Press releases

In April 2024, the number of trips of Bulgarian residents abroad was 707.9 thousand, or 4.9% above the registered in April 2023. The trips with other purposes formed the greatest share of the total number of trips of Bulgarian residents abroad - 40.0%, followed by those with holiday and recreation purposes - 38.2%, and with professional purposes - 21.8%.

The number of visits of non-residents to Bulgaria was 793.3 thousand, or 1.1% more in comparison with the same month of the previous year. Тhe predominant share of the visits was with other purposes - 51.8%, followed by trips with holiday and recreation purposes - 34.0%, and with professional purposes - 14.2%.

Transit passes through the country were 35.6% (282.6 thousand) of all visits of non-residents to Bulgaria.

The total length of the national road network in Bulgaria as at 31.12.2023 was 19 968 km, which is 26 km more than in 2022.

The length of the bituminized and unpaved roads increased by 19 and 14 km respectively, while the crushed-stone and coarse-aggregate roads decreased by 7 km in comparison with the previous year.

Detailed data can be found on the NSI website under the heading 'National Road Network'.

In 2023 the railway freight transport registered a drop in both the goods carried and the performance of 11.3% and 13.1% respectively, compared to the previous year.

The number of the transported passengers decreased by 5.4% and the performance - by 0.5%.

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

In the first quarter of 2024, 1 068.5 thousand Bulgarian residents made tourist trips. The majority of them - 74.9% travelled only in the country, 19.5% - only abroad, and 5.6% - both in the country and abroad. Compared to the same quarter of 2023, the total number of travelled persons aged 15 and over increased by 5.7%.

In the first quarter of 2024 the goods carried by freight land and water transport rose by 0.9%, while the transport performance declined by 5.3% in comparison with the same quarter of 2023. The data are preliminary.

Compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year, the number of passengers transported by passenger transport (land, water and urban electrical transport) rose by 13.4%. The transport performance also increased by 11.9%, compared to first quarter of 2023.

First quarter of 2024, compared to same quarter of 2023:

• The transported goods by land transport increased by 10.3%, while the transport performance dropped by 8.2%;
• The goods carried by sea and inland waterway transport rose by 86.4 thousand tonnes and the transport performance, measured in tonne-kilometres, increased by 25.1%;
• The number of transported passengers by land transport went up by 0.7% and the transport performance recorded an increase of 22.5%;
• There was an increase of 1.4 thousand passengers in the number of transported passengers by water transport, while the transport performance dropped to 1 800.0 pkm;
• The enterprises performing urban electrical transport carried 6.7 thousand passengers more and the transport performance also increased by 25.5%.

In 2023 in Bulgaria were operating the following cultural institutions:

• 186 museums with museum collection of 7 848 thousand units;
• 83 theatres, which organized 16 125 performances, visited by 2 249 thousand viewers;
• 49 libraries with library collection over 200 thousand library units;
• 81 cinemas with 225 cinema screens.

In the first quarter of 2024, the expenditure on acquisition of tangible fixed assets in all sectors of the economy amounted to 5 587 million BGN, which is 45.1% fewer as compared to the previous quarter. The data are preliminary.

Detailed data are published on the NSI website under the heading “Investments”.

Life expectancy at birth of the Bulgarian population, calculated for the period 2021 - 2023, is 73.5 years.

Life expectancy at birth for the male population is 69.9 years, while for females it is 7.4 years higher - 77.3 years.

According to the results of the Labour Force Survey, in the first quarter of 2024:

- The unemployment rate was 5.0%, by 0.6 percentage points higher compared to the first quarter of 2023;

- The employment rate of the population aged 15 - 64 decreased by 0.2 percentage points in comparison with the same quarter of 2023 and stood at 70.2%;

- The activity rate of the population aged 15 - 64 was 74.0%, by 0.3 percentage points higher compared to the first quarter of 2023.

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

According to data from the Household Budget Survey, the quarterly total income average per household member during the first quarter of 2024 was 2 840 BGN and increased by 18.6% compared to the same quarter of 2023.

The quarterly total expenditure average per household member during the first quarter of 2024 was 2 524 BGN and increased by 17.4% compared to the same quarter of 2023.

In the first quarter of 2024, there were changes in the consumption of basic food products on average per person compared to the same quarter of 2023. The biggest increase was in the consumption of vegetables, meat and fruit. The consumption of bread and paste products and vegetable oils decreased.