NUTS-3 BG322 · Bulgaria
Габрово
Gabrovo
Габрово generates €1.2bn of GDP across 93.8k residents. Its Opportunity Index of 23.2/100 sits in the lower tier of EU regions, led by economic growth and livability. Its economy has grown +8.5%/yr over five years and accelerating, with the employment rate up 1.2pp. On quality of life it ranks strongest for jobs (41.5th EU percentile) and weakest for health (0.5th).
Long-run trajectory · EU percentile of real GDP per head, 1995–2024
Persistent laggard9 → 5 EU percentile since 1995 (-3 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 advantage99
Industrial base92
Energy cost65
Growth momentum57
Labour market25
Talent & skills22
Resilience21
Quality of life18
Connectivity15
Digital readiness11
Economic base9
Demographic outlook3
Freight intensity3
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)
23.2
/ 100 · blends growth, livability, market access & scale · 4/4 pillars
Growth56.6
Livability18
Market access15
Economic scale3
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)
20.8
/ 100 · higher = more resilient to downturns · 4/4 pillars
GDP stability38
Labour stability16
Diversification24
Demographic stability5
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)
14.5
/ 100 · higher = better-connected · 2/3 facets
Transit density—
Airport access14
Market access15
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)
22
/ 100 · higher = deeper skills base than more EU regions · 4/4 facets
Young tertiary51
Lifelong learning5
Knowledge workers30
Scientists & engineers2
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)
18
/ 100 · EU-relative · 6/7 pillars
Economy5
Jobs41.5
Education19
Health0.5
Safety31
Connectivity11
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
56.6
/ 100 momentum · EU-relative · 5/5 signals
GDP growth · 5-yr
+8.5%
CAGR, nominal
GDP growth · 10-yr
+7.3%
CAGR, nominal
Acceleration
+1.1 pp
5-yr vs 10-yr
vs country avg
-1.7 pp
inflation-adj.
Population · 5-yr
-1.2%
CAGR
Employment rate
+1.2 pp
5-yr change
Unemployment
-1.7 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: Industry · 36.1%Diversified · HHI 2442
Agriculture 4.2%Industry 36.1%Construction 2.9%Trade · transport · ICT 21.6%Finance · real estate · prof. 13.9%Public · health · education 21.4%
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)
€1,194M2024
0.7% 1y 8.5% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 3
Real GDP (2020 prices)
€1,002M2025
2.0% 1y 4.4% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 3
Population
93,8172025
1.1% 1y 1.2% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 12
Unemployment rate
4.0%2025
25.9% 1y 6.8% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 43
Employment
53,4702023
0.8% 1y 0.2% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 18
Productivity / employee
€31,8482025
8.4% 1y 15.7% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 3
Gross value added
€1,042M2024
0.3% 1y 8.7% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 3
All indicators · 84 more metrics (Eurostat, all-EU)
Economy
Gross value added, total (current prices)
€1,042M
2024 · EU pctl 3
GVA — agriculture, forestry & fishing (A)
€44M
2024 · EU pctl 19
GVA — industry (B–E)
€376M
2024 · EU pctl 10
GVA — manufacturing (C)
€347M
2024 · EU pctl 14
GVA — construction (F)
€30M
2024 · EU pctl 2
GVA — wholesale/retail, transport, ICT (G–J)
€225M
2024 · EU pctl 3
Net disposable household income per capita (NUTS-2 source)
€6,500
2023 · EU pctl 1 · NUTS-2 src
GDP per capita in PPS (purchasing-power adjusted)
20,500 PPS
2024 · EU pctl 9
GDP per capita (current prices, EUR)
€12,700
2024 · EU pctl 5
Gross fixed capital formation — investment (total economy)
€1,276M
2023 · EU pctl 2 · NUTS-2 src
Investment in manufacturing capex (GFCF, NACE C)
€285M
2023 · EU pctl 6 · NUTS-2 src
Compensation of employees (total wage bill)
€3,129M
2023 · EU pctl 3 · NUTS-2 src
GVA — real estate activities (L)
€107M
2024 · EU pctl 4
GVA — information & communication (J)
€9M
2024 · EU pctl 4
GVA — finance, real estate & professional (K–N)
€144M
2024 · EU pctl 2
GVA — public admin, health & education (O–U)
€223M
2024 · EU pctl 3
Real GDP (constant 2020 prices, incl. short-term forecast)
€1,002M
2025 · EU pctl 3
Labour productivity per person employed (EUR)
€31,848
2025 · EU pctl 3
Gross fixed capital formation, NUTS-3 (ARDECO)
€278M
2025 · EU pctl 3
Labour market
Employment, total persons
53,470
2023 · EU pctl 18
