Bulgaria's knowledge industry grows 16.8% in 2022 - AIBEST

The revenue generated by companies in the sector was equivalent to 5.8% of Bulgaria’s 2022 gross domestic product (GDP), AIBEST said, quoting the findings of an industry report prepared by business intelligence provider SeeNext on the basis of data from 802 companies.

The sector's revenue is expected to reach 9.2% of the country's GDP in 2025 if the average growth rate of the last five years continues.

"After double-digit growth of nearly 17% in 2022, our forecast for the development of the sector in 2023 is more conservative. [...] The cooling in the knowledge, and the global economy in general, will continue in 2024," AIBEST chairman Ilia Krustev said.

The Bulgarian market faces challenges stemming from political instability, a lack of clear development plans for priority sectors, tax unpredictability and poor education leading to a limited labour market. In the long term, these issues could result in stagnation and corporate exits from the Bulgarian market, Krustev added.

The number of employees in the sector increased by 15,000 to 105,000 last year.

Total labour costs, including wages and insurance, went up by 25.9% year-on-year to some 3 billion euro in 2022, while taxes paid jumped by 26.5% to 71.2 million euro.

($ = 0.9256 euro)