Bulgaria was identified as the third most attractive outsourcing location in the world, according to research conducted by global real estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield.

Bulgaria moved eleven positions from its ranking in 2014, when it occupied 14th place, and is currently preceded only by Vietnam and the Philippines.

The report notes that the country benefits from low tax rate and has one of the lowest labour costs in the EU.

Nearly 50 % of Bulgarian graduates obtain degrees in majors suitable for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry.

The country also possesses strong labour pool suited to BPO with more than 60 000 students graduating annually from Bulgarian universities.

The labour pool is also noted for its strong international language base as 98 % of students enrolled in secondary school study a foreign language and 73 % study at least two foreign languages.

The report assesses factors likely to affect the successful operation of BPO functions around the world and ranks top outsourcing locations by assessing costs, risks and operating conditions.

Read the full report here.