Bulgaria: Manufactures exports (% of merchandise exports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Bulgaria's manufactures exports (% of merchandise exports) rose 0.86 percentage points on 2024 (from 53.41% to 54.27%).

Across the 28 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2024), the average change was −0.24 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.92 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4.06 percentage points in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.01 percentage points in 2022. 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 28% 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 51st highest value of the 103 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

• Trinidad and Tobago — 48th of 103: 58.47%
• Latvia — 49th of 103: 55.54%
• United States — 50th of 103: 54.93%
• Dominican Republic — 52nd of 103: 53.99%
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 53rd of 103: 47.83%
• Indonesia — 54th of 103: 47.43%

What this measures

Manufactures comprise commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) sections 5 (chemicals), 6 (basic manufactures), 7 (machinery and transport equipment), and 8 (miscellaneous manufactured goods), excluding division 68 (non-ferrous metals). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise exports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e.

Limitations: Previous editions contained data based on the SITC revision 1. Data for earlier years in previous editions may differ because of the change in methodology. Concordance tables are available to convert data reported in one system to another.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 30 values

Manufactures exports (% of merchandise exports) in nearby economies

• Albania — 54.06% (2024)
• Andorra — 91.53% (2025)
• Armenia — 44.6% (2025)
• Austria — 77.73% (2025)
• Azerbaijan — 5.33% (2025)
• Belarus — 38.43% (2021)
• Belgium — 69.37% (2025)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 72.15% (2025)
• Croatia — 63.54% (2025)
• Cyprus

More private sector & trade data for Bulgaria

• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$60.89 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$48.32 billion (2025)
• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 83.51% (2025)
• Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service imports) — 38.43% (2025)
• Commercial service imports (current US$) — US$9.42 billion (2025)
• Transport services (% of commercial service imports) — 30.57% (2025)
• Travel services (% of commercial service imports) — 24.69% (2025)
• Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) — 51.93% (2025)
• Commercial service exports (current US$)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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Questions people ask

What is Bulgaria's manufactures exports (% of merchandise exports)?

54.27% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1996?

It is down 5.85 percentage points from 60.12% in 1996. The highest value was 65.79% in 2003 and the lowest 47.54% in 2012.

How does Bulgaria rank?

51st highest of 103 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in manufactures exports (% of merchandise exports) unusual for Bulgaria?

In 2025, Bulgaria's manufactures exports (% of merchandise exports) rose 0.86 percentage points on 2024 (from 53.41% to 54.27%). Across the 28 yearly changes before that (1997 to 2024), the average change was −0.24 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.92 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TX.VAL.MANF.ZS.UN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division; World Integrated Trade Solution system (WITS); 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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