Bulgaria tops EU poverty risk ranking

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.

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