Press releases

According to the preliminary data of the NSI, in January 2024, the monthly inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was 0.5% compared to the previous month, and the annual inflation rate in January 2024 compared to January 2023 was 3.8%.

The highest increase was registered for Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (+2.2%), Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+1.0%), Education (+0.8%) and Health (+0.6%). The decrease was recorded in the prices for Clothing and footwear (-3.5%) and Transport (-1.7%).

According to the preliminary data of the NSI, the monthly inflation rate, measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), was 0.2% and the annual inflation rate was 4.0%.

The National Statistical Institute presents the results of annual surveys in the field of environmental statistics for 2022.

In 2022, emissions of sulphur and nitrogen oxides, non-methane volatile organic compounds, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and ammonia decrease compared to 2021. The biggest reduction is in the emissions of sulphur oxides - 11%, compared to 2021.

In 2022, 99.5% from country population is connected with public water supply. Water delivered to the households is 251.19 mill. m3 which is with 1.8% less than 2021. In 2022, 2.8% from country population is with water supply regime (due to drought).

According to preliminary data, a total of 85 673 thousand tons of waste from economic activity were generated in 2022, which decreased by 23% compared to 2021. Non-hazardous waste is 71 905 thousand tons with a 27% decrease, and hazardous waste is 13 768 thousand tons, which has increased by 1% compared to the previous year.

Generated municipal waste in 2022 is 3 157 thousand tons. Compared to 2021, there is an increase by 3.2%. Generated waste per capita for 2022 are 475 kg, with 30 kg more than the amount per capita for 2021.

In 2022, 523 thousand tons of packages placed on the market, and their increase, compared to 2021, was 1.97%. Plastic packaging is 148 thousand tons and a decrease of 1.92%, compared to 2021, was recorded.

The availability of the tangible fixed assets with ecological use by accounting value at the end of the 2022 is at 11 092 million BGN. Compared to 2021, there is an increase of 2.0% (10 873 million BGN).

The value of the revenues of the municipal administrations in 2022 is BGN 1 443 million. Compared to 2021, they are increasing by 6.9%. Part of these revenues are the taxes and fees for municipal waste, the value of which in 2022 is BGN 752 million and their level compared to 2021 increases by 7.6%.

749 points of noise level measurement have been surveyed in 2022, located in 36 settlements, and levels above the permissible norms were measured in 514 points. The cities with the highest exceeding noise limits in 2022 are Sofia (stolitsa), Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo, Kyustendil, Stara Zagora and others.

In 2022, the area of protected natural scenery in Bulgaria amounts to 584 836 ha or 5.3% of the country’s territory and compared to 2021 an increase by 1 210 ha is registered. At the end of 2022, in Bulgaria 1 039 protected natural areas exist. The biggest relative share are natural parks - 43.8% (11), followed by national parks - 25.8% (3), reserves - 13.2% (55), etc.

In 2022, the area of deposits for underground reserves increased by 29% and is totally 1 056 thousand decares. The proven reserves of brown coal decreased by 3.94% - 9 249.6 thousand tons compared to 2021. Probable reserves of lead-zinc ores have registered an increase of 7.95% compared to the previous year.

The producer price index in agriculture for the fourth quarter of 2023 decreased by 20.5% in comparison with the same quarter of 2022 as a result of a decrease in the price index of crop output by 25.6% and an increase in the index of animal output by 1.5%.

Compared to the previous year, the prices of agricultural output decreased by 19.1%, as in crop output they decreased by 27.4% and in animal output they increased by 16.0%.

In crop output, in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to the same quarter of 2022, the highest drop was recorded in the prices of cereals - by 33.3%. The trend also retained in comparison with 2022, with the decrease in cereals - by 32.2%.

In animal output, in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter of 2022, the prices of live animals increased by 7.7%, while the prices of animal products output decreased by 6.1%. Compared to 2022 an increase was registered in the prices of live animals - by 21.5%, as the prices of animal products output - by 9.5%.

