Similar story in Bulgaria. The country had a strong industrial and mechanised agricultural base, with an educated workforce to match. Every small village was electrified and had at least one nearby factory of a small scale. They also had kindergartens, schools, libraries, football stadiums and a small railway station nearby. The planning was far from perfect - factories were built far from the available resources, there were shortages and excesses in the whole chain, but at least the communist leaders recognised the need for modernisation of the society and the economy.
Fast forward to today, where we have an economic centralisation and pollution around 3 or 4 major cities. The economic profile is mainly made up of exports of raw goods and services for local use with a low added value. There is a disconnect between the educational system and the economy, the culture (music, theater) has steadily declined.
I think you're looking at gross and not real GDP. Regardless, GDP growth is probably what you should look at if you want to compare. On that metric, 1988 was actually the highest year of GDP growth and Bulgaria has never reached that level since
Can y’all show some dignity and not turn every thread where either of your countries are mentioned into bitching and whining? Show some dignity and surface the good in your respective countries. I know the eu conditioned you into thinking the two are do nothing sources of cheap labour and perpetual poverty. Both countries are orders of magnitude more developed, and indeed less corrupt and more democratic, than say india or russia yet you dont see people of those countries constantly bitch. The past is a done deal. Was there anything you can build upon? I know in romania there was a bit of innovation even under communism, including in electronics. Old industries died because of poor management and geopolitics. I know the tim-s and hc computers were popular in romanian schools, i grew up there and we did programming from an early age. If you ate roots feed by “mafias” i feel sorry for you but thats not everything and shouldn't dominate your lives.
GDP is a mere indicator based on the total cash sum of all transactions in an economy. Increased consumption of goods and services doesn't necessarily equate a healthier economy.
The former communist economy of Bulgaria was a very different beast altogether. Services were practically non-existent, or entirely in the gray sector where individuals were repairing cars or giving music lessons to children for cash and mutual favours. The structure of society eliminated the need for whole classes of services which are in the private sector today - think private healthcare, travel agencies, consulting agencies, analytic agencies, etc.
The current IT industry in Bulgaria is not a game-changer for the whole country. It consists mainly of outsourcing companies concentrated in Sofia, exploiting the relatively cheap labour there. Few local companies develop their own product and accumulate their capital locally.
Fast forward to today, where we have an economic centralisation and pollution around 3 or 4 major cities. The economic profile is mainly made up of exports of raw goods and services for local use with a low added value. There is a disconnect between the educational system and the economy, the culture (music, theater) has steadily declined.