According to the 2025 World Competitiveness Yearbook of the Institute for Management Development (IMD), published on June 17, 2025, Bulgaria ranks 57th out of 69 countries, making progress compared to last year when it was ranked 58th out of 67 economies. This result reflects both the positive aspects and the challenges the country is facing.
In 2021, the country was in 53rd place, but significant fluctuations followed, reflecting various economic and political factors. The top three countries in the 2024 IMD World Competitiveness annual ranking are Switzerland, Singapore, and Hong Kong, with Canada, Germany, and Luxembourg making the greatest progress in the top 20.
The main factors of Bulgaria's competitiveness profile include: economic performance (efficiency), government efficiency, business efficiency (environment), and infrastructure. Compared to the previous year 2024, the country has seen a decline in economic efficiency (from 45th to 50th place) and the business environment (from 65th to 67th place). However, Bulgaria has seen growth in the infrastructure index (from 59th to 53rd place), thus stabilizing its position from 2023 when it was in 53rd place and then fell by as much as 5 places in this indicator for 2024.
Bulgaria's economic performance indicator, as expected, is characterized by strengths and weaknesses, with unfortunately a deterioration in performance compared to the previous year in all 5 indicators. Bulgaria receives good ratings for macroeconomic stability, with low inflation, a balanced current account, and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the EU. Among the country's strengths are the availability of labor, growing digital connectivity, and increasing exports of ICT services.
In the indicator of government efficiency, we have positive growth in the ranking across all indicators, except for the tax policy indicator. Some of the leading challenges and opportunities for improving Bulgaria's competitiveness in 2025, as noted in the report from the "Center for the Study of Democracy", are related to: corruption and lobbying, the state of the judicial system, brain drain, an aging population, the shadow economy and skills shortages, innovation and growth, which suffer from underdeveloped capital markets, insufficient incentives for research and development, as well as the slow transition to a green and digital economy and weak energy innovation.
Opportunities for improvement include strengthening the rule of law and reducing corruption, investing in employee training, improving the education system, achieving greater alignment between business and education, facilitating the import of skilled labor, increased motivation for the return of young and educated personnel, as well as priority infrastructure projects, especially in the field of technology and education.
In conclusion, although Bulgaria faces significant challenges in improving its competitiveness, the country has significant strengths and opportunities. With targeted reforms and strategic investments, Bulgaria can improve its economic performance and take a more competitive position on the global stage.
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