National Statistical Institute - Bulgaria

NSI, Consumer price, Housing prices and Purchasing power parities Division

2, P. Volov Str., 1038 Sofia, Bulgaria

3 February 2026

3 February 2026

3 February 2026

See concept 3.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

From the beginning of 2014 new organisation of the consumer price surveys took place. The model of coordination has been changed. The existing four Group leaders have been substituted by one Consumer Goods Surveys (CGS) Coordination team.

Bulgarian National Statistical Institute (BNSI) joined the ECP in 1993 and participated in Group II (transition economies) with Austria playing the role of a bridge in star-shaped European comparisons. After the reform that took place in 1999 the PPP exercise is a truly multi-lateral exercise, every country is compared with every country.

BNSI is the major information provider of official statistics in Bulgaria.

BNSI carries out the pre-survey work, puts efforts to organize and co-ordinate the price collection, undertakes the validation work of the results.  In line with the Eurostat’s PPP work plan deadlines, being established annually by the PPP Working Group, the BNSI has to:

• Execute annually two consumer price surveys. Surveys on consumer prices are conducted in a rolling 3-year cycle based on lists of comparable goods and services, selected as representative of the whole range of goods and services as well as of the consumption patterns in the participating countries. Non-representative items are priced as well in order to cover the domestic markets of partner countries. According to the structure of the survey cycle, prices are collected for about one third of consumer goods and services in the course of each year, while suitable consumer price indices are used for extrapolation for the remaining two thirds in those years, in which they are not subject to surveys.
• Execute biennial one capital goods price survey on machinery and equipment.
• Conduct annually price surveys for construction following the new approach – projects are divided in 2 parts – fully priced ones and pricing key items only for the rest. Every year they change places.
• Provide annually data on housing services following the price and/or quantity approach HICP-ECOICOP; GDP final expenditure weights; VAT and Tips questionnaires; the same applies to salaries in the government sector, which are used as proxy-PPPs for the respective part of non-market services.
• Carry out study of health services in general hospitals using the new approach proposed for health PPPs.
• Each year carry out Estate agencies rent survey in the capital city

The price surveys for PPP purposes are of responsibility of the PPP staff placed within the “Consumer Prices, Housing prices and PPP” Department. The Bulgarian PPP team employs 4 experts with one acting as national PPP co-ordinator.        

The HICP and SAFs based on national CPI are prepared by the CPI - HICP staff in the same Department, supported by the PPP team in terms of selection of comparable items from the CPI basket. The harmonised items are basically used.

The non-financial national accounts experts are responsible for provision of GDP final expenditure weights. Additional information on actual and imputed rents being a part of housing services, the VAT and Tips is also of the responsibility of experts working at “National Non-Financial Accounts Department” Department. (See: Gross National Income Inventory – ESA 2010, Bulgaria, December 2025).

The bodies involved in the PPP exercise are:  

• The BNSI PPP team - responsible for the surveys’ organization, preparation, co-ordination, conducting and validation, data and Specific Survey Reports transmission to CGS Coordination team and to Eurostat as well as presentation of the results on the BNSI official publications and website.
• The Sofia Regional Statistical Office (RSO) - CPI price collectors employed to collect the prices for the consumer surveys in ECP exercis
• External experts – other staff engaged on civil contracts by BNSI to carry out price collection for capital goods (machinery & equipment and construction) and for hospital services.   

See concept 3.2 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 3.3 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 3.4 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 3.5 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 3.6 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

The whole country.

See concept 3.8 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

Not applicable, because PPPs (Purchasing power parities) are primarily spatial indicators.

See concept 4 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 5 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 6.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 6.2 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

Basic data on individual consumer and capital goods prices that BNSI regularly provides to EUROSTAT in terms of PPP exercise are specified as confidential in the BG Law on Statistics and as such are restricted for dissemination to third parties. All BNSI staff sign confidentiality commitments on appointment.

The price data collected is submitted to Eurostat in an anonymous form, that is, there is no reference to the shop or the company from which each concrete price quotation has been collected.

All calculated average prices that cannot be attributed to a given commodity or to a separate producer are not legally restricted. No other distinction is made for different user groups.

External subcontractors do not have access to the data of other participating countries. Questions and QTs relevant to their domain of activity are exported by BNSI PPP experts from the respective tools and then sent for comments and amendments. After receiving the feedback, PPP experts upload all revisions to the PPP tools.   

Since 1991 all BNSI activities are carried out following the prescription of the new Law on Statistics. The respective articles of data provision rules are given below:

“CHAPTER SIX PROTECTION OF SECRECY (title – amended, SG, No 81 of 2005)

Art. 25. (1) (amended, SG, No 81 of 2005) Individual data received and collected at the time of statistical surveys shall be statistical secrecy and shall be used only for statistical purposes.

(2) The Bodies of Statistics and their officials cannot make public or submit:

1. Individual statistical data;

2. Statistical data, which can be combined in a way leading to the identification of a given person (unit);

3. Statistical data, which summarize the information on less than three persons (units) or in which the relative share of a person (unit) is over 85 per cent of the total volume.

