Overview of Bulgarian Economy

When we think of the emerging European economies of the East, the former communist bloc countries, we immediately view them as high growth and rapidly developing nations, particularly so as we correctly see them coming from a very low base (low that is from a developed world country perspective), however this perception is often too simplistic. Indeed, just examining the recent economic stats for Bulgaria, for instance a jobless rate of 12%, growth stagnant at a mere 1% (so far in terms of output for 2012), whilst inflation has picked up significantly during the latter part of 2012 and by January this year was rising at almost four-and-a-half percent annual clip. On the positive side, total Bulgarian government debt is very low by international standards, and although average wages and salaries have been rising at nearly twice the rate of annual inflation, but at just under €5,000 they are still quite modest when compared to the rest of the European Union.