Bulgaria

Economic and political outline

Economic indicators | Foreign Trade in figures | Sources of economic information | Political outline

Economic indicators

In spite of change in governments, Bulgaria has remained committed to the market reforms started in 1997. This has stabilized the economy and lead to a sustained growth for several years now. In October 2002 the European Commission declared that Bulgaria had a "Functioning Market Economy." Bulgaria records a GDP growth rate of arround 6% each year, confirmed by the last IMF forecast. But inflation is rising (from 5% in 2005 to 8.2% 2007). After rising above 13% of GDP in 2006, the current-account deficit will gradually decline in 2007-08. Unemployment still remains high (more than 10%). Bulgaria’s more than one-third of the population lives under the poverty line which restricts the domestic demand.

GDP Indicators	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
GDP (billions USD)	24.68	27.26	31.52	39.07e	45.09e
GDP (constant prices, annual % change)	6.6	6.2	6.1	6.0e	5.9e
GDP per capita (USD)	3,166.10	3,519.82	4,096.99	5,115.97e	5,946.51e
Inflation rate (%)	6.1	5.0	7.3	8.2e	7.9e
Unemployment rate (% of the labor force)	12.2	10.7	9.1	n.c.	n.c.
Current Account (billions USD)	-1.63	-3.26	-5.00	-7.94e	-8.56e
Current Account (in % of GDP)	-6.6	-12.0	-15.8	-20.3e	-19.0e

Source: IMF - World Economic Outlook Database; ILO, Laborstat - Yearly Statistics

Note: (e) Estimated data

Socio-demographic indicators	2004	2005	2006
Unemployment rate (%)	12.2	10.7	9.1

Source:

Main sectors of industry

Traditionally an agricultural country, Bulgaria is now considerably industrialised. The agricultural sector contributes around 9% to the GDP and employs nearly 20% of the active population. The country has skilled and cheap workforce. Industry still depends on heavy manufacturing sectors (metallurgical, chemical, machine building) developed during the socialist period. But the most dynamic sectors are textile, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and now mobile telephony. Bulgaria's main mineral resources include bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, brown coal (lignite), iron ore, and oil and natural gas. There are many mineral springs in the country.

Breakdown of economic activity by sector	Agriculture	Industry	Services
Value added (annual % change)	-1.9	8.3	6.1
Value added (in % of GDP)	8.7	32.1	59.2
Employment by sector (in % of total employment)	8.9	34.2	56.8

Source: World Bank - World Development Indicators - last available data.

Monetary indicators	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Average annual exchange rate for 1 USD	2.08	1.73	1.58	1.57	1.56

Source: World Bank - World Development Indicators

Foreign trade in figures

Bulgaria joined the EU in January 2007. However, under a safeguard procedure the European Commission will monitor closely Bulgaria's progress and could exclude Bulgaria from some of the benefits of the single market if progress does not match with the promises made in membership talks. The top three trade partners (both for export and import) are: Italy, Germany and Turkey. Bulgaria mainly exports mineral fuels & oils, copper, apparel & clothing accessories, iron & steel and machinery. While as, it mainly imports mineral fuels & oils, machinery, vehicles, and electric & electronic equipment.

Foreign trade indicators	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Imports of goods (millions USD)	7,013	9,657	13,619	17,204	21,874
Exports of goods (millions USD)	5,354	7,081	9,931	11,754	15,064
Imports of services (millions USD)	1,755	2,447	3,238	3,404	4,112
Exports of services (millions USD)	2,203	2,961	4,029	4,404	5,044
Imports of goods and services (annual % change)	4.9	15.3	14.1	14.6	8.9
Exports of goods and services (annual % change)	7.0	8.0	13.0	7.2	11.8
Imports of goods and services (in % of GDP)	59.6	62.9	67.3	75.8	83.0
Exports of goods and services (in % of GDP)	53.0	53.4	57.2	59.6	64.0
Trade Balance (millions USD)	-1,658	-2,576	-3,688	-5,450	-6,809
Trade Balance (including service) (millions USD)	-1,210	-2,062	-2,897	-4,450	-5,878
Current Account (millions USD)	-319	-1,022	-1,671	-3,244	-5,010
Current Account (in % of GDP)	-2.0	-5.1	-6.8	-11.9	-15.9
Foreign trade (in % of GDP)	112.7	116.3	124.4	135.4	147.0

Source: World Bank - World Development Indicators

Main partner countries

Main customers (% of exports)	2006
Turkey	11.6%
Italy	10.1%
Germany	9.7%
Greece	8.9%
Belgium	6.6%

Main suppliers (% of imports)	2006
Russia	17.2%
Germany	12.5%
Italy	8.8%
Turkey	6.0%
Greece	5.2%

Source: 2006

Main products

Main exports (% of exports)	2006
Mineral fuels, mineral oils	13.3%
Copper	12.7%
Iron and steel	7.4%
Articles of apparel and clothing accessories	7.2%
Machinery and mechanical appliances	6.1%

Main imports (% of imports)	2006
Machinery and mechanical appliances	10.5%
Vehicles other than railway or tramway	10.2%
Electrical machinery and equipment	7.1%
Ores, slag and ash	5.4%

Source: 2006

To see more products: More imports (Intracen Data)
More exports (Intracen Data)

Sources of economic information

Ministries: Ministry of Economy Ministry of Finance
Statistical Office: National Statistical Institute
Central Bank: Bulgarian National Bank
Stock Exchange: Bulgarian Stock Exchange
Online newspapers: Monitor (in Bulgarian)
Pari
Search Engines: Servers
Dir
Gyuvetch.bg
Search.bg

Political outline

Executive Power: President is the chief of the state and is directly elected for a 5-year term. President is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. President nominates the Prime Minister who is elected by the National Assembly. Prime Minister as Chairman of the Council of Ministers holds the executive powers and is also the head of the government. Prime Minister nominates the Council of Ministers.The Council of Ministers is the principal organ of the executive branch. The Council of Ministers must resign if the National Assembly passes a vote of no confidence in the Council or the Prime Minister.
Legislative Power: Bulgaria has a unicameral parliament. The members of the parliament (called National Assembly) are elected for 4-year-terms by popular vote. A political party or coalition must garner a minimum of 4% of the vote in order to enter the National Assembly. Parliament is responsible for enactment of laws, approval of the budget, scheduling of presidential elections, selection and dismissal of the prime minister and other ministers, declaration of war, deployment of troops outside of Bulgaria, and ratification of international treaties and agreements. Bulgarian citizens enjoy considerable political rights.
Main political parties: Bulgaria has a multi-party system, where no single party generally has a chance of gaining power alone. Thus political parties work with each other to form coalition governments. However, the major political parties in the country are:
- BSP (Bulgarian Socialist Party)- socialist, draws its support from rural areas, earlier Bulgarian Communist Party;
- MRF (Movement for Rights and Freedoms)- centrist, liberal , formed mainly from the Turkish ethnic minority;
- SNM (National Movement Simeon II)- liberal, centred around the former king Simeon Saxe-Coburg;
- UtdDF (United Democratic Forces)- an alliance of anti-communist parties;
- ATAKA (Attack Coalition) - a group of nationalist parties, opposes ethnic minorities, advocates stronger ties with Russia.
Current political leaders: President: Georgi PURVANOV (since January 2002) – BSP
Prime Minister: Sergei STANISHEV (since August 2005) – BSP, heading a coalition government along with SNM and MRF
Next election dates: Presidential: Year 2011
National Assembly: June 2009