Bulgaria is among the EU countries with the lowest number of health specialists relative to population.
HealthBulgaria
- Error detected
- The claim inverts the actual ranking: for physicians per capita Bulgaria (4.6 per 1 000 in 2023) is above the EU average (4.3), and for medical specialists per capita (206 per 100 000) Bulgaria is among the highest in the EU, not among the lowest.
The lowest number of medical specialists relative to population in the EU was reported for Finland (62 per 100 000), not Bulgaria.
- Omissions
- Bulgaria does face genuine healthcare-workforce challenges, but of a different nature than claimed: an ageing physician body (Eurostat: 'more than half of all physicians in Bulgaria were aged 55 years or over' in 2024), severe geographic maldistribution, and emigration of health staff.
- The claim uses the vague term 'health specialists' (здравни специалисти); if the speaker meant nurses/midwives or allied health professionals rather than physicians/specialists, the picture could differ, but no source found supports 'among the lowest' for a defined health-specialist metric.
- The two confirming sources are official (Eurostat and OECD) but their reference periods are 2023/2024; the OECD country profile was published in December 2025, i.e. after the underlying 2023 data but before the session date.
- Sources
- PrimaryEurostat — Healthcare personnel statistics: physicians (Statistics Explained)'...Portugal (228 per 100 000 inhabitants; estimates); and Bulgaria (206 per 100 000 inhabitants). The lowest numbers of medical specialists relative to population size were reported in: Finland (62 per 100 000).' Also: 'The highest numbers of practising surgical specialists relative to population size were recorded in: Cyprus (147 per 100 000), Italy (137), Bulgaria (134).' And: 'There were around 2.03 million practising physicians across the EU in 2024. In 2024, more than half of all physicians in Bulgaria were aged 55 years or over.'
- PrimaryOECD / European Observatory — State of Health in the EU: Bulgaria Country Health Profile 2025'In 2023, Bulgaria reported 4.6 doctors per 1 000 population, a density above the EU average of 4.3. However, this headline figure masks a misaligned physician [distribution].'