About

Overview In 2023, Bulgaria was the number 69 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 59 in total exports, the number 57 in total imports, the number 72 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 38 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of Bulgaria are Refined Petroleum ($2.32B), Refined Copper ($1.94B), Wheat ($1.78B), Petroleum Gas ($1.35B), and Packaged Medicaments ($1.2B), exporting mostly to Germany ($6.84B), Romania ($5.63B), Italy ($4.06B), Greece ($3.04B), and Turkey ($2.73B).

In 2023, Bulgaria was the world's biggest exporter of Iron Pyrites ($33.8M)

Imports The top imports of Bulgaria are Crude Petroleum ($3.14B), Copper Ore ($1.97B), Cars ($1.74B), Packaged Medicaments ($1.69B), and Electricity ($1.22B), importing mostly from Germany ($6.08B), Turkey ($4.45B), Romania ($4.03B), Russia ($3.51B), and Italy ($3.15B).

Location Bulgaria borders Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey by land.

Latest Trends

Latest Trade

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The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Bulgaria.

Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.

* Trade values are converted to USD using each month's exchange rate. For December 2023 data, the exchange rate from December 30, 2023 is used.

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Latest Data

Flow
Color
Depth

The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

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Historical Data

Yearly Trade

Flow
Color
Depth
Top Export (2023)Refined Petroleum$2.32B
Top Destination (2023)Germany$6.84B

In 2023, Bulgaria exported a total of $50.6B, making it the number 59 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Bulgaria have changed by $16B from $34.5B in 2018 to $50.6B in 2023.

The most recent exports are led by Refined Petroleum ($2.32B), Refined Copper ($1.94B), Wheat ($1.78B), Petroleum Gas ($1.35B), and Packaged Medicaments ($1.2B). The most common destination for the exports of Bulgaria are Germany ($6.84B), Romania ($5.63B), Italy ($4.06B), Greece ($3.04B), and Turkey ($2.73B).

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Exports (2023)
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Destinations (2023)
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Market Growth

Flow
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Growth
Fastest Growing Export Markets (2022 - 2023)
Poland$521M (+ 32.8%)
China$432M (+ 38.8%)
Greece$305M (+ 11.2%)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2022 - 2023)
Germany$377M (+ 6.61%)
Czechia$348M (+ 28.6%)
Romania$263M (+ 6.96%)

Total Export Growth by Market (2022 - 2023)

Potential Exports

Potential Exports

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Service Trade

Service Trade

Bulgaria Exports Services (2020)$6.19B
Bulgaria Imports Services (2020)$3.87B

In 2020, Bulgaria exported $6.19B worth of services. The top services exported by Bulgaria in 2020 were Miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services ($1.28B), Other transport ($1.25B), Personal travel ($1.11B), Reinsurance ($598M), and Business travel ($519M).

The top services imported by Bulgaria in 2020 were Miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services ($837M), Personal travel ($535M), Business travel ($506M), Sea transport ($457M), and Other transport ($435M).

Service Exports (2020)

Service Imports (2020)

Economic Complexity

Overview

Economic Complexity (Trade)0.69Rank 38 of 132
Economic Complexity (Technology)0.34Rank 44 of 96
Economic Complexity (Research)-0.81Rank 116 of 140

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

Bulgaria has a high level of specialization in Coin (81.2), Spring, Air, and Gas Guns (70), Sunflower Seeds (60.9), Explosive Ammunition (41.3), and Non-Retail Combed Wool Yarn (31.8). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Bulgaria observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

The top export opportunities for Bulgaria according to the relatedness index, were Paper Containers (0.37), Cement (0.37), Other Footwear (0.37), Water (0.37), and Cereal Meal and Pellets (0.37). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Bulgaria is not specialized in.

Product Space

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Bulgaria. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Bulgaria exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Relatedness Space (2023)

Diversification Frontier

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Depth

The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Diversification Frontier

Economic Complexity Ranking

Methodology
Scale

During the last 20 years Bulgaria's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively more complex, moving from the ⁩⁨45th to the 38th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

Explore Rankings

ECI (Trade) Ranking by Country

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