Statistical data

In the first quarter of 2025, the expenditure on acquisition of tangible fixed assets in all sectors of the economy amounted to 6 118 million BGN, which is 9.5% more compared to the first quarter of 2024. The data are preliminary.

Detailed data are published on the website of NSI under the heading ‘Investments’.

In 2024, in Bulgaria were operating the following cultural institutions:

• 188 museums with museum collection of 7 733 thousand units;
• 81 theatres, which organized 16 586 performances;
• 49 libraries with library collection over 200 thousand library units;
• 84 cinemas with 240 cinema screens.

Life expectancy at birth of the Bulgarian population, calculated for the period 2022 - 2024, is 75.6 years.

Life expectancy at birth for the male population is 71.9 years, while for the female population it is by 7.4 years higher - 79.3 years.

According to the results from the Labour Force Survey, in the first quarter of 2025:

- The unemployment rate was 3.9%, by 1.1 percentage points lower compared to the first quarter of 2024;

- The employment rate of the population aged 15 - 64 increased by 0.2 percentage points in comparison with the same quarter of 2024 and stood at 70.4%;

- The activity rate of the population aged 15 - 64 was 73.3%, by 0.7 percentage points lower compared to the first quarter of 2024.

The data are from the Labour Force Survey - a sample statistical survey. It is carried out over a sample of non-institutional households. Quarterly, through personal interview, about 19.6 thousand households, randomly selected, are observed.

The main results from the annual comprehensive surveys of the National Statistical Institute (NSI) characterizing the activity of educational institutions are as follows:

• In 2024/2025 school year in pre-primary education (kindergartens and preparatory groups at schools) were enrolled 217.2 thousand children.
• As of 31.12.2024, there were 2 329 schools operating in the country, with 713.5 thousand students enrolled.
• In 2024, the number of basic education graduates was 59.8 thousand students and the number of upper-secondary education graduates was 43.4 thousand students.
• In 2024/2025 academic year, there were 203.5 thousand students enrolled at the different tertiary education levels (professional bachelor, bachelor and master’s).
• As of 31.12.2024, for acquiring a doctor’s educational and scientific degree in the country, 5 029 persons were trained, of whom 574 were foreign citizens.

The Producer Price Index in Forestry decreased by 0.4% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous year (on an annual basis).

The change is a result of the decrease in the price of wood in the rough from coniferous trees - by 3.8%, while the price of rough from non-coniferous trees increase - by 2.3%.

A decrease - by 4.6%, is observed as well in the prices of wood in the rough in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter of 2024.

Detailed data can be found on the NSI website under the heading 'Forestry'.

According to the data from the Household Budget Survey, during the first quarter of 2025 the quarterly total income average per household member was 3 271 BGN and it increased by 15.2% compared to the same quarter of 2024.

The quarterly total expenditure average per household member during the first quarter of 2025 was 2 861 BGN and it increased by 13.3% compared to the same quarter of 2024.

In the first quarter of 2025, there were changes in the consumption of basic food products on average per person compared to the same quarter of 2024. The biggest increase was in the consumption of fruit. The consumption of bread and paste products decreased.

In April 2025, the monthly inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was -0.8% compared to the previous month, and the annual inflation rate in April 2025, compared to April 2024, was 3.5%.

In April 2025, compared to the previous month, the highest decrease was registered in the following groups: ‘Health’ (-8.8%), ‘Communications’ (-3.6%), ‘Transport’ (-2.6%) and ‘Recreation and culture’ (-1.6%). An increase in the prices was recorded in the following groups: ‘Clothing and footwear’ (+7.9%), ‘Food and non-alcoholic beverages’ (+0.4), ‘Education’ (+0.3%) and ‘Restaurants and hotels’ (+0.3%).

The monthly inflation rate, measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), was -1.2% and the annual inflation rate was 2.8%.

According to the seasonally adjusted data, GDP had a growth rate of 3.1% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

The Number of employees at the end of March 2025 increased by 1.7%, compared to the end of December 2024, and reached 2.35 million. In the first quarter of 2025, the average wages and salaries was 2 443 BGN, increasing by 1.2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.