Press releases

The turnover index in the section ‘Transportation, storage and post’ decreased by 1.3% for the third quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter. In the section ‘Information and communication’, the index remained unchanged. The data are preliminary and seasonally adjusted.

During the third quarter of 2023, the turnover index in the section ‘Transportation, storage and post’ decreased by 5.0% compared to the same quarter of 2022. The turnover in the section ‘Information and communication’ rose by 12.8%. The data are preliminary and calendar-adjusted.

In the third quarter of 2023, the goods carried by freight land and water transport rose by 15.7% and the transport performance by 4.4% in comparison with the same quarter of 2022. The data are preliminary.

The number of passengers carried by passenger transport (land, water and urban electrical transport) increased by 4.9% in the second quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, the transport performance recorded a decline of 4.0%.

The third quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter of 2022:

• In the third quarter of 2023, the transported goods by the land transport were 14.5% up on the same quarter of 2022, and the transport performance increased by 4.6%.
• The goods carried by sea and inland waterway transport rose by 572.4 thousand tonnes, while the transport performance, measured in tonne-kilometres, fell by 2.9%.
• The number of transported passengers by land transport decreased by 2.0% and the transport performance recorded a drop of 5.8% compared to the same quarter of 2022.
• In the third quarter of 2023 there was an increase of 22.8 thousand passengers in volume of transported passengers by water transport, while transport performance declined by 10 thousand passenger-kilometres.

During the period July - September 2023, the enterprises performing urban electrical transport carried 15.8% more passengers and the transport performance increased by 12.0% compared to the same period of 2022.

In the third quarter of 2023 the expenditure on acquisition of tangible fixed assets in all sectors of the economy amounted to 6 742 million BGN, which is 1.5% more as compared to the previous quarter. The data are preliminary.

Detailed data can be found on the NSI website under the heading “Investments”.

In the third quarter of 2023, 1 822.3 thousand Bulgarian residents made tourist trips. The majority of them - 72.5% travelled only in the country, 20.7% - only abroad, and 6.8% - both in the country and abroad. Compared to the same quarter of 2022, the total number of travelled persons aged 15 and over increased by 4.2%.

In the third quarter of 2023:

- The unemployment rate was 4.0%, by 0.4 percentage points higher in comparison with the third quarter of 2022;

- The employment rate of the population aged 15 - 64 decreased by 0.6 percentage points in comparison with the same quarter of 2022 and stood at 71.5%;

- The activity rate of the population aged 15 - 64 was 74.6%, by 0.2 percentage points lower compared to the third quarter of 2022.

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

The producer price index in Forestry increased by 14.5% in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the previous year, as a result of an increase in both the prices of wood in the rough from coniferous - by 4.8%, and the prices of wood in the rough from non-coniferous - by 22.3%.

Compared to the same quarter of 2022 there is 12.3% increase in prices of wood in the rough.

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

According to data from the Household Budget Survey, the quarterly total income average per household member during the third quarter of 2023 is 2 874 BGN and increases by 22.5% compared to the same quarter of 2022.

The quarterly total expenditure average per household member during the third quarter of 2023 is 2 714 BGN and increases by 21.2% compared to the same quarter of 2022.

The consumption of most basic food products on average per household member during the third quarter of 2023 decreased compared to the same quarter of 2022. The biggest decrease is in vegetable consumption - from 26.1 kg to 24.9 kg, bread and paste products - from 18.6 kg to 18.0 kg and fruit - from 19.1 kg to 18.7 kg.

In October 2023, the monthly inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 0.4% compared to the previous month, and the annual inflation rate in October 2023 compared to October 2022 was 5.8%.

An increase was registered for Recreation and culture (+6.7%), Clothing and footwear (+5.7%), Education (+1.1%) and Furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house (+0.8%). The highest decrease was recorded in the prices for Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (-0.4%), Food and non-alcoholic beverages (-0.4%) and Transport (-0.3%).

The monthly inflation rate, measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) was 0.2% and the annual inflation rate was 5.9%.

The producer price index in agriculture for the third quarter of 2023 decreased by 24.9% in comparison with the same quarter of 2022 as a result of an decrease in the price index of crop output by 30.5% and an increase in the index of animal output by 10.5%.

Compared to the previous year, the prices of agricultural output decreased by 23.8%, as in crop output they decreased by 29.9% and in animal output they increased by 13.9%.

In crop output, in the third quarter of 2023, compared to the same quarter of 2022, the highest drop was recorded in the prices of cereals - by 37.1%. The trend also retained in comparison with 2022, with the decrease in cereals - by 35.5%.

In animal output, in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter of 2022, the prices of live animals increased by 21.2%, and of animal products output - by 0.7%. Compared to 2022, the increase was by 28.3% and 0.8%, respectively.

The price index of products and services currently consumed in agriculture for the third quarter of 2023 was lower by 10.8% compared to the same quarter of the previous year and by 7.6% compared to 2022.

The biggest decrease, compared to the third quarter of 2023, was observed in the prices of: mineral fertilizers - by 44.9%, electricity - by 8.5%, and plant protection preparations - by 5.4%.

Compared to the previous year, the biggest decrease was in the prices of: mineral fertilizers - by 41.7%, electricity - by 3.5%, and plant protection preparations - by 3.3%.

According to the seasonally adjusted data, GDP had a growth rate of 1.7% in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter of the previous year.