Bulgaria Nears Completion of Leva Withdrawal as 81% Taken Out of Circulation
As of February 6, 2026, Bulgaria continues to make steady progress in withdrawing the national currency, the leva, from circulation.
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“Serbia will reach Bulgarian salaries in 10 years at the earliest”. This is stated in an extensive analysis of the Belgrade edition of "Danas", BGNES reported.
"In the last 10 years, the average salary in Serbia has increased by 166 euros. In July 2011, the average salary in the country was 384 euros, and at the end of last year it reached 550 euros. Ten years ago, the salary in Serbia was higher than the one with the neighbors in Romania and Bulgaria, but the situation has changed in the meantime", the economic analysis of the publication says.
The text says that in the summer of 2011, Romanians received 38 euros less than Serbs, but today they receive on average more than 170 euros more than Serbs. Currently, the average salary in Romania is 721 euros.
"In Bulgaria, the increase in the average salary for the last ten years is 84 percent. Ten years ago, Bulgarians earned an average of 353 euros. Last summer, they received 650 euros," the Belgrade-based study said. According to economist Mikhail Arandarenko, "Bulgaria has had 10 good years".
“The truth is that in the last 10 years, economic growth in Serbia has not been as impressive as it used to be. In reality, gross domestic product (GDP) has been growing much faster in Bulgaria and Romania. If you do not grow fast, you cannot increase your salaries, as well as everything else as income," said Yuri Bajec, a professor at the Belgrade Faculty of Economics.
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