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1994-05-02
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<text>
<title>
Bulgaria: Economy
</title>
<article><hdr>The World Factbook 1993: Bulgaria
Economy</hdr><body>
<p>Overview: Growth in the lackluster Bulgarian economy fell to
the 2% annual level in the 1980s. By 1990, Sofia's foreign debt
had skyrocketed to over $10 billion - giving a debt-service
ratio of more than 40% of hard currency earnings and leading the
regime to declare a moratorium on its hard currency payments.
The post-Communist government 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 over one-third in 1990); and motivating workers, in part
by giving them a share in the earnings of their enterprises.
Political bickering in Sofia and the collapse of the DIMITROV
government in October 1992 have slowed the economic reform
process. New Prime Minister BEROV, however, has pledged to
continue the reforms initiated by the previous government. He
has promised to continue cooperation with the World Bank and
IMF, advance negotiations on rescheduling commercial debt, and
push ahead with privatization. BEROV's government - whose main
parliamentary supporters are the former Communist Bulgarian
Socialist Party (BSP) - nonetheless appears likely to pursue
more interventionist tactics in overcoming the country's
economic problems.
</p>
<p>National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $34.1
billion (1992)
</p>
<p>National product real growth rate: -7.7% (1992)
</p>
<p>National product per capita: $3,800 (1992)
</p>
<p>Inflation rate (consumer prices): 80% (1992)
</p>
<p>Unemployment rate: 15% (1992)
</p>
<p>Budget: revenues $8 billion; expenditures $5 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.)
</p>
<list>
<l>Exports: $3.5 billion (f.o.b., 1991)</l>
<l> commodities: machinery and equipment 30.6%; agricultural
products 24%; manufactured consumer goods 22.2%; fuels,
minerals, raw materials, and metals 10.5%; other 12.7%
(1991)</l>
<l> partners: former CEMA countries 57.7% (USSR 48.6%, Poland
2.1%, Czechoslovakia 0.9%); developed countries 26.3% (Germany
4.8%, Greece 2.2%); less developed countries 15.9% (Libya 2.1%,
Iran 0.7%) (1991)</l>
<l>Imports: $2.8 billion (f.o.b., 1991)</l>
<l> commodities: fuels, minerals, and raw materials 58.7%;
machinery and equipment 15.8%; manufactured consumer goods 4.4%;
agricultural products 15.2%; other 5.9%</l>
<l> partners: former CEMA countries 51.0% (former USSR 43.2%,
Poland 3.7%); developed countries 32.8% (Germany 7.0%, Austria
4.7%); less developed countries 16.2% (Iran 2.8%, Libya
2.5%)</l>
</list>
<p>External debt: $12 billion (1991)
</p>
<p>Industrial production: growth rate -21% (1992 est.); accounts
for about 37% of GDP (1990)
</p>
<p>Electricity: 11,500,000 kW capacity; 45,000 million kWh
produced, 5,070 kWh per capita (1992)
</p>
<p>Industries: machine building and metal working, food
processing, chemicals, textiles, building materials, ferrous and
nonferrous metals
</p>
<p>Agriculture: accounts for 22% of GDP (1990); climate and soil
conditions support livestock raising and the growing of various
grain crops, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, and tobacco; more
than one-third of the arable land devoted to grain; world's
fourth-largest tobacco exporter; surplus food producer
</p>
<p>Illicit drugs: transshipment point for southwest Asian heroin
transiting the Balkan route
</p>
<p>Economic aid: donor - $1.6 billion in bilateral aid to
non-Communist less developed countries (1956-89)
</p>
<p>Currency: 1 lev (Lv)=100 stotinki
</p>
<p>Exchange rates: leva (Lv) per US$1 - 24.56 (January
1993),17.18 (January 1992), 16.13 (March 1991), 0.7446 (November
1990), 0.84 (1989), 0.82 (1988), 0.90 (1987); note - floating
exchange rate since February 1991
</p>
<p>Fiscal year: calendar year
</p></body></article></text>