| Introduction - Bulgaria: |
| Location - Bulgaria: |
| People - Bulgaria: |
| Government - Bulgaria: |
| Economy - Bulgaria: |
Economy overview | Bulgaria, a former communist country that entered the EU on 1 January 2007, has experienced macroeconomic stability and strong growth since a major economic downturn in 1996 led to the fall of the then socialist government. As a result, the government became committed to economic reform and responsible fiscal planning. Minerals, including coal, copper, and zinc, play an important role in industry. In 1997, macroeconomic stability was reinforced by the imposition of a fixed exchange rate of the lev against the German D-mark - the currency is now fixed against the euro - and the negotiation of an IMF standby agreement. Low inflation and steady progress on structural reforms improved the business environment; Bulgaria has averaged 5.1% growth since 2000 and has begun to attract significant amounts of foreign direct investment. Corruption in the public administration, a weak judiciary, and the presence of organized crime remain the largest challenges for Bulgaria. |
|
Gdp purchasing power parity | $78.68 billion (2006 est.) |
|
Gdp official exchange rate | $28.06 billion (2006 est.) |
|
Gdp real growth rate | 6.3% (2006 est.) |
|
Gdp per capita ppp | $10,700 (2006 est.) |
|
Gdp composition by sector | agriculture: 13.6%
industry: 32.1%
services: 54.3% (2006 est.) |
|
Labor force | 3.51 million (30 September 2006 est.) |
|
Labor force by occupation | agriculture: 8.5%
industry: 33.6%
services: 57.9% (2nd qtr. 2006 est.) |
|
Unemployment rate | 9.6% (2006 est.) |
|
Population below poverty line | 14.1% (2003 est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 25.4% (2005) |
|
Distribution of family income gini index | 31.6 (2005) |
|
Inflation rate consumer prices | 6.5% (2006 est.) |
|
Investment gross fixed | 23.8% of GDP (3rd qtr. 2006 est.) |
|
Budget | revenues: $13.28 billion
expenditures: $12.16 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) |
|
Public debt | 25.6% of GDP (2006 est.) |
|
Agriculture products | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets; livestock |
|
Industries | electricity, gas, water; food, beverages, tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel |
|
Industrial production growth rate | 11.3% (Third Quarter, 2006 est.) |
|
Electricity production | 45.7 billion kWh (2006) |
|
Electricity consumption | 37.4 billion kWh (2006) |
|
Electricity exports | 7.8 billion kWh (2006) |
|
Electricity imports | 0 kWh (2006) |
|
Oil production | 3,000 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
|
Oil consumption | 131,400 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
|
Oil exports | 51,000 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
|
Oil imports | 138,800 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
|
Oil proved reserves | 15 million bbl (1 January 2006) |
|
Natural gas production | 407,000 cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas consumption | 3.472 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas exports | 0 cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas imports | 3.065 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas proved reserves | 5.947 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) |
|
Current account balance | -$5.1 billion (2006 est.) |
|
Exports | $15.5 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
|
Exports commodities | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels |
|
Exports partners | Turkey 10.8%, Italy 10.1%, Germany 9.9%, Greece 8.2%, Belgium 6.4% (2006) |
|
Imports | $23.8 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
|
Imports commodities | machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials |
|
Imports partners | Russia 16.8%, Germany 12.4%, Italy 8.7%, Turkey 6.4%, China 5.4%, Greece 5.1% (2006) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $11.43 billion (February 2007 est.) |
|
Debt external | $24.3 billion (30 November 2006 est.) |
|
Economic aid recipient | $742 million (2005-06 est.) |
|
Currency code | lev (BGL) |
|
Exchange rates | leva per US dollar - 1.5576 (2006), 1.5741 (2005), 1.5751 (2004), 1.7327 (2003), 2.077 (2002) |
|
| Communications - Bulgaria: |
| Transportation - Bulgaria: |
| Military - Bulgaria: |
This page was last updated on 16 September, 2007
