Bulgaria: Transport services (% of commercial service imports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Bulgaria's transport services (% of commercial service imports) rose 1.03 percentage points on 2024 (from 29.53% to 30.57%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.26 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.71 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 23.29 percentage points in 1999 and the biggest yearly fall was 21.4 percentage points in 1998. 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 2% 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 58th highest value of the 134 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

• Cabo Verde — 54th of 134: 31.59%
• Singapore — 55th of 134: 31.34%
• Timor-Leste — 56th of 134: 31.28%
• Slovak Republic — 58th of 134: 30.17%
• Saudi Arabia — 59th of 134: 29.85%
• Sri Lanka — 60th of 134: 29.71%

What this measures

Transport is the process of carriage of people and objects from one location to another as well as related supporting and auxiliary services. Also included are postal and courier services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.

Limitations: Balance of payments statistics, the main source of information on international trade in services, have many weaknesses. Disaggregation of important components may be limited and varies considerably across countries. There are inconsistencies in the methods used to report items. And the recording of major flows as net items is common (for example, insurance transactions are often recorded as premiums less claims). These factors contribute to a downward bias in the value of the service trade reported in the balance of payments. Efforts are being made to improve the coverage, quality, and consistency of these data.

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

All 46 values

Transport services (% of commercial service imports) in nearby economies

• Albania — 10.51% (2025)
• Armenia — 21.91% (2025)
• Austria — 23.1% (2025)
• Azerbaijan — 17.06% (2025)
• Belarus — 43.63% (2021)
• Belgium — 17.51% (2025)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 34.22% (2025)
• Croatia — 13.78% (2025)
• Cyprus — 19.28% (2025)
• Czechia

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$9.42 billion (2025)
• Travel services (% of commercial service imports) — 24.69% (2025)
• Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service exports) — 51.93% (2025)
• Commercial service exports (current US$) — US$18.56 billion (2025)
• Transport services (% of commercial service exports)

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 transport services (% of commercial service imports)?

30.57% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1980?

It is down 20.75 percentage points from 51.31% in 1980. The highest value was 59.56% in 1981 and the lowest 20.77% in 1998.

How does Bulgaria rank?

58th highest of 134 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in transport services (% of commercial service imports) unusual for Bulgaria?

In 2025, Bulgaria's transport services (% of commercial service imports) rose 1.03 percentage points on 2024 (from 29.53% to 30.57%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.26 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.71 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 TM.VAL.TRAN.ZS.WT, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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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