site.btaAlpha Research: 26% of Bulgarians Say 2023 Was Worse than 2022 for Them, 24% Consider It Better

Bulgarians are polarised in their opinions of 2023, with 26% describing it as worse than 2022 and 24% as better for them personally. Fifty percent think this year was the same as the last, show the results of an Alpha Research survey conducted annually at the end of the year. 

The survey was carried out among 1,000 adult Bulgarians across the country between November 22 and November 30 with the polling agency's own resources. The information was collected via direct standardized interviews at the participants' homes. 

This year saw the overcoming of crises from previous years, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and political instability, other crises changed their form, and entirely new crises arose, Alpha Research notes. Despite that, the assessments of 2023 are better than those for 2022, mainly because the year was more successful for adult Bulgarians and their families than for the country and the world, the polling agents says.

The most crises-filled year for Bulgarians remains 2020, marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and protests in the country. After that year, the political and social dramas pale in comparison, resulting in a gradual upward trend in people's assessments. This year, negative opinions dropped by 10 perventage points from 2022, and positive opinions increased by 4 percentage points. This year was the most successful for young people, those aged between 40 and 49, those with higher education, and Sofianites. The most dissatisfied were pensioners and village residents.

The positive opinions stem from satisfaction with housing conditions (83% are satisfied), personal life (81%), personal health (73%), work (68%), and financial situation (55%). What causes dissatisfaction with 2023 are mostly public elements, such as the level of protection of individual rights (59% are dissatisfied) and life in Bulgaria as a whole (56%).

The majority of respondents (42%) expect 2024 to be successful for them, as opposed to 19%. Last year, the difference between optimistic and pessimistic respondents was only 4%. Regarding Bulgaria and the world, 33% expect next year to be better, as opposed to 36% to 38% of respondents. Those most positive about the present and the future are students and people with higher education.