In February, the annual inflation rate in Bulgaria registered a decrease for a fifth consecutive month, dropping to 3.3%, shows data published by the National Statistical Institute (NSI) on March 16. Compared to January, the rate went down by 0.2 percentage points.
The monthly inflation rate was 0.4%, and the rate since the beginning of the year (February 2026 compared to December 2025) was 1.0%. The annual average inflation rate for the March 2025 - February 2026 period, compared to March 2024 - February 2025, was 4.5%.
The accumulated inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was 11.1% for the last three years (February 2026 compared to February 2023) and was 41.8% for the last five years (February 2026 compared to February 2021).
In February 2026, the monthly inflation rate, measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), was 0.2% and the annual inflation rate in February 2026 compared to February 2025 was 2.1%. The inflation rate since the beginning of the year (February 2026 compared to December 2025) was 0.8%. The annual average inflation rate for the March 2025 - February 2026 period was 3.3% compared to the March 2024 - February 2025 period.
The accumulated inflation, measured by HICP, was 9.8% for the last three years (February 2026 compared to February 2023) and 35.3% for the last five years (February 2026 compared to February 2021).
In terms of CPI, in February 2026 the prices of goods and services increased in the following consumer groups: Information and Communication (1.3%); Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (1.0%), Restaurants and Accommodation Services (0.8%); Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages (0.7%); Recreation, Sport and Culture (0.5%); Personal Care, Social Protection and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (0.4%); Health (0.3%); Education Services (0.3%); Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (0.2%).
The prices of goods and services decreased in Clothing and Footwear (1.9%) and Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (0.9%).
The prices of the goods and services in Insurance and Financial Services and in Transport remained unchanged.
In February 2026, the monthly rate, measured by the Price Index of a Small Basket (PISB), was 0.6% and the annual rate in February 2026, compared to February 2025, was 2.9%.
In February 2026, compared to the previous month, the prices of goods and services in the small basket for the 20% of households with the lowest income changed as follows: Food Products up by 1.3%; Services up by 0.1%; and Non-food Products down by 0.2%.