Most people from Bulgaria’s middle feel secure about their future after the country's European Union (EU) accession, research of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Gallup International showed.
UNDP permanent representative in Bulgaria Neil Buhne and UNDP head of communication department Maya Nyagolova took part in the conference presenting the results of the research.
Research focused on middle class perceptions and living standard. It involved 2000 people aged 18 to 70.
“A society that has a healthy middle class has more chances for better future,” Buhne said.
Poll results show that 81 per cent of Bulgarians do to notice any changes in their status. Only four per cent thought of emigrating permanently.
Nearly one third of the Bulgarians aged over 15 years form the country's middle class. Most of them feel relatively satisfied with their standard of living and are optimistic about their children's future.
Nearly 78 per cent of these people own a car, 26 per cent have more than one apartment and 52 per cent have personal computer.
Their expectations are for personal income increase. People from this group are ready to invest in qualification courses and learn new languages.
Middle class representatives are concerned about environment pollution, taxes and expenditure increase. They feel more insecure about the balance between income and expenditures rather than the level of income itself.
Main EU membership advantages according to most of the people asked include more opportunities to study and work abroad and tourism opportunities.
