Press releases

In the third quarter of 2017, 1 991.8 thousand Bulgarian residents made tourist trips. The majority (82.3%) of them travelled only within the country, 14.5% - only abroad and 3.2% - both in the country and abroad. Compared to the same quarter of 2016 the total number of the travelled persons aged 15 and over increased by 31.2%, as the number of the Bulgarian residents travelled only in the country increased by 32.8%, travelled only abroad - by 43.3% while the number of persons travelled both in the country and abroad decreased by 21.6%.

The total income average per household member during the third quarter of 2017 is 1 431 BGN and increases by 9.4% compared to the same quarter of 2016.

The total expenditure average per household member during the third quarter of 2017 is
1 382 BGN and increases by 13.0% in comparison with the same quarter of 2016.

The consumption of main food products average per household member is without considerable change during the third quarter of 2017 compared to the same quarter of 2016.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2017 increased by 0.6% in the EU-28 compared to the previous quarter by seasonally adjusted data. For the same period GDP in Bulgaria increased by 0.9%.

According to the seasonally adjusted data, the GDP growth rate in the third quarter of 2017 is 3.9% compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

In the third quarter of 2017 the unemployment rate was 5.8% and the employment rate of population aged 20 - 64 was 73.0%.

The investment business inquiry of NSI carried out among industrial enterprises in October 2017 shows that the entrepreneurs expect the investments in the current year to be with 9.5% less in comparison with the previous 2016. The forecasts over 2018 are for a decrease of the volume of investments in industry by 4.8% compared to 2017.

The consumer price index in October 2017 compared to September 2017 was 100.6%, i.e. the monthly inflation was 0.6%.

According to the preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute at the end of September 2017 the number of employees under labour contract decreased by 1.3% as compared to the end of June 2017 and reached 2.31 million.

In the third quarter of 2017 in comparison with the second quarter of 2017 the average monthly wages and salaries decreased by 0.3% getting 1 037 BGN.

In September 2017, 2 729 accommodation establishments - hotels, motels, camping sites, mountain chalets and other establishments for short-term accommodation with more than 10 bed-places were functioned in the country. The total number of the rooms in them was 128.0 thousand and the bed-places were 285.5 thousand. In comparison with September 2016, the total number of accommodation establishments (functioned during the period) increased by 0.1%, and the bed-places in them - by 2.6%.

The total number of the nights spent in all accommodation establishments registered in September 2017 was 3 089.3 thousand, or by 0.5% more in comparison with the same month of the previous year.

The total revenues from nights spent in September 2017 reached 152.6 million BGN or by 4.5% more compared to September 2016.

In the period January - August 2017 the Bulgarian exports to the EU increased by 11.0% compared to the same period of 2016 and amounted to 22 401.6 Million BGN while the imports grew by 10.9% and added up to 24 193.4 Million BGN.

In August 2017 the exports to the EU increased by 9.4% compared to the corresponding month of the previous year and added up to 2 932.9 Million BGN while the imports grew by 12.3% and amounted to 3 129.3 Million BGN.