Press releases

In the period January - September  2023, the exports of goods from Bulgaria to the EU decreased by 7.3% compared to the same period of 2022 and amounted to 42 162.9 million BGN, while the imports of goods from the EU decreased by 1.8% and reached  43 117.7 million BGN.

In September 2023, the exports to the EU decreased by 13.9% compared to the corresponding month of the previous  year  and  amounted  to  4 575.8  million  BGN, while the imports  fell  by 11.2% and added up to 4 598.1 million BGN.

The most notable growth in the exports of goods to the EU in the period January - September 2023 compared to the same period of 2022 was recorded in the section ‘Beverages and tobacco’ (12.9%). The most notable fall was reported in the section ‘Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes’ (68.8%). The largest growth in the imports of goods from the EU was recorded in the section ‘Machinery and transport equipment’ (13.9%), while the most notable fall was reported in the section ‘Mineral fuel, lubricants and related materials’ (65.9%). Data are by the Standard International Trade Classification.

In October 2023, 2 232 accommodation establishments - hotels, motels, camping sites, mountain chalets and other establishments for short-term accommodation with 10 or more bed-places, functioned in the country with 70.7 thousand rooms and 150.6 thousand bed-places in them. In comparison with October 2022, the accommodation establishments increased by 1.4% and the bed-places in them - by 5.5%.

The total number of nights spent was 1 066.6 thousand, or by 4.4% more in comparison with the same month of the previous year, and the number of arrivals in all accommodation establishments increased by 1.8% and reached 493.4 thousand.

The total revenues from nights spent reached 83.8 million BGN, or by 17.7% more compared to a year before.

In 2023, 96.3% of the non-financial enterprises with 10 or more persons employed had internet access. Fixed internet connection was available in 89.2% of the enterprises and the maximum download speed in 46.6% was more than 100 Mbps.

The relative share of the persons employed who had access to the internet was 39.7%. The most persons employed who used the internet were found in sector ‘Information and communication’ (92.2%) and least - in sector ‘Manufacturing’ (25.5%).

In 2023, 38.0% of the companies used social media, and 20.9% paid to advertise on the internet.

In 2023, 17.5% of the enterprises used paid cloud computing services, as main users of cloud services were large companies with 250 and more persons employed (52.2%), as well as the enterprises in sector ‘Information and communication’ - 59.0%.

The annual growth tendency of the relative share of households with internet access was retained and in 2023, 88.5% of the households in Bulgaria had internet access at home. Over a ten-year period the relative share increased by 31.8 percentage points.

79.8% of the individuals aged between 16 and 74 years used the internet every day or at least once a week at home, work or other places, and the share of people who had never surfed the internet decreased to 11.8%.

The most preferred device to access the internet was the mobile phone (incl. smartphone) which was used by 78.3% of the people, followed by the laptop - 33.5%.

Individuals used the network mostly for communication as 69.0% of them carried out phone or video calls (using applications such as Viber, WhatsApp, Skype, FaceTime, Messenger, Snapchat, Zoom, MS Teams, Webex), 65.4% used instant messaging (using applications such as Viber, WhatsApp, Messenger, Snapchat, Skype, Discord, Telegram) and 64.2% participated in social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.).

In October 2023, the index of production in the ‘Construction’ section increased by 0.2% compared to the previous month. The production of civil engineering rose by 0.3% and the production of building construction - by 0.1%. The data are preliminary and seasonally adjusted.

The calendar-adjusted data showed a decrease of 1.0% in construction production compared to the same month of 2022. A decrease was registered in civil engineering - by 2.7%, while in building construction, an increase of 0.3% was seen.

In October 2023, the turnover in ‘Retail trade, except motor vehicles and motorcycles’ at constant prices increased by 1.0% compared to the previous month. The data are preliminary and seasonally adjusted.

An increase was noted in all major groups: ‘Retail sale of automotive fuel in specialised stores’ - by 3.2%, ‘Retail sale of non-food products (except fuel)’ - by 1.4%, and ‘Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco’ - by 0.9%.

The calendar-adjusted turnover grew by 3.1% compared to the same month in 2022.

An increase was observed in ‘Retail sale of automotive fuel in specialised stores’ (8.5%) and in ‘Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco’ (6.8%). A decrease was registered in ‘Retail sale of non-food products (except fuel)’ (0.2%).

The Industrial Production Index increased by 2.6% in October 2023 compared to the previous month. The data are preliminary and seasonally adjusted.

A growth was seen in the mining and quarrying industry - by 9.7%, in the manufacturing - by 1.6%, while in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply there was a decrease - by 3.2%.

In comparison with October 2022, a drop of 5.4% was registered in the calendar-adjusted Industrial Production Index.

On an annual basis, a decrease in the Industrial Production Index was observed in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply - by 10.1%, in the manufacturing - by 5.5%, and in the mining and quarrying industry - by 1.5%.

For the period November 6st - December 3rd, 2023, the number of dead persons in Bulgaria is 7 873 and they are 327 less than during the same period in 2022. The data on deaths in Bulgaria for the period (45th - 48th week) and by week are available on the website of the National Statistical Institute at the following links:

Mortality | Infostat (infostat.nsi.bg)

Deaths in Bulgaria by weeks | National statistical institute (nsi.bg)

According to the preliminary data, GDP per person employed increased in real terms by 2.1% in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

In the third quarter of 2023, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.8% and Gross Value Added (GVA) - by 0.9% compared to the third quarter of 2022 (data are preliminary and seasonally adjusted).

The increase in Gross Value Added is determined by the growth in the following economic activities:

Mining and quarrying; manufacturing; electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply; water supply, waste management and remediation activities - 2.9%, Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food service activities - 2.1%, Financial and insurance activities - 1.7%, Public administration and defence; compulsory social security; education; human health and social work activities - 1.4%, Information and communication - 0.6%, Construction - 0.5%, Professional, scientific and technical activities; administrative and support service activities - 0.3%.

A decline in Agriculture, forestry and fishing was registered - by 5.7%, and in Arts, entertainment and recreation, repair of household goods and other services - by 1.8%.

Regarding the expenditure components of GDP, contributors to the registered positive economic growth are the Final consumption, with a growth of 4.3% and gross fixed capital formation increased by 9.6%.

According to the seasonally adjusted data, in the third quarter of 2023, exports of goods and services decreased by 3.1%, and the imports of goods and services dropped by 5.5% compared to the third quarter of 2022.