COUNTRYPROFILE BULGARIA

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WORLD COMPETITIVENESSRANKING 2019

All data are available from theWorld Competitiveness Online.

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Statistical tables

Factor I: Economic Performance

2

1

BASIC FACTS

Capital

Land area (square km '000) 1112018

Exchange Rate (per $) 1.6572018

Population - market size (millions) 7.052018

46

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (US$ billions) 65.12018

54

GDP (PPP) per capita (US$) 23,0242018

48

Real GDP growth (%) 3.12018

25

Consumer price inflation (%) 2.632018

42

Unemployment rate (%) 5.202018

31

Labor force (millions) 3.362017

46

Current account balance (% of GDP) 2.382018

25

Direct investment stocks inward ($bn) 47.82017

52

Direct investment flows inward (% of GDP) 3.962018

13

PEER GROUPS RANKINGSEUROPE - MIDDLE EAST - AFRICA (40 countries) POPULATIONS < 20 MILLION (34 countries)

COMPETITIVENESS TRENDS - OVERALL

BULGARIAOVERALL PERFORMANCE (63 countries) Rank

Sofia

CHALLENGES IN 2019Economic institutions lack a strong judicial system and control of

corruption.

Centre for the Study of Democracy, Sofia

COMPETITIVENESS LANDSCAPE

5550 49 48 48

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

56

36

5046

5

2025

49 49 4751

5653 55

4650

47 49 4946

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Empl

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Pric

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Publ

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Tax

Pol

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Inst

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k

Busi

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Leg

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Soci

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Fra

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Prod

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Effi

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Labo

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Fina

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Man

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Prac

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Att

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Basi

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Tec

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Scie

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Educ

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Economic Performance Government Efficiency Business Efficiency Infrastructure

3633 32 33 32

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

3129

27 28 28

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

• Economic institutions lack a strong judicial system and control of corruption.

• Further efforts should be made to curb the informal economy.• Structural reforms to join ERM II and the Banking Union are

slow.• Insufficient action in reforming the energy sector.• Access to skilled labour is a growing challenge.

Provided by:Centre for the Study of Democracy, Sofia

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IMPROVEMENTSWCY 2018

WCY 2019 DECLINES

WCY 2018

2.1.02 Government budget surplus/deficit (%) 0.93 1.99 1.5.01 Consumer price inflation 1.19

1.1.18 Gross fixed capital formation - real growth 3.80 6.53 2.3.08 Exchange rate stability 0.025

4.3.20 Scientific research legislation 3.07 4.70 2.1.10 Tax evasion 4.40

4.3.10 Researchers in R&D per capita 2.0 3.0 2.4.02 Protectionism 6.07

2.5.01 Justice 1.87 2.77 1.2.02 Current account balance 3.94

2.3.09 Legal and regulatory framework 3.10 4.53 2.3.12 Bureaucracy 2.07

4.5.15 University education 2.53 3.65 2.2.12 Real personal taxes 8.13

3.1.07 Workforce productivity 3.67 5.16 2.4.07 Government subsidies 1.10

4.2.12 Public-private partnerships 3.87 5.40 3.2.03 Remuneration in services professions 7,891

2.5.02 Homicide 1.8 1.1 4.5.01 Total public expenditure on education 4.2

3.3.08 Stock markets 3.33 4.56 3.2.01 Compensation levels 3.00

2.5.05 Social cohesion 2.80 3.79 1.5.02 Cost-of-living index 54.90

3.3.17 Venture capital 3.93 5.32 1.1.14 Real GDP growth 3.6

2.1.11 Pension funding 2.00 2.70 3.5.06 Digital transformation in companies 5.73

4.5.16 Management education 2.87 3.86 3.2.20 Attracting and retaining talents 6.00

COMPETITIVENESS EVOLUTION & ATTRACTIVENESS INDICATORS

BULGARIACOMPETITIVENESS EVOLUTION

2.63

2.38

1.51

5.96

1.38

9,351

3.6

5.02

The criteria below highlight the 15 biggest Improvements and the 15 biggest Declines in the overall performance of the economy. They are

determined by the largest percentage changes in the value of each criterion from one yearbook to the next.

