Land Fragmentation in Bulgaria: Reconsidering Its Measurement and Extent

This study investigates the extent of land fragmentation in Bulgaria, where it is considered a major agricultural and land reform issue. Using data from the Bulgaria 2003 Multitopic Household Survey as well as other data sets pertaining to late 19th and early 20th century, the paper shows that the current level of land fragmentation is low-to-moderate in Bulgaria and that fragmentation is at its lowest level in about a century. This finding is in contrast to some of the existing research which has suffered from measurement problems. The paper underlines the significance of differentiating between land fragmentation and farm size to reveal an accurate portrayal of the extent of land use.