National Statistical Institute

In February 2014, the number of the trips of Bulgarian residents abroad was 249.5 thousand or by 1.4% above the registered in February 2013.

Ivan Balev, head of the Demographic and Social Statistics unit of Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute (NSI), has insisted that the 2011 census was deeply flawed.

Balev, as cited by Darik radio, claimed that the shortcomings of the 2011 census were due to mistakes of census workers and statisticians.

Nearly 18 000 kilometers of roads have disappeared from Bulgaria's map after 2002, following data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI), an NGO informs.

Immigrants will slow down the ageing of Bulgaria's population, but will not solve the demographic problem in the long term, shows a study of Bulgaria's Academy of Sciences (BAN). 

The total hourly labor cost in Q4 2013 has risen by 4.3% compared to Q4 2012, according to the preliminary data of Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute.

The total hourly labor cost grew by 4.4% in industry and by 4.8% in services. In construction the total hourly labor costs rose by 4.2%.

Unemployment in Bulgaria reached 12.9% in 2013.

Data by the National Statistical Institute cited by the website Expert.bg suggests it is up 0.6% compared to the previous year.

The number of Bulgarians currently out of work amounts to 436 000, with 250 000 (or 57.4%) permanently looking for a job.

The annual inflation by end-February hit record low rates of -2.6%, according to Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute.

The consumer price index (CPI) in February 2014 compared to January 2014 was 99.6%, i.e. the monthly inflation was -0.4%. The inflation rate since the beginning of the year (February 2014 compared to December 2013) was -0.6%, the NSI reports.

Tourists in Bulgaria's second biggest city Plovdiv increased by 7% in 2013, compared to the previous year, reaching 14,261, data of National Statistical Institute shows.

Plovdiv Municipality experts recorded an increase of individual visits of the city, as well as a 5% raise in museum visits, Standart news reports.