NUTS-3 BG312 · Bulgaria
Монтана
Montana
Монтана generates €888M of GDP across 112.7k residents. Its Opportunity Index of 23.1/100 sits in the lower tier of EU regions, led by economic growth and market access. Its economy has grown +7.3%/yr over five years and accelerating, with the employment rate up 8.0pp. On quality of life it ranks strongest for safety (26th EU percentile) and weakest for health (0th).
Long-run trajectory · EU percentile of real GDP per head, 1995–2024
Persistent laggard1 → 0 EU percentile since 1995 (-1 ranks)
Yearly EU-wide percentile of real GDP per head (ARDECO regional accounts, constant 2020 prices, derived over population). 50 = the EU median that year; percentiles are scale-free, so decades are directly comparable. See the backtest for what long-run prosperity ranks do — and don't — anticipate.
Mandate pillar profile · EU percentiles (screener dimensions)
Cost advantage100
Growth momentum72
Energy cost65
Resilience35
Industrial base21
Talent & skills16
Labour market14
Connectivity11
Freight intensity11
Quality of life10
Demographic outlook4
Digital readiness1
Economic base0
Governance0
Each bar is this region's EU percentile on a screener pillar (higher = better for siting; cost & energy are inverted so cheap scores high). These are the exact weights you tune in the Site Screener.
Opportunity Index · composite triage (experimental)
23.1
/ 100 · blends growth, livability, market access & scale · 4/4 pillars
Growth71.8
Livability9.6
Market access10
Economic scale1
Equal-weighted mean of four EU-percentile pillars (deliberately orthogonal: growth=trend, livability=quality, market=distance-weighted demand proxy, scale=absolute GDP). Experimental — a screening triage, not investment advice.
Resilience Index · downside / risk lens (experimental)
34.5
/ 100 · higher = more resilient to downturns · 4/4 pillars
GDP stability28
Labour stability34
Diversification74
Demographic stability2
Inverse of GDP-growth & unemployment volatility (since 2008, incl. 2009/2020 shocks), economic diversification (inverse HHI) and population stability — each EU-percentile-ranked. Higher withstands downturns better. Experimental.
Connectivity Index · transit · air · market access (experimental)
11.3
/ 100 · higher = better-connected · 3/3 facets
Transit density4
Airport access20
Market access10
Public-transport stop density, proximity to a major airport, and gravity access to surrounding economic mass — each EU-percentile-ranked. Higher = better-connected. Experimental.
Talent & Human Capital Index · skills base (experimental)
15.5
/ 100 · higher = deeper skills base than more EU regions · 4/4 facets
Young tertiary12
Lifelong learning18
Knowledge workers19
Scientists & engineers13
Young tertiary attainment (25–34), adult lifelong learning, knowledge-worker share and scientists & engineers — each EU-percentile-ranked. Higher = deeper talent pool. Experimental.
Quality of Life · composite (experimental)
9.6
/ 100 · EU-relative · 6/7 pillars
Economy0
Jobs18
Education11
Health0
Safety26
Connectivity2.5
Environment—
Equal-weighted percentile across 6 pillars vs all EU NUTS-3; lower-is-better indicators (crime, unemployment, mortality) inverted. Experimental — regional screening only.
Growth momentum · trend analytics
71.8
/ 100 momentum · EU-relative · 5/5 signals
GDP growth · 5-yr
+7.3%
CAGR, nominal
GDP growth · 10-yr
+6.3%
CAGR, nominal
Acceleration
+0.9 pp
5-yr vs 10-yr
vs country avg
-2.9 pp
inflation-adj.
Population · 5-yr
-1.7%
CAGR
Employment rate
+8.0 pp
5-yr change
Unemployment
-5.4 pp
5-yr change
Compound annual growth to the latest available year vs all EU NUTS-3; GDP is nominal EUR (“vs country avg” removes most national inflation). Screening signal, not a forecast.
Economic structure · gross value added by sector
Dominant: Public · health · education · 31%Diversified · HHI 2115
Agriculture 12.2%Industry 15.4%Construction 2.3%Trade · transport · ICT 19.6%Finance · real estate · prof. 19.4%Public · health · education 31%
Share of total GVA (latest year). HHI = sum of squared sector shares ×10,000; higher means a more concentrated, single-sector-dependent economy (more cyclicality risk).
