Italy is the fourth-largest economy in Europe and the tenth-largest in the world by GDP. The excellence of Made in Italy is recognised worldwide in design, craftsmanship, food, industry, culture, art and many technology sectors. Italy has significant achievements in small and medium-sized business. In recent years, all macroeconomic data have consistently confirmed that its substantial added value and know-how are stagnating, not only because of various domestic factors, but also because small and medium-sized businesses struggle to make use of the potential offered by the EU project.
It is within the Balkans that Bulgaria plays a particularly important role, laying the foundations for certain success.
Many European investors are already looking closely at Bulgaria: British, Dutch and German investors are already taking action.
Italian entrepreneurs must not remain passive while waiting for a new “economic miracle”. They need to act now rather than wait in vain for domestic demand to recover.
We are confident that small and medium-sized Italian companies can readily internationalise by developing, investing and improving their know-how in territories that remain fertile and receptive.
Bulgarian entrepreneurs, for their part, should look with confidence and attention to their Italian counterparts, who can add enormous value to the favourable conditions of entrepreneurial freedom currently found in Bulgaria, where the necessary industrial expertise is lacking—an immeasurable asset for an economic power such as Italy.
The following information will help Bulgarian entrepreneurs form an idea of Italy’s main characteristics:
Total area 301,340 km2; water area 2.4%; population 60,782,668 (31.12.2013) (23); density 201.71 per km2 (39); growth rate 0.38% (2012); borders France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Vatican City and San Marino; time zone UTC+1 (CET), UTC+2 (CEST); currency euro; GDP (nominal) $2,014,382 million (2012) (8); GDP per capita $33,915 (2012) (26); GDP (purchasing power parity) $1,814,571 million (2012) (10); GDP per capita (purchasing power parity) $30,551 (2012) (28); HDI (2012) 0.881 (25); fertility rate 1.4 (2010) (5); dialling code +39; national anthem The Song of the Italians; national holiday 2 June.