suggest they may be used to support or replace regular military forces. Labor force comprises all people who meet the International Labour Organization's definition of the economically active population.