Press releases

The exports of goods from Bulgaria to third countries increased by 37.0% compared to the same period of 2021 and amounted to 26 203.3 million BGN, while the imports of goods from third countries grew by 66.6% and added up to 40 825.6 million BGN.

Тhe most notable growth in the exports of goods to third countries compared to the same period of 2021 was recorded in the sections ‘Mineral fuel, lubricants and related materials’ (228.2%) and ‘Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes’ (138.8%). A fall was reported in the section ‘Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material’^[1] (5.4%). The largest growth in the imports of goods from third countries was recorded in the sections ‘Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes’ (478.9%) and ‘Mineral fuel, lubricants and related materials’ (146.7%). The data are by the Standard International Trade Classification.

The total value of all exported goods to third countries and the EU amounted to 79 004.3 million BGN in the period January - October 2022, which is 40.8% more than the same period of the previous year, while the total value of all imported goods from third countries and the EU added up to 90 204.5 million BGN and grew by 45.9%.

In October 2022, 2 202 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 67.9 thousand rooms and 142.8 thousand bed-places in them. In comparison with October 2021, the total number of accommodation establishments (functioned during the period) increased by 24.4% and the bed-places in them - by 22.6%.

The total number of nights spent in all accommodation establishments in October 2022 was   1 021.7 thousand, or by 66.3% more in comparison with the same month of the previous year.

In October 2022, the number of arrivals in all accommodation establishments increased by 68.2% compared to the same month of 2021, and reached 484.5 thousand.

The total revenues from nights spent in October 2022 reached 71.2 million BGN, as 42.1 million BGN were from Bulgarian residents and 29.1 million BGN - from non-residents.

In 2022, 96.1% of the non-financial enterprises with 10 or more persons employed had internet access. Fixed internet connection was available in 89.1% of the enterprises and the maximum download speed in 45.7% was more than 100 Mbps.

The relative share of the persons employed who had access to the internet was 40.2%. Portable devices that allow a mobile connection to the internet for business purposes used by 22.2% and for a five-year period the relative share increased more than two times.

More than two-thirds of the enterprises (67.5%) provided the persons employed with remote access, and the highest relative share was observed among the enterprises with 250 or more persons employed - 89.0%.

In 2022, 15.9% of the enterprises had persons employed for whom the main job was to develop, operate or maintain ICT systems or applications.

In 2022, 87.3% of the households in Bulgaria had internet access at home, which was by 3.8 percentage points more compared to the previous year.

79.0% of the individuals aged between 16 and 74 years used the internet every day or at least once a week at home, at work or any other place and 61.2% took advantage of the resources of the global network several times during the day.

Individuals used the network mostly for communication as 67.3% of them carried out phone or video calls (using applications, e.g. Viber, WhatsApp, Skype, FaceTime, Messenger, Snapchat, Zoom, MS Teams, Webex), and 63.4% participated in social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.).

Тhe index of production in section ‘Construction’ increased by 0.7% in October 2022 compared to the previous month. The production of civil engineering rose by 0.8% and the production of building construction - by 0.6%.

Compared to October 2021, the index of production in construction increased by 1.8%. An increase was registered both in building construction by 1.9% and in civil engineering - by 1.8%.

In October 2022, the turnover in ‘Retail trade, except motor vehicles and motorcycles’ at constant prices decreased by 0.4% compared to the previous month. The data are preliminary and seasonally adjusted.

A decrease in turnover was reported in ‘Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco’ by 0.9% and in ‘Retail sale of non-food products (except fuel)’ by 0.3%, while in ‘Retail sale of automotive fuel in specialised stores’ was observed an increase by 0.2%.

The calendar adjusted turnover increased by 0.6% compared to the same month of 2021.

A growth was seen in ‘Retail sale of automotive fuel in specialised stores’ by 6.5% and in ‘Retail sale of non-food products (except fuel)’ by 2.9%. A drop was noted in ‘Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco’ by 5.4%.

The Industrial Production Index decreased by 2.0% in October 2022 compared to September 2022. The data are preliminary and seasonally adjusted.

Compared to previous month decrease was reported in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply - by 24.5% and in the mining and quarrying industry - by 6.2%, while an increase was seen in the manufacturing - by 0.4%.

In October 2022 the calendar adjusted Industrial Production Index rose by 5.7% in comparison with the same month of 2021.

A growth compared to October 2021 was registered in the manufacturing - by 14.2%, while a decline was observed in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply - by 30.0% and in the mining and quarrying industry - by 2.1%.

In the third quarter of 2022, the National Statistical Institute continued conducting an additional survey to the Household Budget Survey in order to carry out quarterly monitoring of changes in the living conditions of households as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, by the project  ‘Income and Living Conditions (ILC) - Statistical infrastructure under IESS - SILC 2022, module Collection of annual data for 2021 and 2022’ under Grant Agreement with the European Commission № 101052273 - 2021-BG-ILC-SILC. For the study, 5 719 persons aged 16 and over from 3 053 households were surveyed.

The results of the additional survey can be viewed in the press releases under the heading ‘Income, expenditure and consumption of households’.

In response to the growing need for statistical data on the prevalence of violence against women, the National Statistical Institute has joined a project initiated by the European Commission to conduct a survey and provide such information. The aim is to provide reliable, comparable, representative data on the prevalence, frequency, intensity and severity of violence against women at а national level and in the EU Member States, using a common and harmonised methodology.

Data from the survey show that among women aged 18 - 74:

• 11.9% have experienced at least one act of physical or sexual violence at some point in their adult lives, no matter who the perpetrator is or what the relationship is between them;
• 20.5% have experienced one or more acts of intimate partner violence. Includes psychological, sexual and physical violence (including threats);
• Young women (aged 18 - 29) are at the highest risk of intimate partner violence. One in three women aged 18 - 29 has been abused by a current or former partner (36.3%);
• Almost one out of ten women (9.5%) has experienced physical (including threats) or sexual violence by persons in the household;
• 12.2% of women have experienced sexual harassment at work by a man with whom they are in a professional relationship;
• 28% have experienced physical or emotional violence from one of their parents in childhood;
• Two out of three women consider that violence against women by their intimate partners is very or fairly common in Bulgaria.

GDP per person employed increased in real terms by 1.7% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the third quarter of 2021, according to the preliminary data.