Overview: Growth in the sluggish Bulgarian economy has fallen to the 2% annual level in the 1980s. The Marxist-Leninist regime faces major problems of renovating an aging industrial plant, keeping abreast of rapidly unfolding technological developments, investing in additional energy capacity (the portion of electric power from nuclear energy reached 37% in 1988), and motivating workers, in part by giving them a share in the earnings of their enterprises. A major decree of January 1989 summarized and extended the government's economic restructuring efforts, which include a partial decentralization of controls over production decisions and foreign trade. As in other Communist countries, however, the ruling group cannot (so far) bring itself to giving up ultimate control over economic affairs exercised through the vertical Party/ministerial command structure. Reforms have not led to improved economic performance, in particular the provision of more and better consumer goods.

GNP: $67.6 billion, per capita $7,540; real growth rate 1.8% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (1987)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $23.8 billion; expenditures $23.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $11.0 billion (1987)

Exports: $16.8 billion (f.o.b., 1987); @m5commodities--machinery and equipment 60.5%; agricultural products 14.7%; manufactured consumer goods 10.6%; fuels, minerals, raw materials, and metals 8.5%; other 5.7%; @m5partners--Socialist countries 82.5% (USSR 61%, GDR 5.5%, Czechoslovakia 4.9%); developed countries 6.8% (FRG 1.2%, Greece 1.0%); less developed countries 10.7% (Libya 3.5%, Iraq 2.9%)

Imports: $16.9 billion (f.o.b., 1987); @m5commodities--fuels, minerals, and raw materials 45.2%; machinery and equipment 39.8%; manufactured consumer goods 4.6%; agricultural products 3.8%; other 6.6%; @m5partners--Socialist countries 80.5% (USSR 57.5%, GDR 5.7%), developed countries 15.1% (FRG 4.8%, Austria 1.6%); less developed countries 4.4% (Libya 1.0%, Brazil 0.9%)

External debt: $6.1 billion (1987)

Industrial production: growth rate 4.4% (1987)

Electricity: 11,300,000 kW capacity; 43,300 million kWh produced, 4,830 kWh per capita (1988)

Industries: food processing, machine and metal building, electronics, chemicals

Agriculture: grain, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, sheep, hogs, poultry, cheese, sunflower seeds; mainly self-sufficient

Aid: NA

Currency: lev (plural--leva); 1 lev (Lv) = 100 stotinki

Exchange rates: leva (Lv) per US$1--0.82 (1988), 0.90 (1987), 0.95 (1986), 1.03 (1985); linked to the Soviet ruble

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Bulgaria on this page is re-published from the 1989 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Bulgaria Economy 1989 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Bulgaria Economy 1989 should be addressed to the CIA.