site.btaActive Enterprises Decrease by 2.1% in 2020

Bulgaria had 342,376 active enterprises in 2020, which was 2.1% fewer than in 2019, according to National Statistical Institute data. An enterprise is considered "active" if it earned revenues from goods or services in the reporting period, or produced goods, employed staff, or made investments in Bulgaria.

Between 2016 and 2020, the largest share of active enterprises had zero employees. Their percentage in 2020 was 53%. Enterprises employing between 1 and 4 staffers accounted for the second-largest share of active enterprises, at 32.8%. Enterprises with a staff of 10 or more people represented just 7.4% of enterprises active in 2016-2020, but their total staff was 69.6% of the employees in all active enterprises.

Some 9.1% of active enterprises in 2020 were established during that year. For the period 2016-2020, the average annual percentage of newly established enterprises was 11.2%.

Also in 2016-2020, the largest share of newly established enterprises were active in "trade; car and motorcycle repair", at 40.8%, and the lowest, in "extractive industries", at just 0.1%.

The largest number of new enterprises did not employ any workers: in 2020, there were 24,327 newly established enterprises with zero employees. Another 5,791 new enterprises had between 1 and 4 employees, and just 287 new enterprises had 10 or more staffers.

Some 78.7% of the 39,763 enterprises born in 2019 survived in 2020. The share of survivors was largest among those with 5 to 9 workers, at 88.8%. In terms of type of economic activity, the most survivors were operating in the "creation and dissemination of information and artistic products; telecommunications", at 86.8%, and the smallest number was recorded in "extractive industries", at 66.7%.

After 2015, fewer and fewer enterprises survived as they got away from their founding year. Nearly 5.1% of enterprises established in 2015 were still active five years later. The share of those founded in 2019 and still active in 2020 was 9.1% of the total number of active enterprises in 2020.

Enterprises active in "transport, storage, and posts" were most viable, with a 6.8% share of survivors over the five-year period. Least viable were enterprises in "electricity, heat, and gaseous fuels production and distribution", with a share of 0.9%.

Enterprises established in 2019 and surviving in 2020 had a total of 70,774 employees, with 57.6% of them concentrated in three economic sectors: "trade; repair of cars and motorcycles" (30.8%), "hotel and restaurant businesses" (13.4%) and "extractive industries" (also 13.4%).

Among enterprises born in 2019 and surviving in 2020, some 40.4% had zero employees, 33.1% had between 1 and 4 employees, 9.6% had between 5 and 9 employees, and 16.8% had 10 or more staffers.

A total of 44,221 enterprises died in 2019, which was 12.6% of enterprises active in that year. This caused 2.9% of all workers active in the economy to lose their job, according to early estimates. An enterprise "dies" when it is economically inactive for two consecutive years.

About 44.4% of enterprises which died in 2019 had been active in "trade; repair of cars and motorcycles". Under 0.5% of enterprises operating in "extractive industries" and "water supply; sewerage, waste management and amelioration" died in 2019.