The Richest Fifth of Bulgarians Earn Seven Times the Poorest Fifth
Silver Data Lab Research Desk · Statistical analysis · Published on 11 June 2026
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- Data source
- Eurostat
- Reference period
- 2025
- Last updated
- 17 August 2026
Key estimates
- Across the EU, the richest fifth of the population received 4.6 times the income of the poorest fifth in 2025.
- Bulgaria records 6.9, Latvia 6.7 and Lithuania 6.5 — the three widest in the Union.
- Belgium records 3.2, and Czechia and Slovakia 3.3.
- All four of the Union's largest economies sit above the EU figure: Spain at 5.2, Italy at 5.1, France and Germany both at 4.7.
- The measure compares the top and bottom fifths and ignores everything in between.
A ratio between two ends of a distribution
The S80/S20 ratio divides the total income received by the richest 20% of a population by the total received by the poorest 20%. A value of 4.6, the EU figure for 2025, means the top fifth collectively received four and a half times what the bottom fifth did.
It is a deliberately narrow measure. It says nothing about the sixty per cent in the middle, and a country can redistribute substantially within that range without moving the ratio at all.
The widest gaps
Bulgaria records 6.9, the highest in the Union. Latvia follows at 6.7 and Lithuania at 6.5.
The three Baltic and Balkan positions at the top are worth setting against the tenure and ownership data: these are also countries with very high home ownership, acquired through 1990s privatisation. High asset ownership and wide income inequality coexist there, which they do not in the Union's more equal economies.
Greece and Spain follow at 5.2, Estonia and Italy at 5.1.
The narrowest
Belgium records 3.2, the lowest ratio in the Union, with Czechia and Slovakia at 3.3, and Slovenia at 3.5.
Czechia and Slovakia in that group are the observation that separates this ranking from income. Both have GDP per capita below the EU average — 92 and 75 respectively — and both distribute income more evenly than any western Member State except Belgium.
Lithuania, and why one indicator is never enough
Lithuania records the third-widest income inequality in the Union at 6.5. It also records the Union's only negative gender employment gap, with women more likely to be in work than men.
A country can be unusually equal on one dimension and unusually unequal on another. Neither figure qualifies the other, and a summary judgement about how equal Lithuania is would have to choose which of the two to ignore.
Income quintile share ratio S80/S20, 2025
| Country | Ratio | Gap to EU averagepercentage points, derived |
|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 6.9 | +2.3 |
| Latvia | 6.7 | +2.1 |
| Lithuania | 6.5 | +1.9 |
| European Unionaggregate | 4.6 | — |
| Czechia | 3.3 | −1.3 |
| Slovakia | 3.3 | −1.3 |
| Belgium | 3.2 | −1.4 |
What these figures cannot tell you
- Only the two ends are compared
- The ratio uses the top and bottom quintiles and discards the middle sixty per cent. Two countries with identical ratios can have very different distributions between those points.
- Disposable income, after transfers
- Income here is measured after taxes and social transfers, so the ratio reflects redistribution as well as market outcomes. A country with wide pre-tax inequality and strong redistribution can record a narrow ratio.
- Equivalised, not per household
- Household income is adjusted for household size and composition before ranking, using a standard equivalence scale. That scale is a convention and affects the result.
- Wealth is not income
- This measures annual income flows and excludes assets entirely. Countries with high home ownership and low income inequality, or the reverse, are common, and this indicator sees only one of the two.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the S80/S20 ratio?
- The total income of the richest fifth of a population divided by the total income of the poorest fifth, measured after taxes and transfers. Across the EU it was 4.6 in 2025.
- Which EU country has the widest income inequality?
- On this measure Bulgaria, at 6.9 in 2025, followed by Latvia at 6.7 and Lithuania at 6.5.
- Which EU country is the most equal?
- Belgium, at 3.2 in 2025, with Czechia and Slovakia at 3.3. Both Czechia and Slovakia have GDP per capita below the EU average, so the ranking does not follow national income.
- Does this measure wealth inequality?
- No. The ratio covers annual disposable income and excludes assets entirely. A country can have narrow income inequality and very unequal wealth, and this indicator would not show it.
Methodological note
The S80/S20 income quintile share ratio is published by Eurostat from EU-SILC as the ratio of total equivalised disposable income received by the top 20% of the population to that received by the bottom 20%.
Values are for 2025, the most recent year with complete coverage of the 27 Member States at the extraction date.
The comparisons with home ownership and with the gender employment gap draw on companion studies on this site, each from its own extraction.
Source data
The underlying series can be inspected and re-downloaded from the Eurostat data browser. The filters below are the ones applied.
Income quintile share ratio S80/S20 for disposable income
ilc_di11
- Filters applied:
- freq=A · age=TOTAL · sex=T · unit=RAT · time=2025
- Extracted:
- 2026-08-11
- Source last updated:
- 2026-06-08
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