Art. 26. (Amended, SG, No 81 of 2005) the data on Art. 25 can be submitted only if:

1. They shall be provided for the purposes of the scientific work at the higher schools or to legal persons, the main activity of whom are the scientific studies; if they have created the conditions, as stipulated by normative provisions for protection of these data; if all natural persons, who shall be acquainted with these data, sign a sworn declaration for protection of statistical secrecy; the data shall be transmitted in a form, which does not allow direct or indirect identification of the person they refer to;

2. They shall be provided for the statistical purposes of the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat);

3. They shall be provided for the statistical purposes of another Body of Statistics after a written request, in which particular data and the purposes they shall be used for are specified;

4. They are non-financial data and shall concern only the activity of legal persons, financed from the state budget;

5. The person concerned has given his consent to their provision or usage; the consent shall be in writing and must clearly specify the data it is given for and who may use these data; the person concerned may withdraw his consent in writing at any time, but such withdrawal shall not affect the actions already done.

Art. 27. (1) (amended, SG, No 81 of 2005) The Bodies of Statistics shall be obliged to protect the individual data and prevent any misuse by undertaking the necessary organization and technical measures and by giving access to such data only to persons who have signed a sworn declaration for protection of statistical secrecy.

(2) The collection, processing, usage and storage of data, considered as statistical secrecy, shall be carried out, following the way stipulated by ordinance of BNSI President.

(3) The natural persons, assigned to collect, receive, process and store data, considered as statistical secrecy, shall sign a sworn declaration for protection of secrecy while performing their duties and also in a period of 5 years after their finalization.

(4) The rules on protection of statistical secrecy shall be mandatory for all surveys, conducted by the Bodies of Statistics in pursuance of the law.

….

ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS

§ 1. Within the meaning of this law:

1. (Amended, SG, No 81 of 2005) "Individual statistical data" means data, collected for statistical purposes, which concern economic or other subjects, carrying out activities on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria or personal data, which may be related to a par2. (Amended, SG, No 81 of 2005) "Statistical information" means information, which results from compilation of the individual data, collected for statistical purposes.

…

3. "Statistical purpose" means use of statistical information for describing the mass phenomena and processes in the field of economy, demography, social sphere and environment in figures or words.

…

10. (Amended, SG, No 81 of 2005) "Principle of protection of statistical secrecy" is usage of individual statistical data only for statistical purposes.

….  ”

See 7.1.

Not available

Not available

Not available

See concept 9 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

As of 2022, Eurostat publishes in March for the preceding year a GDP PPP flash estimate for the EU27. Thus, BNSI publishes on its website the flash estimates (March, t+3 months), the first preliminary (nowcast, in June, t+6 months), the preliminary (in December, t+12 months), the revised (in December, t+24 months) and final (December, t+36 months) results of the PPP exercise at GDP level and by major analytical groups. Results for selected groups only are issued at price survey level. In the Statistical Yearbook and in Statistical Reference book BNSI publishes the overall results at the level of GDP and by its main components. All results are published in a table format in Excel. In case of a specific interest, brief analysis is also provided. Brief methodology, history and organization of ECP exercise are published as well.

Information for uploading on the BNSI’s website is prepared usually the same day of the official release by Eurostat in March, June and in December, both Bulgarian and English versions. Data that are published in the Statistical Yearbook and in the Reference book become available to the users by end of May.

The new list of contents of PPP results published:

• Purchasing Power Parities
• Price level indices
• GDP
• Final consumption expenditure of households
• Actual Individual Consumption
• Gross fixed capital fomation
• GDP at Market prices per inhabitant in Euro and in PPS
• Volume indices per capita in PPS
• GDP
• Final consumption expenditure of households
• Actual Individual Consumption
• Gross fixed capital fomation
• Pure survey results
• Food, beverages, tobacco - comparative price levels
• Gross fixed capital formation - comparative price levels
• OECD – international comparisons – results

International Comparison Program

See 10.2.

See 10.2.

See concept 10.4 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

Not applicable

The latest version of the "EUROSTAT-OECD Methodological manual on purchasing power parities" is available online. 

See concept 10.7 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

All data provided undergo a detailed multilateral validation process, described in detail in the PPP Manual (see 10.6).

At European level, the PPP Regulation requires Eurostat to assess the PPP processes of each EU Member State at least once every six years and to publish the results of these assessments on the Eurostat website. The outcome of these assessments are released on Eurostat's website.

See concept 12.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 12.2 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

All indicators are calculated and published.

See concept 13.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 13.2 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 13.3 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 14.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 14.2 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 15.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 15.2 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 15.3 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

Not applicable

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

See concept 17.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

Not applicable, cf. 17.1.

See concept 18.1 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 18.2 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 18.3 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 18.4 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 18.5 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

See concept 18.6 of the Eurostat metadata file prc_ppp_esms.

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