Trends · 2009–2024
GDP (current prices)
€888M2024
0.5% 1y 7.3% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 1
Real GDP (2020 prices)
€590M2025
2.0% 1y 2.2% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 1
Population
112,7372025
1.6% 1y 1.7% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 18
Unemployment rate
7.4%2025
23.7% 1y 10.1% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 79
Employment
45,4902023
9.4% 1y 1.7% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 14
Productivity / employee
€25,3472025
8.4% 1y 16.9% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 1
Gross value added
€775M2024
0.9% 1y 7.5% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 1
All indicators · 86 more metrics (Eurostat, all-EU)
Economy
Gross value added, total (current prices)
€775M
2024 · EU pctl 1
GVA — agriculture, forestry & fishing (A)
€95M
2024 · EU pctl 35
GVA — industry (B–E)
€119M
2024 · EU pctl 2
GVA — manufacturing (C)
€79M
2024 · EU pctl 3
GVA — construction (F)
€18M
2024 · EU pctl 1
GVA — wholesale/retail, transport, ICT (G–J)
€152M
2024 · EU pctl 1
Net disposable household income per capita (NUTS-2 source)
€6,100
2023 · EU pctl 0 · NUTS-2 src
GDP per capita in PPS (purchasing-power adjusted)
12,700 PPS
2024 · EU pctl 0
GDP per capita (current prices, EUR)
€7,800
2024 · EU pctl 0
Gross fixed capital formation — investment (total economy)
€866M
2023 · EU pctl 1 · NUTS-2 src
Investment in manufacturing capex (GFCF, NACE C)
€154M
2023 · EU pctl 4 · NUTS-2 src
Compensation of employees (total wage bill)
€2,572M
2023 · EU pctl 2 · NUTS-2 src
GVA — real estate activities (L)
€125M
2024 · EU pctl 5
GVA — information & communication (J)
€7M
2024 · EU pctl 4
GVA — finance, real estate & professional (K–N)
€150M
2024 · EU pctl 2
GVA — public admin, health & education (O–U)
€240M
2024 · EU pctl 3
Real GDP (constant 2020 prices, incl. short-term forecast)
€590M
2025 · EU pctl 1
Labour productivity per person employed (EUR)
€25,347
2025 · EU pctl 1
Gross fixed capital formation, NUTS-3 (ARDECO)
€149M
2025 · EU pctl 1
Labour market
Employment, total persons
45,490
2023 · EU pctl 14
Self-employed persons
13,950
2023 · EU pctl 46
Employment in manufacturing (C)
9,060
2023 · EU pctl 25
Activity rate, 15–64 (NUTS-2 source)
70.9%
2025 · EU pctl 14 · NUTS-2 src
Youth unemployment rate (15–24)
23.1%
2025 · EU pctl 80 · NUTS-2 src
Unemployment rate 15-74, NUTS-3 native (ARDECO)
7.4%
2025 · EU pctl 79
Labour force aged 15+ (ARDECO)
48,900
2025 · EU pctl 14
Business demography
Active enterprises (business economy, all sizes)
4,233
2023 · EU pctl 14
Enterprise births
449
2023 · EU pctl 22
Enterprise deaths
616
2023 · EU pctl 34
3-year enterprise survival rate
5.2%
2023 · EU pctl 70
Innovation & R&D
R&D expenditure as % of GDP
0.3%
2023 · EU pctl 2 · NUTS-2 src
Employment in high-tech sectors (% of total)
1.8%
2025 · EU pctl 5 · NUTS-2 src
R&D personnel (% of active population, FTE)
0.4%
2023 · EU pctl 8 · NUTS-2 src
Education
Tertiary education attainment, age 25–64
27.7%
2025 · EU pctl 20 · NUTS-2 src
Tertiary attainment, age 25–34 (young talent pool)
30.5%
2025 · EU pctl 12 · NUTS-2 src
Adult participation in learning, age 25–64 (last 4 weeks)
7.3%
2025 · EU pctl 18 · NUTS-2 src
Knowledge workers — tertiary-educated & in science/tech (% of labour force)
18.7%
2025 · EU pctl 19 · NUTS-2 src
Scientists & engineers (% of labour force)
5.5%
2025 · EU pctl 13 · NUTS-2 src
Digital
Households with internet access
87.3%
2025 · EU pctl 1 · NUTS-2 src
Tourism
Nights spent at tourist accommodation (total)
107,898
2024 · EU pctl 4
Mobility
Passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants
472 /1k pop
2024 · EU pctl 13 · NUTS-2 src
Distinct public-transport stop locations within the region (GTFS feeds, deduplicated across overlapping feeds by coordinate). A measure of transit-network extent.
