Executive Insights: Bulgaria National Bank Governor Dimitar Radev
The governor of the Bulgarian National Bank speaks with Global Finance.
Bulgaria GDP and Economic Data
Country Report 2017 - Includes Bulgaria real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.
Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Bulgaria economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Bulgaria best banks and safest banks are also available.
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International Reserves
USD 28.7 billion (2018)
International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019
Gross Domestic Product - GDP
USD 65.0 billion (2018, estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
Intl$ 162.3 billion (2018, estimate)
Real GDP growth
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
| 7.3% | 6% | -3.6% | 1.3% | 1.9% | 0% | 0.5% |
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | ||
| 1.8% | 3.5% | 3.9% | 3.8% | 3.2% |
*Estimate
GDP (PPP) - share of world total
| 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2019* |
| 0.31% | 0.28% | 0.12% | 0.13% | 0.12% |
*Estimate
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GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 3.6%
- industry: 23.8%
- services: 59.2%
(2018 estimate)
Inflation
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| -1.1% | -1.3% | 1.2% | 2.6% | 2.5% |
*Estimate
Unemployment rate
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| 9.2% | 7.7% | 6.2% | 5.3% | 4.9% |
*Estimate
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| 125.6% | 27.4% | 23.3% | 20.4% | 19.2% |
*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| -2.8% | 1.6% | 0.8% | 0.1% | -2% |
*Estimate
Government bond ratings
Standard & Poor's: BBB-
Moody's: Baa2
Standard & Poor's / Moody's
Source
Market value of publicly traded shares
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source
Current account balance by percentage of GDP
4.6 % (2018 estimate)
Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)
64.5% (2018)
Shares in world total merchandising export
0.17% (2018)
Shares in world total commercial services export
0.17% (2018)
Export commodities
Clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels, agriculture, tobacco, it components
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Import commodities
Machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials
Exports - major partners
Germany 13.5%, Italy 8.3%, Romania 8.2%, Turkey 7.7%, Greece 6.5%, Belgium 4.2%, France 4.1% (2017)
Imports - major partners
Germany 12.3%, Russia 10.3%, Italy 7.3%, Romania 7.1%, Turkey 6.2%, Spain 5.3%, Greece 4.4% (2017)
FDI inflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 1,110 million | USD 2,608 million | USD 2,059 million |
FDI outflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 429 million | USD 355 million | USD 387 million |
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 1.2 million | USD 40.0 million | USD 34.5 million | N/A |
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014
N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015
N/A
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
Overall ranking:
61 out of 190 countries
Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 113 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 43 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 151 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 66 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 67 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 25 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 97 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 21 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 42 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 61 out of 190 countries
Source
Global competitiveness ranking
49 out of 141 countries
(2019)
Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking: 37 / Score: 69 (Moderately free)
100=totally free 0=totally repressed)
Source
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Languages
Bulgarian (official) 76.8%, Turkish 8.2%, Romani 3.8%, other 0.7%, unspecified 10.5% (2011 est.)
Religions
Eastern Orthodox 59.4%, Muslim 7.8%, other (including Catholic, Protestant, Armenian Apostolic Orthodox, and Jewish) 1.7%, none 3.7%, unspecified 27.4% (2011 est.)
Total population
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020* |
| 8.77 million | 8.15 million | 7.51 million | 7.15 million | 6.92 million |
*Estimate
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Urban population as % of total population
| 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2018 |
| 37.1% | 62.1% | 68.9% | 75% |
Literacy
Total population: 98.4%
Male: 98.7%
Female: 98.1%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day
3.7% (last available estimate, 2014)
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
37.4 (last available estimate, 2014)
(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Source
Freedom House rating
Free
Political Rights: 2
Civil Liberties: 2 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Source
Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed: 15.9% Mobile: 118.1% (2018) (fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)