Self-employed persons
9,700
2023 · EU pctl 34
Employment in manufacturing (C)
21,110
2023 · EU pctl 58
Activity rate, 15–64 (NUTS-2 source)
72.1%
2025 · EU pctl 17 · NUTS-2 src
Youth unemployment rate (15–24)
20.3%
2018 · EU pctl 72 · NUTS-2 src
Unemployment rate 15-74, NUTS-3 native (ARDECO)
4.0%
2025 · EU pctl 43
Labour force aged 15+ (ARDECO)
40,400
2025 · EU pctl 9
Business demography
Active enterprises (business economy, all sizes)
5,883
2023 · EU pctl 24
Enterprise births
597
2023 · EU pctl 30
Enterprise deaths
787
2023 · EU pctl 42
3-year enterprise survival rate
4.6%
2023 · EU pctl 56
Innovation & R&D
R&D expenditure as % of GDP
0.3%
2023 · EU pctl 4 · NUTS-2 src
Employment in high-tech sectors (% of total)
2.7%
2025 · EU pctl 14 · NUTS-2 src
R&D personnel (% of active population, FTE)
0.5%
2023 · EU pctl 12 · NUTS-2 src
Education
Tertiary education attainment, age 25–64
31.2%
2025 · EU pctl 34 · NUTS-2 src
Tertiary attainment, age 25–34 (young talent pool)
41.6%
2025 · EU pctl 51 · NUTS-2 src
Adult participation in learning, age 25–64 (last 4 weeks)
4.9%
2025 · EU pctl 5 · NUTS-2 src
Knowledge workers — tertiary-educated & in science/tech (% of labour force)
20.4%
2025 · EU pctl 30 · NUTS-2 src
Scientists & engineers (% of labour force)
4.2%
2025 · EU pctl 2 · NUTS-2 src
Digital
Households with internet access
91.0%
2025 · EU pctl 11 · NUTS-2 src
Tourism
Nights spent at tourist accommodation (total)
196,480
2024 · EU pctl 11
Mobility
Passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants
492 /1k pop
2024 · EU pctl 18 · NUTS-2 src
Road freight loaded (annual, thousand tonnes)
570 kt
2025 · EU pctl 2
Motorway density (km per 1,000 km²)
0 km/1000km²
2024 · EU pctl 0 · NUTS-2 src
Distance from the region centroid to the nearest major (large) airport, in km - air-connectivity accessibility. Lower is better.
103
CURRENT · EU pctl 86
Number of major (large) airports within 100 km of the region centroid - air-hub catchment richness.
0
CURRENT · EU pctl 0
Demography
Population aged 15–64 (working age)
54,282
2025 · EU pctl 10
Population aged 65+
28,640
2025 · EU pctl 20
Population aged under 15
10,895
2025 · EU pctl 9
Median age of population
52.5 yrs
2025 · EU pctl 96
Old-age dependency ratio (65+ / 15–64)
52.8%
2025 · EU pctl 97
Crude rate of total population change
-11.1 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 3
Crude rate of net migration plus adjustment
3.4 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 38
Crude birth rate
6.3 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 19
Crude death rate
20.9 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 100
Live births
599
2024 · EU pctl 10
Deaths
1,967
2024 · EU pctl 31
Total age-dependency ratio (young+old / 15-64)
72.8%
2025 · EU pctl 94
Total fertility rate (births per woman)
1.69
2024 · EU pctl 94
Population density (persons per km²)
47 /km²
2024 · EU pctl 15
Projected population, 2030–2040 (EUROPOP2019 baseline)
41,860
2100 · EU pctl 3
Health
Hospital beds per 100k inhabitants
798 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 96 · NUTS-2 src
Mortality, all causes (age-standardised rate)
2,261 /100k
2021 · EU pctl 99 · NUTS-2 src
Cancer mortality (age-standardised rate)
223 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 40 · NUTS-2 src
Safety & crime
Intentional homicides per 100k inhabitants
2.1 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 92
Robberies per 100k inhabitants
7.4 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 16
Burglaries per 100k inhabitants
45.3 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 6
Thefts per 100k inhabitants
383 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 24
Road traffic deaths per million inhabitants
76 /M pop
2024 · EU pctl 91 · 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)
685 m
CURRENT · EU pctl 90
Hot days ≥30°C (avg per year)
9 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 56
Frost days ≤0°C (avg per year)
91 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 83
Heavy-precipitation days ≥20mm (avg per year)
8 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 78
Environment
Industrial facilities per 100k inhabitants (E-PRTR)
14.0 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 26
Population in the 100-year river floodplain (% of residents, EFAS × census grid)
2.9%
2021 · EU pctl 49
Similar regions · nearest peers on standardised NUTS-3 indicators
Other Bulgaria regions