Bulgaria rose from 36th to 23rd place among 165 countries in the ranking "Economic freedom around the world 2022". The study, presented in Sofia by the Institute for Market Economics, is done every year by Canada's Fraser Institute.

Bulgaria's progress is not tied to reforms, experts comment. Because of the Covid pandemic, many governments around the world have restricted economic freedoms and increased state intervention, including various business restrictions - "lockdowns". There is a large increase in the dependence of companies on budgetary aid while in Bulgaria, the restrictions and state aid related to the pandemic were more limited.