Bulgaria's current account deficit is expected to reach 20 per cent of the country's GDP in 2007.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), as quoted by Dnevnik daily, in the next five years the current account deficit in Bulgaria will start decreasing and will reach 17.2 per cent of the GDP by 2011.

Economic analysts expect that Bulgarian economic growth will reach 6.2 per cent in 2007 but will slow down to four per cent in 2011, mainly due to a worsening demographic situation.

Experts predict a higher GDP growth per capita compared with Western European countries.

Despite high GDP growth in Bulgaria, its value will remain half as low as in Germany, analysts said. The EIU said that the average salary in Bulgaria in 2011 will be $322, while the salary in the other Eastern European countries and Central Europe will be $937 a month.

Direct foreign investment will also go down, reaching 4.2 per cent of the GDP.