Bulgaria's economy grew by seven per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2008, in real terms, to 13.48 billion leva or 6.9 billion euro, provisional data from the National Statiscal Institute showed on June 16. Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was 1760.31 leva or 900 euro.

The figure is the highest growth recorded by Bulgaria's economy since the second quarter of 1998.

Industry and construction supplied the bulk of the growth, rising by 7.7 and 8.3 per cent, respectively, while agriculture shrunk by 1.6 per cent. Services accounted for 63.2 per cent of the GDP, up from 60.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2007. The share of the industrial sector went down from 34.6 per cent to 32.1 per cent, while agriculture remained unchanged at 4.7 per cent.

Total consumption in the first half slowed down to 4.7 per cent, compared to six per cent in the same period of last year. Household consumption growth decreased from seven per cent to 5.7 per cent.

Capital investments growth also slowed down from 35.9 per cent to 15.5 per cent.

Bulgaria's trade gap in the January-March period rose 14.6 per cent year-on-year to 3.74 billion leva, or 1.91 billion euro.

The Cabinet targets 6.4 per cent economic growth, the same target it set last year, when end-year GDP growth was 6.2 per cent. First-quarter economic growth last year was 5.5 per cent, followed by increases of 6.5, 5.9 and 6.9 per cent, respectively, in the other quarters of 2007.