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PalanorPalanor

Bulgaria

Everything Palanor holds about Bulgaria, in one place: 174 public signals, what its economy runs on, how often America’s largest companies name it, the news that names it, and Country Posture. Every figure is computed from stored readings and carries its source and date.

EuropeEuropean UnionEuro Area

The latest read

Country Posture

What Bulgaria’s economy is doing

Momentum

2025

Inputs only. Did not pass the pre-registered back-test: 1996–2009: AUC 0.590 below 0.60; AUC 0.590 below the single-input baseline (0.624); 2010–2022: AUC 0.595 below 0.60; AUC 0.595 below the single-input baseline (0.641).

Inputs
Real GDP growth3.1
Growth against its three-year average0.0
Change in unemployment-0.7
Change in the employment rate0.2
Export volume growth—
OECD leading indicator—

Resilience

2025

54Moderate buffers

0 = thin buffers · 100 = deep buffers

Moved most by current account (down) and reserves, months of imports (down) since the year before.

Inputs
Interest as a share of revenue (2024)1.489
Budget balance (2024)-2.636
Reserves, months of imports7.272
Current account-5.822
Governance (WGI mean)0.1147
External debt——

Pressure

2025

Inputs only. Did not pass the pre-registered back-test: 1996–2009: AUC 0.657 below the single-input baseline (0.672).

Inputs
Inflation4.6
Change in inflation2.1
Currency move against the dollar-4.1%
Conflict deaths per million0.0
Political stability0.25
Private credit, three-year change (2024)-1.1
Bond spread over U.S. Treasuries-0.4

Posture describes what an economy is doing; it is not a rating and never ranks countries. Each input is read against the country’s own history and against every other economy that year. An axis shows a score only after passing a back-test fixed before any result was computed. Method and back-test.

Country Schemas

Where Bulgaria is in its cycles

Where Bulgaria sits in eight long cycles, each read from published statistics against a method fixed before any reading was computed. A stage describes; it is not a rating, and no stage is better or worse than another.

  • Development stage

    High mass consumption65% · 2025

    Pre-take-offTake-offDrive to maturityHigh mass consumption

    20002025

  • Demographic stage

    Declining90% · 2025

    High stationaryEarly expandingLate expandingLow stationaryDeclining

    20002025

  • Debt cycle stage

    Early cycle94% · 2025

    Early cycleLeveragingLate cycleDeleveraging

    20002025

  • External balance stage

    Immature debtor48% · 2025

    Immature debtorMature debtorDebt repayerImmature creditorMature creditorCredit disinvestor

    20002025

  • Export structure stage

    Manufacturing exporter67% · 2025

    Commodity-reliantDiversifyingManufacturing exporterComplex exporter

    20002025

  • Structural pressure

    Low67% · 2025

    LowBuildingHighAcute

    20002025

  • Middle-class stage

    Affluent99% · 2025

    Pre-middle-classEmerging middle classMiddle-class majorityAffluent

    20002025

  • Electoral cycle

    Post-election99% · 2026-10

    Post-electionMid-termPre-election

    2024-112026-10

All Country Schemas · How they work

Passport reach

Where a Bulgaria passport opens doors

The share of world GDP, outside Bulgaria itself, in the economies whose published rules let a holder of this passport in, as of October 2026. Palanor records the rules of destinations holding 88% of world GDP, from each government’s own list, and weights them by World Bank GDP for 2025. Rank is among 199 passports.

Visit

56.3%

rank 45 of 199

short stays without a visa arranged in advance; 44 destinations in full.

Work

32.2%

rank 25 of 199

the right to work (free movement in full; treaty and working-holiday routes at half); 30 destinations in full, 1 at half.

Live

19.2%

rank 15 of 199

a right to reside by nationality; 30 destinations in full.

Recorded changes

  • 2025-04-02United Kingdom · visit: Visa-free → Online travel authorisation source
  • 2024-11-30China · visit: Visa required → Visa-free source

Reach is shown here and not weighted into Country Strength: it rewards membership of a free-movement area or a treaty more than the strength of an economy. Entry is always at the border officer’s discretion, and conditions (length of stay, fees, age limits) vary. Method, sources and the full ranking: Passports and citizenship.

What a Bulgaria passport opensShare of world GDP outside the holder's own country in the recorded destinations open to the passport: to visit, to work, to live. Monthly, rules in force on the first of the monthVisit: 56.3% in Oct 2026 · Oct 2026
Source: Palanor calculation from destination governments’ published visa and residence rules; GDP weights: World Bank (CC BY 4.0)Open the chart →

Palanor calculation from each destination government's published rules; GDP weights from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0), one year for the whole line, so it moves only when a list changes.

GDP by expenditure

What Bulgaria’s economy runs on

In 2025, household spending was 58.5% of GDP, government consumption 20.8%, investment 21.7% and net exports -1.0% (exports 50.7%, imports 51.8%).

