Statistical data

In March 2024, the turnover in ‘Retail trade, except motor vehicles and motorcycles’ at constant prices decreased by 0.6% compared to the previous month. The data are preliminary and seasonally adjusted.

А decrease was observed in all major groups: the non-food products (except fuel) - by 2.3%, the food, beverages and tobacco - by 0.8% and the automotive fuel - by 0.4%.

The calendar-adjusted turnover rose by 0.3% compared to the same month in 2023.

In March 2024, compared to the same month of 2023, an increase in turnover was registered in the food, beverages and tobacco - by 8.6%, a decrease was registered in the automotive fuel in specialised stores - by 15.5%, while the trade of non-food products (except fuel) kept the level of the previous year.

The total production index in Services of the business economy increased by 0.1% in February 2024 compared to the previous month. The data are preliminary and seasonally adjusted.

During February 2024, the production index in Services of the business economy increased by 3.6% compared to the same month of 2023. The data are preliminary and calendar-adjusted.

According to preliminary data from the National Statistical Institute in the first quarter of 2024, the number of newly built residential buildings was 1 026, and the newly built dwellings in them were 3 475.

In the first quarter of 2024, 78.5% of the newly built residential buildings had steel-concrete construction, 16.0% had solid structure, 4.3% had ‘other’ and 1.2% had a panel construction. The highest is the relative share of houses (79.1%), followed by blocks of flats (12.9%).

The highest is the number of residential buildings built in the district of Plovdiv - 147 residential buildings with 357 dwellings, followed by district of Sofia - 139 residential buildings with 217 dwellings, and Varna - 108 buildings with 394 dwellings in them.

The highest is the number of newly built dwellings with two rooms (33.6%), followed by the number of those with three rooms (32.8%), and the lowest is the number of dwellings with six and more rooms (4.5%).

In the first quarter of 2024, the total useful space of newly built dwellings was 353.2 thousand sq. m, and the living floor space was 274.5 thousand sq. meters. The average useful floor space of a newly built dwelling was 101.7 sq. meters.

The biggest average useful floor space of a newly built dwelling was recorded in the districts of Montana - 230.5 sq. m, and Silistra - 182.5 sq. m, and the smallest ones in Veliko Tarnovo - 69.0 sq. m, and Sliven - 75.1 sq. meters.

For March 2024, revenues of the subsector ‘Central Government’ were reported in the amount of BGN 4 206.81 million and expenditures - BGN 5 013.22 million, and for the subsector ‘Social Security Funds’, the revenues amounted to BGN 2 453.19 million, and the expenditures are BGN 2 516.71 million.

The data of the ‘Central Government’ subsector are formed on the basis of the monthly cash statements of the budget units, as well as estimates of the state enterprises reclassified in the subsector, and the data of the ‘Social Security Funds’ subsector - on the basis of the monthly cash statements of the National Insurance Institute and the National Health Insurance Fund.

The information is published on the basis of Article 3(2) of Directive 2011/85 of the EU.

Detailed data can be found on the NSI website under the heading 'Government Finance Statistics'.

As of 31 December 2023, the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria is administratively divided into 28 administrative districts and 265 municipalities, within which there are 3 041 individual mayoralties. Total number of settlements is 5 256, of which 257 towns and 4 999 villages, while the settlement formations are 166 (including 8 of national and 158 of local importance). The largest municipalities with population above 100 000 inhabitants are eight - Stolichna, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Stara Zagora, Ruse, Sliven and Pleven. The share of the population in these eight municipalities represents 40.8% of the total country’s population.

The number of newly built residential buildings in 2023 was 5 419, and the newly built dwellings in them were 22 649.

76.1% of the newly built residential buildings had steel-concrete construction, 20.7% had solid structure, 2.9% had ‘other’ and 0.3% had a panel.

The highest is the number of newly built dwellings with two rooms (36.4%), followed by the number of those with three rooms (33.2%), and the lowest is the number of dwellings with six and more rooms (4.6%).

The total useful space of newly built dwellings in 2023 is 2 240.7 thousand sq. m, and the living floor space is 1 766.6 thousand sq. meters.

Detailed data can be found on the NSI website under the heading 'Short-term statistics on residential buildings'.

In the first quarter of 2024, the municipal authorities issued building permits for the construction of 1 823 residential buildings with 10 487 dwellings, 27 administrative buildings/offices and 1 094 other buildings.

The issued building permits for new residential buildings increased by 4.3% as compared to the first quarter of 2023. The issued building permits for administrative buildings and other buildings rose by 42.1% and 5.7%, respectively.

The construction of 1 389 residential buildings with 9 089 dwellings, 6 administrative buildings/offices and 550 other buildings has started.

As compared to the first quarter of 2023, the number of started new residential buildings and other buildings increased by 9.2% and 6.4%, respectively. The number of started administrative buildings decreased by 25.0%.

The Total Producer Price Index in Industry fell by 1.6% in March 2024 compared to the previous month and by 8.7% compared to March 2023.

The Producer Price Index on the Domestic Market decreased by 3.3% in March compared to February 2024 and by 12.7% compared to March 2023.

In 2022, the total value of revenues from environmental taxes was 8 009.31 million BGN, or 106.9% more than in 2021 (3 869.93 million BGN).

Energy taxes had the largest relative share of the total environmental tax revenues for 2022 - 94.2% (7 546.39 million BGN). There was a significant increase in energy taxes in 2022 due to the inclusion of a new energy tax in the National Tax List (NTL) - Contributions from the Electric Power System Security Fund (FSES) - 3 503.01 million BGN.

Next in importance were excise taxes on fuel consumption (coal, petroleum products, natural gas and electricity) used both for stationary purposes and for transport purposes - 2 377.93 million BGN, and revenues from greenhouse gas emissions - 1 629.31 million BGN.

The share of transport taxes from the total environmental tax revenues for 2022 was 5.1% (412.07 million BGN), and the share of taxes on pollution and resources had the smallest relative share - 0.6% (50.84 million BGN).

In 2022, most of the environmental taxes were paid by the business sector - 6 727.08 million BGN, or 84% of the country’s total revenues from environmental taxes. The largest share had the services sector  - 4 271.36 million BGN or 53.3% of the total revenues from environmental taxes. On second place was the industry sector - 2 323.94 million BGN (29%), and third - agriculture, forestry and fishing sector 131.78 million BGN (1.6%).

Environmental taxes paid by households in 2022 amounted to 1 153.24 million BGN, or 14.4% of the total revenues from environmental taxes. Environmental taxes paid by the non-resident sector (Rest of the World) amounted to 129 million BGN in 2022, or 1.6% of the total paid environmental taxes.

Detailed data on revenues from the four categories of environmental taxes (energy, transport, pollution and resource taxes), distributed by economic activities, households and non-residents, can be found on the NSI website under the heading 'Environmental taxes'.

As of December 31, 2023, the population of Bulgaria is 6 445 481 persons. Compared to 2022, the country’s population decreased by 2 229 persons or by 0.03%.

There are 57 478 children born in 2023, of which 57 197 (99.5%) - live born. The number of live births increased by 601 children, or 1.1% compared to the previous year.

The number of deaths in 2023 is 101 006 and compared to the previous year, decreased by 17 808, or by 15.0%.