Press releases

The primary production from renewables in the country decreased by 5.59% to 2 643.949 thousand tons of oil equivalent in 2023 compared to 2022.

The final energy consumption of renewables in the country decreased by 10.08% to 1 327.301 thousand tons of oil equivalent in 2023 compared to the previous year. ‘Households’ sector has the largest share in final energy consumption, which in 2023 was 45.04% or 597.853 thousand tons of oil equivalent.

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

In November 2024, the total business climate indicator preserves its October level. An improvement of the indicator is registered in the industry, in the retail trade remains on its level from the previous month, and in construction and in service sector a decrease is observed.

Тhe uncertain economic environment, shortage of labour, costs of materials and competition in the branch continue to be the main factors limiting the business development in the sectors.

In October 2024, the number of trips of Bulgarian residents abroad was 720.9 thousand, or 3.9% above the registered in October 2023. An increase in the trips with all observed purposes was registered: holiday and recreation - by 7.4%, professional - by 4.8%, and with other purposes - by 0.3%.

The number of visits of non-residents to Bulgaria was 953.1 thousand, or 6.0% more in comparison with the same month of the previous year. An increase in the trips with all observed purposes was registered: holiday and recreation - by 12.9%, professional - by 4.7%, and with other purposes - by 1.6%. Transit passes through the country were 36.5% (347.5 thousand) of all visits of non-residents to Bulgaria.

In the third quarter of 2024, the goods carried by freight land and water transport dropped by 28.1% and the transport performance - by 22.7% in comparison with the same quarter of 2023. The data are preliminary.

The number of passengers carried by passenger transport (land, water and urban electrical transport) increased by 16.9% as did the transport performance, which recorded a 9.7% rise.

In the third quarter of 2024, compared to the same period of the previous year:

• The goods carried by land transported were 29.0% less and the transport performance decreased by 24.6%;
• The inland waterway and maritime transport carried 63.6 thousand tonnes more goods, whereas the performance, measured in tonne-kilometers, marked a 103.5% rise;
• The number of passengers carried by land transport rose by 10.4%, as did the performance - by 5.9%;
• The water passenger transport marked a decline of 8.7 thousand passengers and the performance fell by 3.9%;
• The urban electric transport enterprises carried 16.3 thousand passengers more, while the performance also increased by 38.3%.

In the third quarter of 2024, 1.8 million Bulgarian residents made tourist trips. The majority of them - 72.3%, travelled only in the country, 20.8% - only abroad, and 6.9% - both in the country and abroad. Compared to the same quarter of 2023, the number of travelled persons aged 15 and over remains at the same level.

In the third quarter of 2024, the expenditure on acquisition of tangible fixed assets in all sectors of the economy amounted to 7 351 million BGN, which is with 5.1% more compared to the previous quarter. The largest volume of investments in tangible fixed assets was in the ‘Industry’ sector (except construction) - 2.148 million BGN, followed by the ‘Service’ sector (Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; Transport, communication and services; Accommodation and food service activities) - with 1 644 million BGN. The data are preliminary.

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

The producer price index in Forestry decreased by 11.3% in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the previous year (on an annual basis).

The change is a result of the decrease in both the prices of wood in the rough from coniferous - by 10,9% and from non-coniferous trees - by 11,6%.

A decrease of 9,4% is observed also in the prices of wood in the rough in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter of 2023.

Detailed data are published on the NSI website under the heading 'Forestry'.

In October 2024, the monthly inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was 1.1% compared to the previous month, and the annual inflation rate in October 2024 compared to October 2023 was 1.8%.

In October 2024, compared to the previous month, the highest increase was registered in the following groups: ‘Recreation and culture’ (+8.6%), ‘Clothing and footwear’ (+8.2%), ‘Education’ (+1.8%) and ‘Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’ (+1.1%). A decrease in the prices was recorded in the group ‘Transport’ (-0.3%).

The monthly inflation rate, measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), was 0.6% and the annual inflation rate was 2.0%.

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

- The unemployment rate was 3.6%, by 0.4 percentage points lower compared to the third quarter of 2023;

- The employment rate of the population aged 15 - 64 increased by 0.2 percentage points in comparison with the same quarter of 2023 and stood at 71.7%;

- The activity rate of the population aged 15 - 64 was 74.4%, by 0.2 percentage points lower compared to the third 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, through personal interview, about 19.6 thousand households, randomly selected, are observed.

The producer price index in agriculture for the third quarter of 2024 decreased by 1.9% in comparison with the same quarter of 2023 as a result of а decline in the price index of crop output - by 1.4% and in the index of animal output - by 3.9%.

In the third quarter of 2024, compared to the previous year, the prices of agricultural output went down by 7.1%, as in crop output they decreased by 7.6% and in animal output they fell by 5.0%.

In crop output, in the third quarter of 2024, compared to the same quarter of 2023, the most significant drop was recorded in the prices of cereals - by 7.4%. The trend was also retained on an annual basis compared to 2023, with a decrease in cereals - by 14.3%.

In animal output, in the third quarter of 2024, compared to the same quarter of 2023, the prices of live animals went down by 7.9%, while prices for livestock products increased by 0.1%. Compared to 2023 (on an annual basis), a decrease was reported in the prices of live animals - by 4.4% as well as in the prices of animal products - by 5.6%.

The agricultural consumer goods and services price index for the third quarter of 2024 decreased by 1.1% compared to the same quarter of the previous year and by 4.3% compared to 2023 (on an annual basis).

The biggest decrease, compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023, was recorded in the prices of: mineral fertilizers - by 3.3%, and of animal feedingstuffs - by 3.9%.

Compared to the previous year, the most significant decline was in the prices of: mineral fertilizers - by 17.9%, and of animal feedingstuffs - by 6.7%.