Bulgaria can expect to lose over $75 M by 2004 to software piracy, according to a report released by Datamonitor. It says the software piracy rate in Bulgaria stands today at 78%, nearly double the rate of Western Europe (34%). Datamonitor, a premium business information company specializing in industry analysis, researched and analysed both the direct and indirect impact of piracy on the software industry in 10 Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. In total over 15,100 people are employed as a result of the software industry in Bulgaria. Software workers earn considerably more than others. The software industry contributed $28 M to GDP in 2000, with $12 M in tax revenues. This will grow to a $59 M contribution in 2004, with $22 M in tax revenues. Datamonitor concludes that the software industry has a much greater impact on the national economy in comparison to industries of a similar size.

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