October 21 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's finance ministry affirmed on Monday its forecast for a 3.4% real increase in the country's gross domestic product (GDP) this year.
The ministry also affirmed its projection for a real 3.3% increase in GDP in each of 2020, 2021 and 2022, it said in its autumn macroeconomic forecast.
The sharp rise in consumption is expected to taper off from 5.7% in 2019 to 5.2% next year, 4.5% in 2021 and 3.7% in 2022.
This is expected to be offset by a rise in both exports and imports.
Exports are seen edging down 0.4% in 2019, and turning to a 2.3% rise next year, and 2.5% increases in both 2021 and 2020. The rise in imports is expected to pick up from just 0.2% this year to 4.9% in 2020, before slowing down to 4.2% in 2021 and 3.8% in 2022.
The average annual EU-harmonised index of consumer prices is expected to fall from 2.5% in 2019 to 2.1% in 2020, 2.2% in 2021 and 2.1% in 2022.
The country's unemployment rate is seen dropping from 4.4% this year to 4.1% in 2020, and then remaining steady at 4.0% in 2021 and 2022.
The current account balance is expected to gradually decrease from 5.2% of GDP this year to 4.1%, 3.2% and 2.5% in the next three years, respectively.