The agricultural consumer goods and services price index for the fourth quarter of 2023 was lower by 2.3% 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 2022 was recorded in the prices of: mineral
fertilizers - by 15.9%, plant protection preparations - by 5.1% and animal feedingstuffs - by 3.9%.

Compared to the previous year, the biggest decrease was in the prices of: mineral fertilizers - by 42.8%, electricity - by 2.3%, and plant protection preparations - by 9.3%.

In 2023, the number of trips of Bulgarian residents abroad was 8 150.8 thousand, or 12.4% above the registered in 2022.

The trips with other purposes (as a guest, education and visiting cultural and sports events) composed the greatest share of the total number of trips of Bulgarian residents abroad - 43.9%, followed by those with holiday and recreation purposes - 43.9%, and with professional purpose - 19.5%.

The number of visits of non-residents to Bulgaria was 12 627.5 thousand, or 16.0% more in comparison with the previous year. The predominant share of the visits was with other purposes - 47.4%, followed by trips with holiday and recreation purposes - 42.2%, and with professional purpose - 10.4%.

Transit passes through the country were 35.7% (4 509.6 thousand) of all visits of non-residents to Bulgaria.

Detailed data can be found on the NSI website under the heading 'Tourism'.

According to the seasonally adjusted data, GDP had a growth rate of 1.6% in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

The number of employees under labour contract at the end of December 2023 decreased by 0.5% as compared to the end of September 2023 and reached 2.29 million according to the preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI). The highest decrease was observed in economic activities: ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ - by 6.6%, ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’- by 5.9%, and ‘Transportation and storage’ - by 1.3%. The highest increase of the number of employees was recorded in economic activities ‘Arts, entertainment and recreation’ - by 1.6%, and ‘Human health and social work activities’ - by 1.5%.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, in comparison with the third quarter of 2023, the average monthly wages and salaries increased by 6.2% and reached 2 123 BGN. The highest increase in wages and salaries was reported in ‘Education’ - by 16.1%, ‘Human health and social work activities’ - by 8.3%, and in ‘Real estate activities’ - by 7.4%.

In 2022, the Energy intensity of the economy decreased by 2.5% compared to the previous year.

The indicator Energy intensity of the economy measures the quantity of energy used for the production of a unit gross domestic product (GDP). The Energy intensity of the economy is calculated on the basis of the GDP at average 2010 and 2015 prices in thousand euro.

Data from previous years can be found on the NSI website under the heading ‘Energy’, Overall Energy Balance.

In December 2023, 2 229 accommodation establishments - hotels, motels, camping sites, mountain chalets and other establishments for short-term accommodation with 10 or more bed-places, functioned in the country with 63.6 thousand rooms and 132.0 thousand bed-places in them. In comparison with December 2022, the accommodation establishments increased by 0.2% and the bed-places in them - by 3.0%.

The total number of nights spent was 995.8 thousand, or by 2.9% more in comparison to a year earlier, and the number of arrivals in all accommodation establishments increased by 4.3% and reached 493.0 thousand.

The total revenues from nights spent reached 89.7 million BGN, or by 19.8% more compared to the same month of the previous year.

For the period January 1st - February 4th, 2024, the number of dead persons in Bulgaria is 10 773 and they are 308 less than during the same period in 2023. The data on deaths in Bulgaria for the period (1st - 5th week) and by week are available on the website of the National Statistical Institute at the following links:

Mortality | Infostat (infostat.nsi.bg)

Deaths in Bulgaria by weeks | National statistical institute (nsi.bg)

The Industrial Production Index increased by 3.3% in December 2023 compared to the previous month. The data are preliminary and seasonally adjusted.

An increase was seen in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply - by 11.1%, in the mining and quarrying industry - by 9.4%, and in the manufacturing - by 0.9%.

In comparison with December 2022, a decline of 6.9% was registered in the calendar-adjusted Industrial Production Index.

On an annual basis, a drop in the Industrial Production Index was observed in the manufacturing - by 8.9%, and in the mining and quarrying industry - by 8.8%, while in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply there was а growth - by 4.6%.