Bulgaria’s economy posted 0.8 per cent growth in the third quarter of the year, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said in a flash estimate on November 15. In real terms, gross domestic product (GDP) in Bulgaria in July-September was 24.63 billion leva, or 12.6 billion euro.
In annual terms, economic growth was 3.5 per cent, higher than the three per cent annual growth recorded in the second quarter. NSI is due to announce preliminary growth figures for the third quarter on December 6.
The flash estimate data showed an increase of 1.3 per cent in domestic consumption during the third quarter (up by one per cent on an annual basis), but gross fixed capital formation was down 3.1 per cent (and was four cent lower than in the third quarter of 2015).
Exports rose by 2.1 per cent during the third quarter and were 8.5 per cent higher than in the same period of 2015, while imports declined by 0.7 per cent compared to the previous three months (but were up by 3.9 per cent versus the third quarter of last year).
Bulgaria was one of 21 EU countries to record economic growth during the third quarter of 2016, with the EU economy as a whole posting growth of 0.4 per cent and the euro zone up by 0.3 per cent, according to a flash estimate by EU’s statistics body Eurostat. In the previous quarter, the economic growth was identical – 0.4 per cent in the EU28 and 0.3 per cent in the euro area, Eurostat said.
All 21 EU member states to report GDP figures showed economic growth, with Bulgaria posting the highest figure, tied with Portugal, followed by Spain, Cyprus, the Netherlands and Slovakia, which all recorded 0.7 per cent increases.
Seven countries were yet to report third-quarter estimates: Croatia, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia and Sweden.
In annual terms, the EU economy grew by 1.8 per cent compared to the third quarter of 2015, while the euro zone economy was up by 1.6 per cent.
Source: www.weforum.org; http://sofiaglobe.com/
