Bulgaria's external balance on goods and services (current LCU) was -1.2 billion in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 414.26% from 382.95 million in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | -1.2 billion | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 1.56 billion | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 382.95 million | 2015 |
| Highest | 3.89 billion | 2023 |
| Lowest | -7.35 billion | 2008 |
| Average since 2016 | 1.78 billion | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 661,000 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Bulgaria's external balance on goods and services (current LCU) fell 3.84 billion on 2024 (from 2.63 billion to -1.2 billion).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +87.84 million and a typical year strayed about 1.37 billion from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4.26 billion in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.84 billion in 2025. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 9% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2025, Bulgaria had the 64th highest value of the 137 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
Closest to Bulgaria in the 2025 ranking
- Slovak Republic — 61st of 137: -209.56 million
- Micronesia, Fed. Sts. — 62nd of 137: -245 million
- Samoa — 63rd of 137: -551.78 million
- Latvia — 65th of 137: -1.97 billion
- Montenegro — 66th of 137: -2.1 billion
- Kosovo — 67th of 137: -3.34 billion
What this measures
The balance of international trade in goods and services is the difference between the exports and imports of goods and services. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.
All 46 values
| Year | External balance on goods and services (current LCU) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | -1,203,460,000 |
| 2024 | 2,633,439,000 |
| 2023 | 3,885,401,000 |
| 2022 | 958,972,000 |
| 2021 | 1,772,986,000 |
| 2020 | 1,562,687,000 |
| 2019 | 2,044,359,000 |
| 2018 | 1,495,710,000 |
| 2017 | 2,282,014,000 |
| 2016 | 2,396,788,000 |
External balance on goods and services (current LCU) in nearby economies
- Albania — -145.93 billion (2025)
- Armenia — -623.38 billion (2025)
- Austria — 12.23 billion (2025)
- Azerbaijan — 8.02 billion (2025)
- Belarus — -5.58 billion (2025)
- Belgium — -12.95 billion (2025)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina — -7.42 billion (2025)
- Croatia — -4.69 billion (2025)
- Cyprus — 2.06 billion (2025)
- Czechia
More economic policy & debt data for Bulgaria
- Adjusted savings, education expenditure (% of GNI) — 4.06% (2021)
- Adjusted savings, net forest depletion (current US$) — US$0 (2021)
- Adjusted savings, mineral depletion (current US$) — US$387.76 million (2021)
- Adjusted savings, energy depletion (current US$) — US$46.2 million (2021)
- Trade in services (% of GDP) — 21.44% (2025)
- Communications, computer, etc. (% of service imports, BoP) — 37.95% (2025)
- Primary income payments (BoP, current US$) — US$11.11 billion (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$, BoP) — US$67.93 billion (2025)
- Goods imports (current US$, BoP) — US$58.51 billion (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Bulgaria's external balance on goods and services (current LCU)?
- -1.2 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1980?
- It is down 182,167% from 661,000 in 1980. The highest value was 3.89 billion in 2023 and the lowest -7.35 billion in 2008.
- How does Bulgaria rank?
- 64th highest of 137 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in external balance on goods and services (current LCU) unusual for Bulgaria?
- In 2025, Bulgaria's external balance on goods and services (current LCU) fell 3.84 billion on 2024 (from 2.63 billion to -1.2 billion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +87.84 million and a typical year strayed about 1.37 billion from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.RSB.GNFS.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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