Key findings
In 2017, the Southeast Europe (SEE) sourcing market was estimated at EUR 7.542 bln, jumping annually by 14.9% and contributing 3.3% to the region's GDP. The SEE sourcing market is expected to double its size by 2021, as it did between 2013 and 2017, and exceed EUR 14.700 bln. In Romania, the sourcing industry is already a key factor, slicing a share of more than 11% in the country's GDP. Bulgaria is another SEE country with a strong presence of the sourcing sector in the country's economy. It contributed almost 5.0% to the national economy in 2017. In the rest of the region sourcing is still an emerging sector in the countries' economies.

The sourcing sector employed more than 220,000
People in 2017, double the number they were five years ago. Half of them were in Romania and another 60,000 in Bulgaria. Sourcing employed nearly 2.0% of the total labour force in both countries.

Sourcing in SEE generated EUR 3.995 bln
in labour costs, a figure doubled only within three years between 2014 and 2017. ITO (Information Technology Sourcing) traditionally reports higher labour costs per employee, with the highest value recorded in Slovenia - EUR 3,739 per month, or more than double the average monthly values in the following countries – Romania and Bulgaria.

Despite the larger number of ITO companies,
the two main sourcing sectors are almost equal in terms of operating revenue with ITO's share being just over half the total – 50.6%. Forecasts predict faster growth of BPO and a switch of power by 2021, when BPO is expected to contribute about 55% of the total operating revenue.