Statistical data

In the first quarter of 2024, the expenditure on acquisition of tangible fixed assets in all sectors of the economy amounted to 5 587 million BGN, which is 45.1% fewer as compared to the previous quarter. The data are preliminary.

Detailed data are published on the NSI website under the heading “Investments”.

Life expectancy at birth of the Bulgarian population, calculated for the period 2021 - 2023, is 73.5 years.

Life expectancy at birth for the male population is 69.9 years, while for females it is 7.4 years higher - 77.3 years.

According to the results of the Labour Force Survey, in the first quarter of 2024:

- The unemployment rate was 5.0%, by 0.6 percentage points higher compared to the first quarter of 2023;

- The employment rate of the population aged 15 - 64 decreased by 0.2 percentage points in comparison with the same quarter of 2023 and stood at 70.2%;

- The activity rate of the population aged 15 - 64 was 74.0%, by 0.3 percentage points higher compared to the first quarter of 2023.

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

According to data from the Household Budget Survey, the quarterly total income average per household member during the first quarter of 2024 was 2 840 BGN and increased by 18.6% compared to the same quarter of 2023.

The quarterly total expenditure average per household member during the first quarter of 2024 was 2 524 BGN and increased by 17.4% compared to the same quarter of 2023.

In the first quarter of 2024, there were changes in the consumption of basic food products on average per person compared to the same quarter of 2023. The biggest increase was in the consumption of vegetables, meat and fruit. The consumption of bread and paste products and vegetable oils decreased.

The producer price index in Forestry decreased by 5.9% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous year.

The change is a result of the decrease in both the prices of wood in the rough from coniferous - by 4.6% and non-coniferous trees - by 6.8%.

Compared to the same quarter of 2023, a decrease of 9.4% is observed in the prices of wood in the rough.

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

In April 2024, the monthly inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was -0.3% compared to the previous month, and the annual inflation rate in April 2024 compared to April 2023 was 2.4%.

In April 2024, compared to the previous month, the highest decrease was registered in ‘Recreation and culture’ (-5.9%), ‘Communications’ (-2.1%) and ‘Health’ (-1.2%). The increase was recorded in the prices for ‘Clothing and footwear’ (+6.8%), ‘Transport’ (+1.0%) and ‘Alcoholic beverages and tobacco’ (+0.8%).

The monthly inflation rate, measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), was -0.1% and the annual inflation rate was 2.5%.

According to the seasonally adjusted data, GDP had a growth rate of 1.7% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

The number of employees under labour contract at the end of March 2024 increased by 1.4% as compared to the end of December 2023 and reached 2.32 million according to the preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI). The highest increase was observed in the economic activities: ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ - by 6.1%, ‘Information and communication’ - by 5.3%, and ‘Professional, scientific and technical activities’ - by 3.2%. The highest decrease of the number of employees - by 0.6% was recorded in the economic activities ‘Mining and quarrying’, and ‘Administrative and support service activities’.

In the first quarter of 2024, in comparison with the fourth quarter of 2023, the average monthly wages and salaries increased by 3.5% and reached 2 198 BGN. The highest increase in wages and salaries was reported in ‘Other service activities’ - by 16.9%, ‘Administrative and support service activities’ - by 10.2%, and in ‘Financial and insurance activities’ - by 10.0%.

The producer price index in agriculture for the first quarter of 2024 decreased by 20.5% in comparison with the same quarter of 2023 as a result of a decrease in the price index of crop output - by 27.3% and in the index of animal output - by 2.1%.

Compared to the previous year, the prices of agricultural output decreased by 8.3%, as in crop output they decreased by 11.7% and in animal output they increased by 1.0%.

In crop output, in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the same quarter of 2023, the highest drop was recorded in the prices of cereals - by 30.0%. The trend also retained in comparison with 2023, with а decrease in cereals by 13.5%.

In animal output, in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter of 2023, the prices of live animals increased by 3.9%, while the prices of animal products output decreased by 7.8%. Compared to 2023, a decrease was registered in the prices of live animals - by 0.8%, while the prices of animal products output went up by 2.8%.

The agricultural consumer goods and services price index for the first quarter of 2024 decreased by 6.8% compared to the same quarter of the previous year and by 4.3% compared to 2023.

The biggest decrease compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023 was recorded in the prices of: mineral fertilizers - by 32.2% and animal feedingstuffs - by 8.1%.

Compared to the previous year, the biggest decrease was in the prices of: mineral fertilizers - by 17.8%, electricity - by 0.6%, and animal feedingstuffs - by 5.9%.

In March 2024, 2 213 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 62.9 thousand rooms and 130.0 thousand bed-places in them. In comparison with the same month of the previous year, the accommodation establishments increased by 4.2% and the bed-places in them - by 4.7%.

The total number of nights spent was 1 074.8 thousand, or by 4.6% more in comparison to a year earlier, and the number of arrivals in all accommodation establishments increased by 9.7% and reached 497.2 thousand.

The total revenues from nights spent reached 93.5 million BGN, or by 17.4% more compared to the same month of the previous year.