1
CURRENT · EU pctl 0
Road freight loaded (annual, thousand tonnes)
1,315 kt
2025 · EU pctl 7
Public-transport stops per 100,000 inhabitants — transit service density relative to population (GTFS feeds, coordinate-deduplicated).
1
CURRENT · EU pctl 4
Motorway density (km per 1,000 km²)
1 km/1000km²
2024 · EU pctl 8 · NUTS-2 src
Distance from the region centroid to the nearest major (large) airport, in km - air-connectivity accessibility. Lower is better.
90
CURRENT · EU pctl 80
Number of major (large) airports within 100 km of the region centroid - air-hub catchment richness.
1
CURRENT · EU pctl 15
Demography
Population aged 15–64 (working age)
66,253
2025 · EU pctl 17
Population aged 65+
32,081
2025 · EU pctl 25
Population aged under 15
14,403
2025 · EU pctl 16
Median age of population
51.1 yrs
2025 · EU pctl 90
Old-age dependency ratio (65+ / 15–64)
48.4%
2025 · EU pctl 92
Crude rate of total population change
-15.7 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 1
Crude rate of net migration plus adjustment
-1.9 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 6
Crude birth rate
7.7 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 49
Crude death rate
21.5 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 100
Live births
870
2024 · EU pctl 20
Deaths
2,440
2024 · EU pctl 40
Total age-dependency ratio (young+old / 15-64)
70.2%
2025 · EU pctl 91
Total fertility rate (births per woman)
1.88
2024 · EU pctl 99
Population density (persons per km²)
32 /km²
2024 · EU pctl 9
Projected population, 2030–2040 (EUROPOP2019 baseline)
54,234
2100 · EU pctl 6
Health
Hospital beds per 100k inhabitants
964 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 99 · NUTS-2 src
Mortality, all causes (age-standardised rate)
2,350 /100k
2021 · EU pctl 100 · NUTS-2 src
Cancer mortality (age-standardised rate)
248 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 77 · NUTS-2 src
Safety & crime
Intentional homicides per 100k inhabitants
4.4 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 99
Robberies per 100k inhabitants
6.1 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 13
Burglaries per 100k inhabitants
20.1 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 2
Thefts per 100k inhabitants
377 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 23
Road traffic deaths per million inhabitants
148 /M pop
2024 · EU pctl 100 · NUTS-2 src
Governance & institutions
Government effectiveness, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
-0.07
2022 · EU pctl 0
Regulatory quality, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
0.25
2022 · EU pctl 0
Rule of law, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
-0.10
2022 · EU pctl 0
Control of corruption, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
-0.14
2022 · EU pctl 0
Political stability & absence of violence, WGI score (country)
0.33
2022 · EU pctl 22
Energy
Industrial electricity price, 2-20 GWh band, excl. taxes (national)
€0.135/kWh
2025-S2 · EU pctl 35
Industrial gas price, 10-100k GJ band, excl. taxes (national)
€0.041/kWh
2025-S2 · EU pctl 8
Climate
Elevation at region centroid (Copernicus DEM)
269 m
CURRENT · EU pctl 57
Hot days ≥30°C (avg per year)
31 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 84
Frost days ≤0°C (avg per year)
67 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 61
Heavy-precipitation days ≥20mm (avg per year)
7 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 76
Environment
Industrial facilities per 100k inhabitants (E-PRTR)
16.0 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 30
Population in the 100-year river floodplain (% of residents, EFAS × census grid)
3.3%
2021 · EU pctl 52
Similar regions · nearest peers on standardised NUTS-3 indicators
Other Bulgaria regions