Bulgaria is in second place, after Slovakia, in terms of the share of people at risk of poverty. According to Eurostat data for 2024, nearly 38% of the Bulgarian population cannot afford a diet that includes meat, fish or their vegetarian equivalent. In Slovakia, this share is nearly 40 percent. Hungary ranks immediately after Bulgaria with 37 percent.

Among the countries where people can afford a balanced and healthy diet are Cyprus with a share of 3.5 percent, Ireland and Portugal with just over 5%.

The ability of a person to afford a healthy protein meal with the necessary amino acids every second day is among the criteria used to calculate the percentage of people living in severe material deprivation and on the brink of poverty or social exclusion.

Editor: Darina Grigorova

Publication in English: Al Markov

Photo: ec.europa.eu/eurostat