This report tracks Bulgaria's self-employment rate, gender differences and the structure of independent work.
Bulgaria’s self-employment rate stood at 11.8% in 2025, down by 0.1 percentage points from the previous year. Female self-employment was 8.9%, compared with 14.3% for men. Employers represented 4.9% and contributing family workers represented 0.2%.
Based on comparable data for 2025, Bulgaria recorded the 162nd-highest self-employment share among 187 economies. Its five-year change ranked 3rd of 187 economies with sufficient observations.
Bulgaria Self-Employment by Gender by Year
Data source: World Bank, World Development Indicators — Self-employed, total, % of total employment, modeled ILO estimate (SL.EMP.SELF.ZS); Self-employed, female, % of female employment, modeled ILO estimate (SL.EMP.SELF.FE.ZS); Self-employed, male, % of male employment, modeled ILO estimate (SL.EMP.SELF.MA.ZS); Employers, total, % of total employment, modeled ILO estimate (SL.EMP.MPYR.ZS); Contributing family workers, total, % of total employment, modeled ILO estimate (SL.FAM.WORK.ZS); Vulnerable employment, total, % of total employment, modeled ILO estimate (SL.EMP.VULN.ZS); Wage and salaried workers, total, % of total employment, modeled ILO estimate (SL.EMP.WORK.ZS).
License: CC BY-4.0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
About the Indicators
Self-employed, total, modeled ILO estimate. Workers who are sole or joint owners of the businesses in which they work, including own-account workers, employers and cooperative members, as a share of total employment.
Self-employed, female, modeled ILO estimate. The self-employment rate among employed women, using the same definition as the total self-employment indicator.
Self-employed, male, modeled ILO estimate. The self-employment rate among employed men, using the same definition as the total self-employment indicator.
Employers, modeled ILO estimate. Self-employed workers who employ one or more employees, as a share of total employment.
Contributing family workers, modeled ILO estimate. Workers who help run a family business or farm without a formal wage, as a share of total employment.
Vulnerable employment, modeled ILO estimate. The combined share of own-account workers and contributing family workers in total employment; a group that generally lacks formal work arrangements and social protection.
Wage and salaried workers, modeled ILO estimate. Employees holding paid employment jobs, as a share of total employment.