Bulgarian economy grew by 0.5% in Q4 2022 – flash estimate
Bulgaria’s economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said in a flash estimate on February 14. In real terms, gross domestic product (GDP) in Bulgaria in October-December 2022 was 47.09 billion leva, or 24.08 billion euro.
In annual terms, the economic growth in the fourth quarter was 2.1 per cent, compared to the same period of 2021. NSI is due to announce preliminary growth figures for the quarter and the full year 2022 in early March.
The flash estimate’s seasonally-adjusted data showed domestic consumption rise by 1.4 per cent during the fourth quarter, and it was 4.7 per cent higher on an annual basis. Gross fixed capital formation fell by 0.8 per cent in October-December, and was 3.3 per cent down compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.
Exports rose by 0.3 per cent compared to the third quarter and were 7.2 per cent higher compared to the same period of 2021, while imports rose by 3.1 per cent on a quarterly basis and were 10.7 per cent up year-on-year.
Bulgaria recorded a trade deficit of 1.83 billion leva in the quarter, the equivalent of 3.9 per cent of GDP, NSI said.
NSI’s statistics releases do not, as a rule, include analysis of trends and its GDP flash estimate made no mention of the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic or the Russian invasion of Ukraine had on Bulgaria’s economy.
Bulgaria’s economic growth in the fourth quarter was higher than the figure recorded for the EU as a whole, according to data from the bloc’s statistics body Eurostat.
The euro zone economy grew by 0.1 per cent in Q4 and the EU27 was unchanged compared to the previous quarter. Year-on-year, the EU economy increased by 1.8 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, while the euro zone economy was up by 1.9 per cent.
(Photo: Steve Ford/sxc.hu)
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