Construction output in Bulgaria was down 1% year-on-year

In the second quarter of the year, construction output in Bulgaria was down 1% year-on-year, the first annual decline since the first three months of 2017, according to the European Statistical Office (Eurostat).

On a quarterly basis, construction output in Bulgaria again decreased by 5.6%, also for the first time since the first quarter of 2017, when a decrease of 8.3% was recorded.

Specifically, in August, construction output in Bulgaria declined by 0.6% compared to July and by 1.2% on an annual basis, and our country is one of only four in the European Union that reported an annual decline.

In August, building construction in the Eurozone declined by 0.3% compared with July, while civil and engineering construction declined by 1.1%. In the EU, building construction decreased by 0.5% and civil engineering and construction by 0.7%.

Among the Member States for which data are available, the largest decline in construction output on a monthly basis was recorded in Sweden (-2.4%), Germany (-1.8%), and Belgium (-0.9%). The highest growth rates were observed in Slovenia (+ 2.8%), Slovakia (+ 2.5%) and Hungary (+ 1.9%).

The largest growth of construction output on an annual basis was registered in Slovenia (+ 33.5%), Hungary (+ 24.3%) and Poland (+ 19.2%). Only Romania (-10.3%), Sweden (-1.6%), Bulgaria and Spain (-1.2%) declined.