Bulgaria Economic Forecast

Initially, Bulgaria was a communist nation but in January of 2007, this country became a member of the European Union or EU. Since breaking free from communism and being in a downward economic spiral, Bulgaria has seen tremendous growth. Although most government officials of this country have been 100% committed to developing some type of economic reform and have taken full responsibility for financial planning, increasing inflation costs and significant account balance deficits has made success impossible. Pushing forward, since 2005 Bulgaria has been able to average over 6% growth.

Initially, Bulgaria was a communist nation but in January of 2007, this country became a member of the European Union or EU. Since breaking free from communism and being in a downward economic spiral, Bulgaria has seen tremendous growth. Although most government officials of this country have been 100% committed to developing some type of economic reform and have taken full responsibility for financial planning, increasing inflation costs and significant account balance deficits has made success impossible. Pushing forward, since 2005 Bulgaria has been able to average over 6% growth. Because of this, the amount of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) interest in the country has increased dramatically. Even so, the country has continued to struggle due to some government corruption, issues with organized crime, and a weak judiciary. Even so, many people in Bulgaria are determined to stabilize the economy so the country can again enjoy healthy growth.

Bulgaria GDP Forecast

According to the World Bank, the economy of Bulgaria is considered as being upper middle income. One of the most fascinating things about the economic situation of this country is that while stead growth has been measured over the past few years, it is will one of the most underdeveloped of all countries in Europe. The primary sectors for Bulgaria include industry although the services sector has also played a role in boosting the Gross Domestic Product growth. Primarily, this country deals with iron, copper, gold, refined petroleum fuels, coal, weapons, bismuth, coal, electronics, and materials for the construction industry. In 2009, the Bulgaria GDP (Gross Domestic Product, Current Prices, US Dollar) was reported at $47.102 billion in US dollars. This number was a decrease of 5.61% from 2008, which was reported at $49.90 billion. In looking at the end of 2010, experts are forecasting an increase of GDP current prices of 7.47%, which would put numbers at $50.62 billion. However, forecasters also believe that by the end of 2015, numbers will increase significantly to $9,474.14 billion.

Bulgaria Unemployment Forecast

Latest numbers for Bulgaria population show that more than 7.5 million people currently live in this country. Bordering five countries puts Bulgaria at an advantage and with this being an open free market with large and advanced private sectors, the economy of Bulgaria is strong with the World Bank putting the economy in the upper middle income category. However, some of the strategic and critical industries of the country are state-owned. Some 2.63 million people work in Bulgaria but the Bulgaria unemployment rate is still just over 9%. In fact, almost 14% of the population of Bulgaria lives under the poverty line. While the country has seen growth, in part from improvement of Foreign Direct Investment or FDI, the latest recession from the world financial crisis shows that more exports, as well as capital inflows are desperately needed.

Bulgaria Inflation Rate Forecast

The Bulgaria inflation rate in 2008 was reported at 7.19% and for 2009, 1.638% a significantly 77.21% drop. With this, the country was listed as position number 112 in world rankings. For the end of 2010, professional forecasters expect to see an increase of 64.84%, which would increase the inflation rate to 2.70% and by 2015, another increase, closing the year out at 3%.

Bulgaria Current Account Balance Forecast

Finally, for the Bulgaria Current Account Balance, 2008 closed at a negative $12.07 billion in US dollars. By the end of 2009, a reduction of 63.07% was experienced, which changed inflation to a negative $4.458 billion. Now, looking at 2010, forecasters feel strongly that another reduction will be seen around 28.91%, putting the numbers at negative $3.17 billion. If we were to look at forecasts for the country’s account balance five years from now, the numbers are expected to close at $4.349 billion, again in US dollars.