Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside was 11.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Bulgaria, 1981–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
In 2023, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Bulgaria stood at 11.6%.
The figure is up 4.5% on the previous year and up 98.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Bulgaria peaked at 23.1% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 5.0%, in 2000.
That places Bulgaria 141st out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 43 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 14.1% | — |
| 1982 | 14.9% | +5.9% |
| 1983 | 15.9% | +7.0% |
| 1984 | 21.0% | +31.4% |
| 1985 | 16.3% | -22.1% |
| 1986 | 7.9% | -51.5% |
| 1987 | 12.4% | +56.4% |
| 1988 | 22.4% | +80.7% |
| 1989 | 15.3% | -31.7% |
| 1990 | 23.1% | +51.4% |
| 1991 | 17.6% | -24.0% |
| 1992 | 15.0% | -14.8% |
| 1993 | 8.2% | -45.1% |
| 1994 | 9.7% | +18.2% |
| 1995 | 9.9% | +1.4% |
| 1996 | 7.0% | -29.4% |
| 1997 | 9.0% | +29.5% |
| 1998 | 8.9% | -1.5% |
| 1999 | 7.0% | -21.7% |
| 2000 | 5.0% | -27.8% |
| 2001 | 6.3% | +25.1% |
| 2002 | 6.9% | +9.3% |
| 2003 | 7.3% | +6.1% |
| 2004 | 7.7% | +5.0% |
| 2005 | 10.5% | +36.7% |
| 2006 | 11.1% | +6.4% |
| 2007 | 5.9% | -47.3% |
| 2008 | 6.4% | +9.6% |
| 2009 | 6.4% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 6.4% | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 5.8% | -9.3% |
| 2012 | 6.1% | +5.3% |
| 2013 | 5.9% | -4.6% |
| 2014 | 7.4% | +26.8% |
| 2015 | 7.7% | +3.3% |
| 2016 | 8.5% | +10.5% |
| 2017 | 8.8% | +4.0% |
| 2018 | 9.9% | +12.0% |
| 2019 | 10.6% | +7.6% |
| 2020 | 11.4% | +7.2% |
| 2021 | 10.8% | -5.5% |
| 2022 | 11.1% | +3.5% |
| 2023 | 11.6% | +4.5% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 11.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 11.2%, 1.0× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 11.6% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 15.8%, 74% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 15.6% | 7.9% | 22.4% | 9 |
| 1990s | 11.5% | 7.0% | 23.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.3% | 5.0% | 11.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.7% | 5.8% | 10.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.2% | 10.8% | 11.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More private sector data for Bulgaria
- Merchandise trade 83.5% (2025)
- Food imports 13.2% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 60.0% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 60.89 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 15.2% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 53.4% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 48.32 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 7,511 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3695 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 0.8979 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Bulgaria?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Bulgaria was 11.6% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 23.1% in 1990.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.0% in 2000.
- How does Bulgaria rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside?
- Bulgaria ranks 141st out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 98.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 43 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from other low- and middle-income economies in other World Bank regions according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise imports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.