Bulgaria's GDP grew by 1.7% in 2011, following a 0.4% increase in 2010, the statistics office said on March 6. Last year, the country's GDP amounted to BGN75.265bn, the National Statistics Office said in a statement.

In the last quarter of 2011, the country's economy expanded by 0.3% from the previous three months after staying flat in the third quarter, according to seasonally-adjusted preliminary data. GDP grew by 1.6% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, after posting a 1.3% annual increase in the third quarter.

According to the Standart Daily, Bulgaria's growth makes it one of the best performing countries in the EU. Citing Eurostat data, the paper reported only nine European countries had positive economic growth in the last trimester of 2011 compared to the previous period and there are only four countries that have registered higher economic growth than Bulgaria.

The government projected real economic growth of 3.6% in the 2011 state budget. At the end of 2011, Bulgaria's Finance Minister announced that the 3.7% economic growth projected in the 2012 State Budget Act was too optimistic and the Bulgarian government lowered its forecast to 2.3%.

Source: bne