Household income in Bulgaria has increased by 11 per cent, up to an average monthly of €675 per person last December, compared to December 2007, data published by the Bulgarian National Statistics Institute reveals.

The average amount of the income per person in a household coming from the monthly salary in Bulgaria has gone up by 17 per cent while retirement income in Bulgaria has increased by 13 per cent last December compared to December of 2007.

At the same time, household expenses have increased only by 4.5 per cent in December of 2008 compared to same period in 2007. The expenses have increased the most in the health care and transportation sectors - with 20 per cent and 11 per cent respectively. Water and electricity bills have maintained stable levels while expenses for food and non-alcoholic beverages have been slightly lower - down by almost two per cent. Bulgarians spent the most money on bread, followed by meat and fruit.