 The labour force is 2 @.@ 45 million people , of whom 7 @.@ 1 per cent are employed in agriculture , 35 @.@ 2 per cent are employed in industry and 57 @.@ 7 per cent are employed in the services sector . Extraction of metals and minerals , production of chemicals , machinery and vehicle components , petroleum refining and steel are among the major industrial activities . Mining and its related industries employ a total of 120 @,@ 000 people and generate about five per cent of the country 's GDP . Bulgaria is Europe 's sixth @-@ largest coal producer . Local deposits of coal , iron , copper and lead are vital for the manufacturing and energy sectors . Almost all top export items of Bulgaria are industrial commodities such as oil products , copper products and pharmaceuticals . Bulgaria is also a net exporter of agricultural and food products , of which two @-@ thirds go to OECD countries . It is the largest global producer of perfumery essential oils such as lavender and rose oil . Agriculture has declined significantly in the past two decades . Production in 2008 amounted to only 66 per cent of that between 1999 and 2001 , while cereal and vegetable yields have dropped by nearly 40 per cent since 1990 . Of the services sector , tourism is the most significant contributor to economic growth . In recent years , Bulgaria has emerged as a travelling destination with its inexpensive resorts and beaches outside the reach of the tourist industry . Lonely Planet ranked it among its top 10 destinations for 2011 . Most of the visitors are British , Romanian , German and Russian . The capital Sofia , the medieval capital Veliko Tarnovo , coastal resorts Golden Sands and Sunny Beach and winter resorts Bansko , Pamporovo and Borovets are some of the locations most visited by tourists . 
