Private debt stood at EUR 3,98 B, down by 0,9 % over the moth before. File photo
Bulgaria's gross foreign debt stood at EUR 36,41 B at the end of March, down by EUR 418 M over the previous month, official data showed.
On an annual basis gross foreign debt, which equalled 107.4 % of gross domestic product, rose by 20,4 %, the central bank announced.
Bulgaria paid a total of EUR 2,04 B to service its gross foreign debt in the first quarter, down from EUR 2,15 B for the same period the previous year.
Private debt stood at EUR 3,98 B, down by 0,9 % over the moth before.
Analysts have warned that Bulgaria may be the next in line after Hungary, Latvia, Serbia, Romania and Poland to seek an International Monetary Fund-led bailout over its huge private debt and bloated current account deficit.
Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 3,5% in the first quarter of 2009 on an annual basis, the first time that the country's GDP marked a drop since the financial and economic crisis in 1997.
The Socialist-led government, however, has persistently assured that the country is not in for nasty shocks and will not need external support from lenders such as the IMF thanks to its prudent fiscal policy.
Bulgaria currently operates in currency board regime and the lev is pegged to the euro.