Bulgaria has an industrialised market economy in the upper middle income range, where the private sector accounts for more than 80 per cent of GDP. From a largely agricultural country with a predominantly rural population in 1948, by the 1980s Bulgaria had transformed into an industrial economy with scientific and technological research as its top priorities in terms of budget expenditures. The loss of COMECON markets in 1990 and the subsequent "shock therapy" of the planned system caused a sharp drop in industrial and agricultural production, ultimately followed by an economic collapse in 1997. After 2000, Bulgaria experienced rapid economic growth, even though its income level remained one of the lowest within the EU with a gross average monthly wage of 755 leva (386 euro) in June 2012. Wages, however, account for only half of the total household income. Bulgarian PPS GDP per capita stood at 45 per cent of the EU average in 2011 according to Eurostat data, while the cost of living was 51 per cent of the average. The currency is the lev, which is pegged to the euro at a rate of 1.95583 levа for one euro. Bulgaria is not part of the eurozone and the financial crisis has pushed the accession date beyond 2015 according to some economic analysts.
Unemployment rate stood at 12.4 per cent in July 2012 and GDP growth contracted from 6.2 (2008) to −5.5 per cent (2009) amid the late-2000s financial crisis. The crisis had a negative impact mostly on industry, causing a 10 per cent decline in the national industrial production index, a 31 per cent drop in mining, and a 60 per cent drop in "ferrous and metal production". Positive growth was restored in 2010, reaching 0.2 per cent. However, by the end of 2011, investments were diminishing and consumption was dropping steadily due to rising unemployment. In 2010, intercompany debt exceeded 51 billion euro, and about 60% of all Bulgarian companies were indebted, excluding subcontractors, suppliers and producers
