Bulgarian army too costly to taxpayers

The Bulgarian defence system is one of the most expensive armies in the European Union for taxpayers and the economy, the defence ministry’s 2009 report shows. Taxpayers set aside an average of EUR 243 a year for defence, a similar amount is spent in the Czech Republic and Austria. About 2% of Bulgaria’s GDP is allocated to security. Among the EU countries a bigger share is budgeted only in Greece: 2.55%.
Despite the heavy burden on taxpayers, in absolute terms the Bulgarian armed forces are among the cheapest in the EU. The annual maintenance of the military is EUR 23,524 per person, which is half the amount spent in Lithuania and a third of Hungary’s expenditure. Romanian military men cost EUR 27,219 to the state.
Bulgaria is leader in the number of servicemen per capita. With 45 members of the armed forces safeguarding 10,000 people it ranks second to Greece only, where the figure is 119.

Finance