Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Travel services (% of commercial service imports) was 24.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Travel services in Bulgaria, 1980–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
Bulgaria recorded 24.7% for travel services in 2025.
That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and up 3.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Bulgaria peaked at 42.9% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 6.1%, in 1981.
That places Bulgaria 68th out of 198 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.
Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 8.6% | — |
| 1981 | 6.1% | -28.2% |
| 1982 | 6.2% | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 6.7% | +8.1% |
| 1984 | 7.6% | +13.2% |
| 1985 | 7.3% | -3.1% |
| 1986 | 7.9% | +8.0% |
| 1987 | 10.4% | +31.7% |
| 1988 | 11.3% | +8.1% |
| 1989 | 14.4% | +27.6% |
| 1990 | 31.5% | +118.8% |
| 1991 | 26.3% | -16.4% |
| 1992 | 26.9% | +2.1% |
| 1993 | 20.9% | -22.3% |
| 1994 | 19.6% | -6.4% |
| 1995 | 15.3% | -21.9% |
| 1996 | 15.9% | +4.4% |
| 1997 | 18.5% | +15.9% |
| 1998 | 20.4% | +10.2% |
| 1999 | 35.7% | +75.6% |
| 2000 | 32.4% | -9.4% |
| 2001 | 31.5% | -2.6% |
| 2002 | 41.6% | +31.8% |
| 2003 | 42.9% | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 42.7% | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 38.7% | -9.3% |
| 2006 | 36.1% | -6.8% |
| 2007 | 36.2% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 38.9% | +7.4% |
| 2009 | 34.9% | -10.2% |
| 2010 | 24.2% | -30.6% |
| 2011 | 25.4% | +4.6% |
| 2012 | 22.3% | -12.1% |
| 2013 | 25.9% | +16.3% |
| 2014 | 21.7% | -16.1% |
| 2015 | 23.9% | +10.0% |
| 2016 | 26.4% | +10.2% |
| 2017 | 28.2% | +6.9% |
| 2018 | 29.9% | +6.1% |
| 2019 | 29.3% | -1.9% |
| 2020 | 21.5% | -26.6% |
| 2021 | 21.8% | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 20.7% | -5.3% |
| 2023 | 22.6% | +9.1% |
| 2024 | 24.2% | +7.2% |
| 2025 | 24.7% | +2.0% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 24.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 21.8%, 1.1× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 24.7% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 21.8%, 1.1× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Bulgaria changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | +118.8% | 14.4% | 31.5% |
| 1999 | +75.6% | 20.4% | 35.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 8.7% | 6.1% | 14.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 23.1% | 15.3% | 35.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 37.6% | 31.5% | 42.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.7% | 21.7% | 29.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.6% | 20.7% | 24.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
- 65 United Kingdom 24.9% compare
- 66 Costa Rica 24.7% compare
- 67 Sri Lanka 24.7% compare
- 69 Trinidad and Tobago 24.5% compare
- 70 Faroe Islands 24.4% compare
- 71 Tunisia 24.1% compare
More private sector data for Bulgaria
- Merchandise trade 83.5% (2025)
- Food imports 13.5% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 61.0% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 60.89 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 9.42 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 16.2% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 54.3% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 48.32 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 18.56 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 7,511 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in Bulgaria?
- Travel services in Bulgaria was 24.7% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 42.9% in 2003.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.1% in 1981.
- How does Bulgaria rank for travel services?
- Bulgaria ranks 68th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Travel services (% of commercial service imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away acquired from an economy by nonresidents during visits to that economy, or acquired from other economies by residents during visits to these other economies. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.