The Bulgarian economy has suffered from many of the setbacks that are so common among eastern European countries. It has gone through many trials and tribulations during the last few decades, and there are still large amounts of poverty, and people with poor standards of living. It is an economy largely based on industry and agriculture. Here I will discuss several of the main facets of the Bulgarian economy, and hopefully you will become more closely acquainted with it. It is always a good idea to be familiar with all the possible players in the world market, and Bulgaria is definitely one of them.
As I said, industry is very important to Bulgaria. It is home to some of the most high capacity nuclear plants in the world, outputting thousands of megawatts to the region. Unlike many other countries including the USA, Bulgaria is progressive when it comes to new nuclear technology. But nuclear isn't the only type of power used in Bulgaria. The Maritza Iztok plant is a state of the art thermal power plant, which was recently approved for an expansion that will more than double its output, costing over 1 billion dollars to do. Other important industries include metallurgy and electronics, with factories established all across the country that usually operate at full production capacity.
Farming in Bulgaria has increased steadily in recent years. Some farmers use it as a way to eat, and others export a good deal of produce to other parts of Europe. Compared to other agricultural economies in that part of the world, Bulgaria has a decent amount of machinery such as combines, tractors, and harvesters to get the job done. Besides basic crops like wheat and maize, Bulgaria exports delicious fruits like apples, strawberries, watermelons, and grapes. The standard of living in Bulgaria fell drastically in 1989 when the Comecon market was lost. The economy crashed again in 1996. Since then, they have been on a steady path upward, and are now past where they were at the time of the crash.
If you visit Bulgaria, you will probably be surprised at their welfare. The name might conjure up images of small villages caked with mud, but this is not the case at all. It is a marvelous country that has had its share of unfortunate problems, but has persevered through and ended up with an amazing culture and more than its share of historical buildings and landmarks.