What Bulgaria's economy runs onSpending by households, government and investment, and net exports, as shares of GDP each yearHouseholds: 58.5% in 2025 · 2025
HouseholdsGovernmentInvestmentNet exports
Source: The World BankOpen the chart →

World Bank national accounts. The parts can miss 100 by a few points (the statistical discrepancy).

Same World Bank definition for every country, so the shares compare directly: What each economy runs on.

IMF World Economic Outlook

The IMF’s outlook for Bulgaria

The latest year before the October 2026 edition (often still an IMF estimate) and the IMF’s own projections. These are the IMF’s published forecasts, shown as published; Palanor does not project them further. Since the previous edition the IMF cut its growth forecast for this year by 0.2 percentage points (Palanor calculation).

Measure20252026 IMF f’cast2027 IMF f’cast2031 IMF f’cast
Real GDP growth%3.12.62.72.4
Inflation, average consumer prices%3.54.94.82.2
Unemployment rate% of labor force3.63.43.33.2
GDP, current US dollarsUS$ bn131.0146.5159.1198.4
GDP at purchasing-power parityintl $ bn268.0284.1300.9357.7
GDP per person, US dollarsUS$20,39923,00025,19032,422
Current account balance% of GDP-6.1-8.0-6.6-4.2
Government gross debt% of GDP29.932.934.640.9
Government net debt% of GDP22.826.328.335.5
Government overall balance% of GDP-3.0-5.4-4.2-3.1
Government primary balance% of GDP-2.6-4.8-3.5-2.0
Government net interest paid% of GDP · Palanor calc.0.40.60.81.2
Bulgaria: growth, and the IMF's outlookReal GDP growth, percent a year, IMF history and projectionReal GDP growth: 3.1% in 2025 · 2025
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database, October 2026Open the chart →

Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database (edition on the projection). Dashed: the IMF's published projection.

Bulgaria: government debt, and the IMF's outlookGeneral government gross debt, % of GDP, IMF history and projectionGross debt: 30% in 2025 · 2025
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database, October 2026Open the chart →

Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database (edition on the projection). Dashed: the IMF's published projection.

Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database, October 2026. Provided by the IMF “as is” and free of charge from the IMF; the IMF does not endorse Palanor. Net interest paid is a Palanor calculation: the IMF's primary balance minus its overall balance.

Charts

The headline series

Bulgaria: growth and inflationReal GDP growth and consumer price inflation, percent a yearReal GDP growth: 3.1% in 2025 · 2025
Source: The World BankOpen the chart →
Bulgaria: Country StrengthPalanor composite of growth, prosperity, public finances, prices, currency, external balance, governance and human development, 0 to 10060.4 in 2025 · 2025
Source: Palanor calculationOpen the chart →
Bulgaria: share pricesBroad national share price index, monthly average, 2015 = 100, local currency (OECD)306 in Sep 2026 · Sep 2026
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and DevelopmentOpen the chart →

News

In the news

Week of 2026-08-24: 1 headlines, net tone 0.00Week of 2026-09-28: 1 headlines, net tone 0.00Week of 2026-10-05: 3 headlines, net tone -0.33Week of 2026-10-12: 8 headlines, net tone -0.12Week of 2026-10-19: 1 headlines, net tone 0.00
Net tone of headlines naming the country, by week (2026-08-24 to 2026-10-19). Above the line: more positive than negative words.

Headlines that name Bulgaria, matched by name with fixed rules (a wrong match is worse than a missing one). Tone is read from each headline’s own words; no model reads or summarizes an article, and other publishers’ stories link out.

Company graph

Companies headquartered in Bulgaria

Palanor’s company graph holds 21 entities headquartered here (GLEIF headquarters address, else legal address).

Signals

Every series about Bulgaria

Grouped by theme, the most-read first. All 174 in the Library.

Growth and output10 of 43

Prices4 of 6

Jobs and people at work5 of 6

Money, rates and credit1 of 2

Stock market and listed companies2

Government and debt10 of 13

Trade and capital flows3 of 4

Energy and resources4 of 8

Conflict and geopolitics4 of 10

Aid in and out2

Migration4 of 6

AI stance and technology3 of 5

Climate and the physical world4 of 6

Health and living standards10

Sentiment and attention1

Peers

Elsewhere in Europe

Alphabetical. Palanor does not rank countries.

AlbaniaAndorraAustriaBelarusBelgiumBosnia and HerzegovinaCroatiaCzechiaDenmarkEstoniaFaroe IslandsFinlandFranceGermanyGibraltarGreeceGuernseyHungaryIcelandIrelandIsle of ManItalyJerseyKosovoLatviaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMaltaMoldovaMonacoMontenegroNetherlandsNorth MacedoniaNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSan MarinoSerbiaSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandUkraineUnited KingdomVatican City

Built 2026-10-22 from Palanor’s stored readings. Sources include the World Bank (WDI, WGI; CC BY 4.0), the OECD, UCDP (CC BY 4.0), national statistics offices and central banks, each credited on its signal, and the IMF World Economic Outlook Database (October 2026). Market prices are available inside the Terminal.

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