Bulgaria has the highest rate of persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the European Union (EU), Eurostat, the statistics office, warned.

Some 49% of Bulgarian citizens are on the brink of poverty, showed the latest report from Brussels. Romania and Latvia occupy second and third place, respectively, with 40% each, followed by Lithuania, Greece and Hungary, with 33% for the Baltic state and 31% for the latter two.

The Netherlands and Sweden are at the bottom of the ranking with 16% and the Czech Republic with 15%.

Currently, almost one in four EU citizens is plagued by low income and social exclusion, according to Eurostat. Poverty is a palpable threat for another 17% of people living within the currency union.

Bulgaria has the worst ranking in terms of one more criteria. Officials in Brussels say nearly 9% of EU citizens lack material wealth, their share reaching 44% in Bulgaria. By contrast, only one percent of the population of Luxembourg and Sweden share the same fate.

Unemployment in Bulgaria has risen to 12.6% in October, according to data from Eurostat. There was a slight upward revision of the rate for September to 12.5% from the preliminary reading of 12.4%.

The National Employment Agency (NEA) recorded an increase in the number of unemployed in October, which is a serious deviation from the Eurostat figures explained by the difference in methodology. According to NEA the unemployment rate has risen to 11% after the summer season effects wound down.

Unemployment rose to 11.7% for the Eurozone in October and 10.7% for the whole EU.