Bulgaria records 1.1% economic growth in Q1 2019 – flash estimate
Bulgaria’s economy posted 1.1 per cent growth in the first quarter of 2019, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said in a flash estimate on May 15. In real terms, gross domestic product (GDP) in Bulgaria in the first three months of the year was 23.88 billion leva, or 12.21 billion euro.
In annual terms, economic growth in the first quarter was 3.4 per cent. NSI is due to announce preliminary growth figures for the quarter on June 6.
The flash estimate’s seasonally-adjusted data showed domestic consumption grow by 0.3 per cent during the first quarter (and was 3.5 per cent higher on an annual basis), while gross fixed capital formation rose by 0.2 (which was also up by 2.6 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2018).
Exports rose by 1.8 per cent during the first quarter (and were five per cent higher compared to the same period of 2018), while imports declined by 0.6 per cent compared to the previous quarter (but were 1.7 per cent higher on an annual basis). The country recorded a small trade surplus of 21.4 million leva the first quarter, NSI said.
Bulgaria was one of 19 EU countries to record economic growth during the first quarter of the year, with Latvia the only country to report that its economy contracted.
The EU economy as a whole grew by 0.5 per cent and the euro zone posted 0.4 per cent growth, according to a flash estimate by EU’s statistics body Eurostat, picking from the previous quarter, when the EU28 economy expanded by 0.3 per cent and the 19-member euro zone grew by 0.2 per cent.
Bulgaria ranked fourth among EU member states, with Hungary topping the list (1.5 per cent), followed by Poland (1.4 per cent) and Romania (1.3). Eight countries were yet to report first-quarter estimates – Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia and Sweden.
In annual terms, the EU economy grew by 1.5 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2018, while the euro zone economy was up by 1.2 per cent.
(Photo: Michael Faes/sxc.hu)
