National Statistical Institute

As of 31 December 2019 the population of Bulgaria is 6 951 482 persons representing 1.4% of the EU population1 . Compared to 2018, the country population decreases by 48 557 persons or by 0.7%, the National Statistical Institute said in a press release.

10,000 Bulgarians traveled to Europe's most affected country by a coronavirus - Italy, last month. This is shown by the data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI).

Preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI) for the fourth quarter of 2019 indicate that the total hourly labour cost rose by 11.9% compared to the fourth quarter of 2018. The total hourly labour cost grew by 10.5% in industry, by 11.5% in services, and by 14.5% in construction, the National Statistical Institute said in a press release.

In 2019, Bulgarian exports to the EU grew by 2.9% compared to 2018 and amounted to BGN 38,779.5 million. Main trade partners of Bulgaria were Germany, Romania, Italy, Greece, France and Belgium which accounted for 66.5% of the exports to the EU Member States, the National Statistical Institute (NSI)said on its website. 

In February 2020, the total business climate indicator decreases by 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous month as a result of the more unfavourable business climate in retail trade and service sector, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said in a press release.

The turnover indices in services cover the activities included in sections 'Transportation, storage and post', 'Information and communication' and 'Other business services', the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said in a press release.

In the fourth quarter of 2019, 1,302.5 thousand Bulgarian residents made tourism trips, the National Statistical Institute said in a press release. The majority (81.1%) of them travelled only in the country, 17.1% - only abroad and 1.8% - both in the country and abroad. Compared to the same quarter of 2018, the total number of the travellers aged 15 and over increased by 18.9%

In the fourth quarter of 2019 there were 138.5 thousand unemployed persons, of whom 80.6 thousand (58.2%) men and 57.9 thousand (41.8%) women. The unemployment rate was 4.1%, 4.4% and 3.8% for men and women respectively. In comparison with the fourth quarter of 2018, the unemployment rate went down by 0.6 percentage points, registering the same decrease for men and women.

The total income average per household member during the fourth quarter of 2019 was BGN 1,770, a 13.7% increase compared to the same quarter of 2018, the National Statistical Institute said in a press release.

According to Jaewoo Lee, Head of the IMF mission for Bulgaria, inequality in this country keeps growing, BNR reported.