Bulgaria's GDP Growth Surpassed EU Average in First Quarter of 2015

According to the second estimate of Eurostat, which was released on Tuesday, Bulgaria's GDP growth surpassed the EU average in the first quarter of 2015.

The country's GDP in the first quarter of 2015 increased by 0.9 % compared to the previous quarter, while there was a 2 % growth compared to the same quarter in 2014.

GDP in the EU registered a growth of 0.4 % in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the previous quarter and an increase of 1.5 % compared to the same quarter in 2014.

The member states registering the highest growth in the first quarter of 2015 were the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Romania, followed by Bulgaria and Spain, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia.

The GDP decreased in four member states - Lithuania, Estonia, Greece and Finland.

As regards the components of GDP, household final consumption expenditure increased by 0.5 % in the EU, gross fixed capital formation also grew by 0.8 %, there was 0.6 % increase in exports, while imports rose by 1.4 %.

Household final consumption expenditure and gross fixed formation had both positive contribution to GDP growth.

The contribution of the external balance to GDP growth was negative, while the contribution of changes in inventories was positive.