Bulgaria’s Economy Grows by 1.2%

Bulgaria's economy will grow 1.2% in 2013 and 2.2% in 2014, a report of the Barcelona-based FocusEconomy Company reads. In 2015 and 2016, the economy may grow by 3.1% and 3.4% respectively.

In addition, the Spanish company forecasts that domestic consumption in Bulgaria will grow by 2.4% in 2013 and by 2.8% in 2014, respectively, while in 2015 and 2016 it will grow by 3.2% and 3.5%. 

Bulgaria’s industry sector is also expected to liven up a bit, according to FocusEconomy’s report, at least. 

The unemployment rate in Bulgaria will remain relatively high over the next two years. The situation on the labor market may improve a little in 2016. 

FocusEconomy forecasts that the unemployment rate will shrink from 13% to 11.6% by the end of 2013; next year it will fall to 10.8% and in 2015 the unemployment rate will drop to 9.9%. Finally, in 2016 it will be reduced to just 8.6%. 

This year's budget deficit will be 1.5% of Bulgaria's GDP, the Spanish analysts say, while in 2014 it will shrink to 1.2%. By 2017 it will drop to just 0.2% of Bulgaria's GDP.

In 2014, Bulgaria's state debt will hit 19% of the country’s GDP, but by 2017 it will shrink to just 14.6% of Bulgaria's GDP.

Adapted from Standart