November 9 (SeeNews) - The European Commission said on Thursday it has raised its forecast for Bulgaria’s economic growth in 2017 to 3.9%, from 2.9% projected in May.
“Domestic demand is the main driver of growth with both private and public consumption projected to expand strongly in 2017,” the Commission said in its Autumn 2017 Economic Forecast.
The growth of Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to gradually slow down to 3.8% in 2018 and 3.6% in 2019.
Bulgaria’s current account surplus is expected to recede to 3% of GDP in 2017, and then steadily decrease to 2.4% in 2018 and 2.3% in 2019.
The country’s unemployment rate is expected to decline from 6.4% this year to 6.0% and 5.7% in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Details of the Commission's projections for Bulgaria follow:
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Real GDP growth |
3.9 |
3.8 |
3.6 |
Inflation |
1.0 |
1.5 |
1.6 |
Private consumption |
4.6 |
3.8 |
3.5 |
Public consumption |
2.7 |
3.9 |
3.8 |
Exports |
5.2 |
4.9 |
5.0 |
Imports |
5.5 |
5.0 |
4.9 |
Unemployment rate |
6.4 |
6.0 |
5.7 |
Current account balance |
3.0 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
source: European Commission