Bulgaria’s industrial business climate index edged up to 16.9 in September 2026 from 16.3 in the previous month. The improvment was largely due to higher optimism in assessments over the current business situation of enterprises (20.5 vs 18), as concerns over insufficient foreign demand eased ( 22.4% vs 27.3%). Still, the main obstacles to business activity remain related to the uncertain economic environment (46% vs 43.3%) and labor shortages (31.2% vs 29%). Looking ahead, employment expectations improved (-0.9 vs -3.6). Selling price pressures are expected to remain largely unchanged over the next three months (12.5 vs 11.9), while forecasts for production activity are seen as favorable (7.7 vs 5.5). source: National Statistical Institute, Bulgaria

Business Confidence in Bulgaria increased to 16.90 points in September from 16.30 points in August of 2026. Business Confidence in Bulgaria averaged 20.88 points from 1997 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 50.30 points in July of 2007 and a record low of -20.90 points in February of 1997. This page provides the latest reported value for - Bulgaria Business Confidence - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Bulgaria Business Confidence - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on October of 2026.

Business Confidence in Bulgaria increased to 16.90 points in September from 16.30 points in August of 2026. Business Confidence in Bulgaria is expected to be 13.00 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the Bulgaria Business Confidence is projected to trend around 17.00 points in 2027 and 19.00 points in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-08-28 08:00 AM
Business Confidence
Aug 16.3 17.2 16.9
2026-09-30 08:00 AM
Business Confidence
Sep 16.9 16.3 15
2026-10-29 09:00 AM
Business Confidence
Oct 16.9 16.5


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Business Confidence 16.90 16.30 points Sep 2026
Changes in Inventories 380.30 1897.65 EUR Million Jun 2026
Industrial Production YoY -5.40 -6.80 percent Aug 2026
Industrial Production MoM 0.70 -2.90 percent Aug 2026
Manufacturing Production -6.10 -7.20 percent Aug 2026


Bulgaria Business Confidence
In Bulgaria, the business climate in industry measures the level of optimism that companies have about the performance of the economy and how they feel about their organizations’ prospects over the future. Business confidence surveys can provide useful signs about the current condition of the economy, because companies often have information about consumer demand sooner than government statisticians do.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
16.90 16.30 50.30 -20.90 1997 - 2026 points Monthly

News Stream
Bulgaria Business Confidence Improves
Bulgaria’s industrial business climate index edged up to 16.9 in September 2026 from 16.3 in the previous month. The improvment was largely due to higher optimism in assessments over the current business situation of enterprises (20.5 vs 18), as concerns over insufficient foreign demand eased ( 22.4% vs 27.3%). Still, the main obstacles to business activity remain related to the uncertain economic environment (46% vs 43.3%) and labor shortages (31.2% vs 29%). Looking ahead, employment expectations improved (-0.9 vs -3.6). Selling price pressures are expected to remain largely unchanged over the next three months (12.5 vs 11.9), while forecasts for production activity are seen as favorable (7.7 vs 5.5).
2026-09-30
Bulgaria Business Confidence Weakens in August
Bulgaria’s industrial business climate index fell to 16.3 in August 2026 from 17.2 in the previous month. This reflected weaker assessments of the present business situation (18.0 vs 20.4 in July), despite improved expectations for the next six months (14.7 vs 14.0). Production assessments for the next three months also eased to 5.5 from 8.4, while employment expectations deteriorated to -3.6 from -1.8. Insufficient foreign demand became a more pressing constraint (27.3% vs 25.3%), while labour shortages eased (29.0% vs 33.3%) and concerns over the uncertain economic environment were broadly unchanged (43.3% vs 43.6%). Selling price expectations increased to 11.9 from 10.4. Meanwhile, current production activity improved slightly (-4.3 vs -5.4), while total orders also increased (-18.9 vs -20.2), supported by stronger domestic (-24.0 vs -24.8) and foreign orders (-22.7 vs -26.5).
2026-08-28
Bulgaria Business Confidence Improves in July
Bulgaria’s industrial business climate index rose to 17.2 in July 2026 from 16.1 in June, though it remained below the long-term average of 21.4. The increase reflected an improved assessment of the current business situation (20.4 vs 18.3 in June), while expectations for the next six months were unchanged at 14.0. Despite the better sentiment, current production activity (-5.4 vs -3.3) and total orders (-20.2 vs -17.9) weakened, with both domestic (-24.8 vs -22.1) and foreign orders (-26.5 vs -25.6) declining further. Production expectations eased (8.4 vs 8.7), employment expectations turned negative (-1.8 vs 0.7). Labour shortages (33.3% vs 32.4%) and weaker domestic (26.2% vs 25.3%) and foreign demand (25.3% vs 22.4%) became more pressing, while concerns over the uncertain economic environment eased (43.6% vs 46.9%).
2026-07-30