3 ms·
Even the poorest EU countries are actually surprisingly wealthy. Bulgaria was switching to Euro on the new year’s eve and the easiest way to convert Leva to Eu
by mrtksn 9mo ago
Even the poorest EU countries are actually surprisingly wealthy.
Bulgaria was switching to Euro on the new year’s eve and the easiest way to convert Leva to Euro was to put the money into the bank, so Bulgarian deposits reached 100B+ levas into personal accounts by November which converts to ~50B+ Euros. Which is over 10K Euros per Bulgarian adult. Not bad for the poorest country, considering that home ownership rate is also very high(%86 IIRC).
The life is pretty good for a GDP per capita of $18K.
- sgloutnikov 9mo agoThose numbers are quite off. The total amount of Leva in circulation at the end of 2024 was round 30B. End of November 2025 in circulation around 23B.
- mrtksn 9mo agoHere’s a source: https://sofiaglobe.com/2025/12/23/on-the-eve-of-the-euro-zone-bulgarian-household-deposits-top-100b-leva/ https://sofiaglobe.com/2025/12/23/on-the-eve-of-the-euro-zon... By the mid January %58 of the leva were removed from circulation BTW.
- sgloutnikov 9mo agoTotal deposits in the bank accounts sure. I understood it as they deposited 100B of their cash into their bank accounts by November.
- mrtksn 9mo agofair, edited for clarification
- torginus 9mo agoHome ownership can be a deceptive stat in Eastern Europe - many people don't register their address at the place they rent - in part because they're renting it under the table. Tons of folks also live with their parents into their 30s.
- alecco 9mo agoThe Spanish taxman announced this week they will consider a taxable gift when adults live at their parents home. Anything to keep the juicy inflation-adjusted pensions and their votes. When people talk about EU home ownership, savings, etc. they often neglect to mention the skew of the Boomer class. It really sucks for young people.