Bulgarians ranked second in EU for their inability to pay utility bills on time

Bulgaria is ranked second in terms of the inability of Bulgarian consumers to pay their untility bills on time (30% of the households), the latest study of the EC on the income and living conditions (EU-SILC) shows. The data is based on 12 months period.

Grece is ranked in first place – 1/3 of the households (36%) are not able to pay their bills on time for the past 12 months.

Croatia and Romania are also ranked high when it comes to inability to pay bills (17.5% and 14%).

In contrast, only few households of the Netherlands, Check Republic, Sweden and Denmark are unable to pay their bills - only 2%.

Improving people's living conditions and combating poverty and social inequality are central to EU policies. Nevertheless, there are still EU households that have difficulty making ends meet. Almost 7% of households are unable to pay their utility bills (heating, electricity, gas, water, etc.) on time due to financial difficulties, the new Eurostat survey shows. However, this share as a whole has been steadily declining in the EU - from over 10% of households in 2013.

Among households that have difficulty paying their utilities on time are those with children who are still in the care of their parents. In the EU, just under 14% of households consisting of one adult with dependent children face similar difficulties compared to less than 3% of households consisting of two adults (at least one at the age of 65 or more). Among households with two or three adults and dependent children, this share is about 11%.