Press releases

Тhe exports of goods from Bulgaria to the EU increased by 41.3% compared to the same period in 2021 and amounted to 58 448.6 million BGN, while the imports of goods from the EU grew by 31.7% and reached 55 113.9 million BGN.

The most notable growth in the exports of goods to the EU compared to the same period of 2021 was recorded in sections ‘Mineral fuel, lubricants and related materials’ (214.2%) and ‘Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes’ (136.8%). A fall was reported in the section ‘Beverages and tobacco’ (10.2%). The largest growth in the imports of goods from the EU was recorded in the section ‘Mineral fuel, lubricants and related materials’ (86.2%). Data are by the Standard International Trade Classification.

The exports to the EU increased by 29.0% in November 2022 compared to the corresponding month of the previous year and amounted to 5 646.1 million BGN, while the imports grew by 26.4% and added up to 5 711.7 million BGN.

The exports of goods from Bulgaria to third countries increased by 35.5% compared to 2021 and amounted to 31 391.4 million BGN, while the imports of goods from third countries grew by 58.8% and added up to 48 288.9 million BGN.

Тhe most notable growth in the exports of goods to third countries compared to 2021 was recorded in the sections ‘Mineral fuel, lubricants and related materials’ (218.7%) and ‘Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes’ (195.4%). A fall was reported in the section ‘Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material’^[1] (6.8%). The largest growth in the imports of goods from third countries was recorded in the sections ‘Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes’ (560.6%) and ‘Mineral fuel, lubricants and related materials’ (126.0%). The data are by the Standard International Trade Classification.

The total value of all exported goods to third countries and the EU amounted to 94 372.8 million BGN in 2022, which is 37.9% more than the previous year, while the total value of all imported goods from third countries and the EU added up to 108 305.8 million BGN and grew by 41.1%.

In December 2022, 2 224 accommodation establishments - hotels, motels, camping sites, mountain chalets and other establishments for short-term accommodation with more than 10 bed-places, functioned in the country with 62.0 thousand rooms and 128.1 thousand bed-places in them. In comparison with December 2021, the total number of accommodation establishments (functioned during the period) increased by 23.1% and the bed-places in them - by 19.4%.

The total number of nights spent in all accommodation establishments in December 2022 was   968.0 thousand, or by 57.1% more in comparison with the same month of the previous year.

In December 2022, the number of arrivals in all accommodation establishments increased by 62.6% compared to the same month of 2021 and reached 472.6 thousand.

The total revenues from nights spent in December 2022 reached 74.9 million BGN, as 47.4 million BGN were from Bulgarian residents and 27.5 million BGN - from non-residents.

Тhe index of production in section ‘Construction’ decreased by 1.6% in December 2022 compared to the previous month. The production of civil engineering fell by 1.7% and the production of building construction - by 1.6%.

Compared to December 2021, the index of production in construction went down by 4.3%. A decrease was registered both in building construction by 6.1% and in civil engineering - by 2.0%.

In December 2022, the turnover in ‘Retail trade, except motor vehicles and motorcycles’ at constant prices kept the level of the previous month. The data are preliminary and seasonally adjusted.

A growth in turnover was reported in ‘Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco’ by 1.3% and in ‘Retail sale of automotive fuel in specialised stores’ by 1.1%, while in ‘Retail sale of non-food products (except fuel)’ was observed a decrease by 0.6%.

The calendar adjusted turnover increased by 3.4% compared to the same month in 2021.

Growth was seen in ‘Retail sale of automotive fuel in specialised stores’ by 15.8% and in ‘Retail sale of non-food products (except fuel)’ by 4.4%. A decline was noted in ‘Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco’ by 2.7%.

The Industrial Production Index decreased by 0.8% in December 2022 compared to November 2022. The data are preliminary and seasonally adjusted.

Compared to the previous month a decline was reported in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply - by 26.8% while growth was detected in the mining and quarrying industry - by 10.0% and in the manufacturing - by 2.6%.

In December 2022 the calendar-adjusted Industrial Production Index rose by 2.1% in comparison with the same month in 2021.