WCY 2019

5.26

KEY ATTRACTIVENESS INDICATORS

From a list of 15 indicators, respondents of the Executive Opinion Survey were asked to select 5 that they perceived as the key

attractiveness factors of their economy. The chart shows the percentage of responses per indicator from the highest number of responses

to the lowest.

0.045

2.60

3.61

3.44

62.10

3.1

7.0%8.8%12.3%17.5%19.3%22.8%22.8%28.1%28.1%29.8%38.6%40.4%49.1%56.1%57.9%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Competency of governmentStrong R&D culture

Effective legal environmentEffective labor relations

Quality of corporate governanceBusiness-friendly environment

Reliable infrastructurePolicy stability & predictability

Open and positive attitudesAccess to financing

High educational levelDynamism of the economy

Competitive tax regimeSkilled workforce

Cost competitiveness

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WORLD COMPETITIVENESSDIGITAL RANKING 2019

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5

Alpha AlphaLabelBeta BetaLabel Gamma GammaLabel1 2 2 2 2 2 24 4 4 2 2

6.5 4 4 2 28.5 4 4 2 2

10.5 4 4 2 2

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

54 47 45 43 45

45 38 41 41 46

42 38 42 42 42

59 58 57 55 48

COMPETITIVENESS & DIGITAL RANKINGS

PEER GROUPS RANKINGS

EUROPE - MIDDLE EAST - AFRICA (40 countries) POPULATIONS < 20 MILLION (34 countries)

Knowledge

Technology

Future readiness

OVERALL

DIGITAL TRENDS - OVERALL

BULGARIA

OVERALL PERFORMANCE (63 countries)

OVERALL & FACTORS - 5 years

5447 45 43 45

55 50 49 48 48

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Digital

Competitiveness

37 33 32 30 31

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

32 30 28 26 27

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

46 50 46 37

42 46 42 4445

48 43 56 47

Knowledge Talent Training & education Scientific concentration

Technology Regulatory framework Capital Technological framework

Future readiness Adaptive attitudes Business agility IT integrationThe direction of the triangle indicates the performance change from the last year: improved or stabledeclined

Overall Factors Sub-Factors

N.B. This graph provides only a comparison of the country’s performance in the two rankings.

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u Overall top strengths

w Overall top weaknesses

Subfactors 2015 2016 2017 2018 201954 52 51 53 50

47 40 39 42 46

32 31 30 33 37

Talent Rank Rank Rank

Educational assessment PISA - Math 43 w 55 46w International experience 55 47 29 Foreign highly-skilled personnel 50 42 u 8 Management of cities 39 u 16 52 Digital/Technological skills 32 47 39 Net flow of international students 52 u 25 u 15 49

Subfactors 2015 2016 2017 2018 201951 48 50 52 46

43 36 46 50 42

35 34 34 36 44

Regulatory framework Rank Rank Rank

Starting a business 44 36 37 Enforcing contracts 32 43 42 Immigration laws 44 41 24 Development and application of technology52 45 44 Scientific research legislation 50 32 45 Intellectual property rights 49 u 24 47

Subfactors 2015 2016 2017 2018 201959 58 47 48 43

60 60 61 59 56

52 53 55 54 47

Adaptive attitudes Rank Rank Rank

E-Participation 33 w 55 39 Internet retailing 50 45 44 Tablet possession 45 w 56 46 Smartphone possession 38 38 50 Attitudes toward globalization 55 w 55

Talent

Robots in Education and R&D

Training & education Scientific concentration

TECHNOLOGY

Scientific concentration

Capital Technological framework

FUTURE READINESS

IT integration

Business agility IT integration

FACTORS BREAKDOWN - STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

BULGARIA

Technological framework

Opportunities and threats E-GovernmentWorld robots distribution Public-private partnerships

Total expenditure on R&D (%)Total public expenditure on education Total R&D personnel per capita

