September 10 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by a real 4.2% on the year in the first half of 2009, compared to a 7.1% growth recorded a year earlier, the National Statistics Institute (NSI) said on Thursday.
The country's half-year GDP totalled an estimated 30.283 billion levs ($22.552 billion/15.482 billion euro) in current prices, NSI said in a statement.
The value added totalled 25.462 billion levs in the first six months, down by a real 2.3% on the year. Industry contributed 31.3% of the value added, a real 9.7% down year-on-year.
Services rose by a real 1.9% in the first half of 2009, generating 63.7% of the value added.
Production in the agricultural sector contracted by a real 5.8% on the year in the first half of 2009.
In the second quarter, the farm sector dropped by 6.3% on the year and the industrial sector contracted by a real 7.2%. Services rose by a real 1.4% year-on-year in the second quarter.
BULGARIA'S GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT:
|
|
Q2'09 |
H1'09 |
Q2'08 |
H1'08 |
| GDP real growth (y/y pct change) |
-4.9 |
-4.2 |
+7.1 |
+7.1 |
| GDP (mln levs) |
16,322 |
30,283 |
15,944 |
29,428 |
| -Consumption |
13,368 |
26,000 |
13,292 |
25,736 |
| --Individual |
11,796 |
23,205 |
11,949 |
23,339 |
| --Public |
1,572 |
2,795 |
1,343 |
2,397 |
| -Gross Capital Formation |
4,933 |
8,643 |
6,919.88 |
11,699.3 |
| -Trade Balance |
-1,978 |
-4,360 |
-4,267 |
-8,007 |
| --Exports |
7,920 |
14,689 |
10,758 |
19,567 |
| --Imports |
9,898 |
19,049 |
15,025 |
27,574 |
The country's economy grew by a real 6.0% in 2008, slower than the 6.2% growth it posted a year earlier.
(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)