Bulgaria Economy Profile 2008

Economy - overview

Bulgaria, a former communist country that entered the EU on 1 January 2007, has experienced strong growth since a major economic downturn in 1996. Successive governments have demonstrated commitment to economic reforms and responsible fiscal planning, but have failed so far to rein in rising inflation and large current account deficits. Bulgaria has averaged more than 6% growth since 2004, attracting significant amounts of foreign direct investment, but corruption in the public administration, a weak judiciary, and the presence of organized crime remain significant challenges.

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$86.73 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$39.07 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

6.1% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$11,800 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 8.1%
industry: 31.3%
services: 60.7% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line

14.1% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 25.4% (2005)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

7.8% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

27.6% of GDP (2007 est.)

Labor force

3.44 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 8.5%
industry: 33.6%
services: 57.9% (2nd qtr. 2006 est.)

Unemployment rate

8% (2007 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

31.6 (2005)

Budget

revenues: $16.62 billion
expenditures: $15.18 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt

18.2% of GDP (2007 est.)

Industries

electricity, gas, water; food, beverages, tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel

Industrial production growth rate

5.5% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production

45.7 billion kWh (2006)

Electricity - consumption

37.4 billion kWh (2006)

Electricity - exports

7.8 billion kWh (2006)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2006)

Oil - production

3,661 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption

108,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - imports

138,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports

51,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

15 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production

407,000 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

5.179 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports

5.179 billion cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves

5.703 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current Account Balance

-$7.189 billion (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products

vegetables, fruits, tobacco, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets; livestock

Exports

$19.77 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels

Exports - partners

Turkey 12%, Italy 10.4%, Germany 10%, Greece 8.2%, Belgium 6.8%, France 4.3% (2006)

Imports

$28.79 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials

Imports - partners

Germany 15%, Italy 10.6%, Turkey 7.2%, Greece 6.3%, China 5%, France 4.9%, Romania 4.5% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$13.8 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external

$29.29 billion (30 June 2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$20.86 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$345.8 million (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$10.32 billion (2006)

Economic aid - recipient

$742 million (2005-06 est.)

Currency (code)

lev (BGL)

Exchange rates

leva per US dollar - 1.4366 (2007), 1.5576 (2006), 1.5741 (2005), 1.5751 (2004), 1.7327 (2003)

Fiscal year

calendar year