Compared to November 2021 a growth was registered in manufacturing - by 10.8% and in the mining and quarrying industry - by 1.8%, while a drop was observed in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply - by 28.6%.

In January 2023, the total consumer confidence indicator increases by 4.0 percentage points compared to October 2022, as for the urban population the increase is 4.9 percentage points and for the rural population - 1.8 percentage points.

According to preliminary data from the National Statistical Institute in the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of newly built residential buildings was 1 613, and the newly built dwellings in them were 5 708. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, the buildings were by 392 more (or by 32.1%), and the newly built dwellings in them increased by 285, or by 5.3%.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, 78.9% of the newly built residential buildings had steel-concrete construction, 17.4% had solid structure, 3.4% had ‘other’ and 0.3% had a panel. The highest is the relative share of houses (81.3%), followed by blocks of flats (13.0%). As compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, the number of newly built houses and mixed buildings rose, while the number of blocks of flats dropped.

The highest is the number of residential buildings built in the district of Sofia (stolitsa) - 296 residential buildings with 1 997 dwellings, followed by Plovdiv - 232 residential buildings with 517 dwellings, and Varna - 182 buildings with 742 dwellings in them.

The highest is the number of newly built dwellings with two rooms (35.5%), followed by the number of those with three rooms (34.8%), and the lowest is the number of dwellings with one room (4.8%).

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the total useful space of newly built dwellings was 631.5 thousand sq. m, or 19.0% more, compared to the same quarter of 2021, and the living floor space increased (by 18.7%) to 494.0 thousand sq. m.

The average useful floor space of a newly built dwelling increased from 97.8 sq. m in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 110.6 sq. m in the same quarter of 2022.

The biggest average useful floor space of a newly built dwelling was recorded in the districts of Silistra - 226.9 sq. m and Montana - 188.0 sq. m, and the smallest ones in Vratsa - 55.4 sq. m and Veliko Tarnovo - 78.9 sq. meters.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the municipal authorities issued building permits for the construction of 1 911 residential buildings with 10 203 dwellings, 18 administrative buildings/offices and 1 183 other buildings.

The issued building permits for new residential buildings and other buildings increased by 0.1% and 1.0% respectively as compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. The issued building permits for administrative buildings have shown a drop of 45.5%.

The construction of 1 252 residential buildings with 6 627 dwellings, 14 administrative buildings/offices and 555 other buildings was started.

The number of started new residential buildings and other buildings decreased by 5.1% and 8.6% respectively as compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. The number of started administrative buildings was unchanged.

In 2021 also, the two-child family model is the reproductive ideal of women aged 15 - 49 and men aged 15 - 59 in our country (63.3%). In second place in the distribution is the opinion that the family should have three children (17.1%), followed by the family with one child (7.9%). In 2021, 9.4% of persons of reproductive age cannot estimate how many children a family should have in Bulgaria. The multi-child model of a family with four or more children is a priority for 2.0% of people.

To some extent, people's attitudes echo their ideal of family. Leading is the desire for two children in the family (61.9%), followed by the preference for three children (14.9%). The one-child family model is desired by 12% of individuals, and the multi-child family model, with four or more children, by 2.3%. 7.9% of people of reproductive age do not yet know how many children they would like to have, and 1.0% are categorical that they do not wish to have children.

People's reproductive ideals and intentions very often differ from the actual number of children in families. Analyzing the three indicators only for persons over the age of 45, for whom reproduction has conditionally ended, we can draw the following conclusions:

• the share of persons without children is extremely large (17.8%) compared to those who have this ideal (0.1%) or prefer this family model (1.4%);
• the share of persons who remain with one child (31.9%) is significantly higher compared to the ideal of a one-child family (6.9%) and those who wish to have one child (13.5%);
• the ideal (64.7%) and desire (64.3%) for two children in the family are not actually realized. 44.4% of persons over 45 years of age have two children;
• three children is an ideal for 17.1%, reproductive intentions for 13.9%, but it is actually realized by a much smaller share of persons at the end of their reproductive period, only 4.7%.