Training & education

Adaptive attitudes

Business agility

Venture capital Internet bandwidth speedInvestment in Telecommunications High-tech exports (%)

Regulatory framework

Capital

IT & media stock market capitalization Communications technologyFunding for technological development Mobile Broadband subscribersBanking and financial services Wireless broadbandCountry credit rating Internet users

Higher education achievement Female researchersPupil-teacher ratio (tertiary education) R&D productivity by publicationGraduates in Sciences Scientific and technical employmentWomen with degrees High-tech patent grants

Employee training

KNOWLEDGE

Agility of companies Cyber securityUse of big data and analytics Sofware piracyKnowledge transfer

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WORLD TALENTRANKING 2019

All data are available from theWorld Competitiveness Online.

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Alpha AlphaLabel Beta BetaLabel Gamma GammaLabel1 2 2 2 2 2 24 4 4 2 2

Value

3.6 % 48u 21.7 % 27 1,464 US$ 50 17.61 ratio 46u 12.64 ratio 36 4.00 Survey [0..10] 53 4.84 Survey [0..10] 55u 46.48 % 25 2.84 Survey [0..10] 58

Value

u 62.10 index 4w 5.26 Survey [0..10] 60 4.32 Survey [0..10] 57 2.67 Survey [0..10] 56w 3.96 Survey [0..10] 59 3.89 Survey [0..10] 50 9,351 US$ 52w 49,907 US$ 58 19.89 % 36 2.77 Survey [0..10] 53 20.18 micrograms 45

Value

u 2.86 % 3 4.35 Survey [0..10] 51 4.60 Survey [0..10] 57 4.60 Survey [0..10] 55 4.60 Survey [0..10] 51 4.04 Survey [0..10] 51 19.66 % 47w 3.65 Survey [0..10] 59w 3.86 Survey [0..10] 63 5.82 Survey [0..10] 39 1.71 number 37 443 Average 42

Investment & Development 2019 Rank

Health infrastructure meets the needs of society

2019 Rank

Total public expenditure on education Percentage of GDP

Pupil-teacher ratio (secondary education)Apprenticeships are sufficiently implemented

Readiness 2019 Rank

Educational assessment - PISA PISA survey of 15-year olds

Appeal

Exposure to particle pollution Mean population exposure to PM2.5, Micrograms per cubic metre

is readily available

Labor force growth Percentage change

Skilled labor

Management education meets the needs of the business community

Language skills are meeting the needs of enterprises

Student mobility inbound Foreign tertiary-level students per 1000 inhabitants

Primary and secondary education meets the needs of a competitive economy

Graduates in Sciences % of graduates in ICT, Engineering, Math & Natural Sciences

University education meets the needs of a competitive economy

Finance skills are readily available

International experience of senior managers is generally significant

Competent senior managers are readily available

Justice is fairly administered

Remuneration in services professions Gross annual income including supplements such as bonuses, US$

Remuneration of management Total base salary plus bonuses and long-term incentives, US$

Effective personal income tax rate Percentage of an income equal to GDP per capita

Brain drain (well-educated and skilled people) does not hinder competitiveness in your economy

Quality of life is high

Foreign highly-skilled personnel are attracted to your country's business environment

Cost-of-living index Index of a basket of goods & services in the main city, including housing (New York City = 100)

Attracting and retaining talents is a priority in companies

Worker motivation in companies is high

Gov. expenditure on education per student Percentage of GDP per capita (secondary education)

Total public exp. on education per student

BULGARIA

Spending per enrolled pupil/student, all levels

Pupil-teacher ratio (primary education) Ratio of students to teaching staff

Ratio of students to teaching staff

Employee training is a high priority in companies

Female labor force Percentage of total labor force

IMD World Talent Ranking 2019

OVERALL PERFORMANCE (63 countries)

61

58 5857

52

47

44 4445

46

60

57 5758 58

59

57

5958

55

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Overall

Investment &Development

Appeal

Readiness

46

5852

55

Investment & Development

Appeal

Readiness

The direction of the triangle indicates the performance change from the last year: improved or stabledeclined

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