NUTS-3 BG323 · Bulgaria
Русе
Ruse
Русе generates €2.2bn of GDP across 186.1k residents. Its Opportunity Index of 26.8/100 sits in the lower tier of EU regions, led by economic growth and market access. Its economy has grown +8.9%/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 laggard5 → 4 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 advantage99
Freight intensity83
Energy cost65
Industrial base57
Growth momentum57
Demographic outlook33
Labour market25
Resilience24
Talent & skills22
Quality of life19
Connectivity18
Digital readiness11
Economic base6
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)
26.8
/ 100 · blends growth, livability, market access & scale · 4/4 pillars
Growth56.6
Livability18.6
Market access24
Economic scale8
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)
24
/ 100 · higher = more resilient to downturns · 4/4 pillars
GDP stability23
Labour stability16
Diversification52
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)
17.7
/ 100 · higher = better-connected · 3/3 facets
Transit density9
Airport access20
Market access24
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)
18.6
/ 100 · EU-relative · 7/7 pillars
Economy3.5
Jobs41.5
Education19
Health0.5
Safety33.7
Connectivity10
Environment22
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
+8.9%
CAGR, nominal
GDP growth · 10-yr
+6.7%
CAGR, nominal
Acceleration
+2.1 pp
5-yr vs 10-yr
vs country avg
-1.3 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: Trade · transport · ICT · 31.3%Diversified · HHI 2240
Agriculture 4.8%Industry 21%Construction 3.9%Trade · transport · ICT 31.3%Finance · real estate · prof. 16.3%Public · health · education 22.7%
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)
€2,169M2024
3.7% 1y 8.9% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 8
Real GDP (2020 prices)
€1,820M2025
2.0% 1y 5.1% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 9
Population
186,0932025
0.9% 1y 1.2% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 38
Unemployment rate
4.1%2025
22.6% 1y 6.0% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 45
Employment
97,0902023
0.7% 1y 1.4% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 43
Productivity / employee
€27,4512025
8.4% 1y 12.7% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 2
Gross value added
€1,893M2024
3.2% 1y 9.1% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 8
All indicators · 88 more metrics (Eurostat, all-EU)
Economy
Gross value added, total (current prices)
€1,893M
2024 · EU pctl 8
GVA — agriculture, forestry & fishing (A)
€91M
2024 · EU pctl 34
GVA — industry (B–E)
€397M
2024 · EU pctl 11
GVA — manufacturing (C)
€355M
2024 · EU pctl 15
GVA — construction (F)
€74M
2024 · EU pctl 6
GVA — wholesale/retail, transport, ICT (G–J)
€593M
2024 · EU pctl 20
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)
18,800 PPS
2024 · EU pctl 6
GDP per capita (current prices, EUR)
€11,600
2024 · EU pctl 3
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)
€176M
2024 · EU pctl 9
GVA — information & communication (J)
€34M
2024 · EU pctl 23
GVA — finance, real estate & professional (K–N)
€308M
2024 · EU pctl 6
GVA — public admin, health & education (O–U)
€430M
2024 · EU pctl 8
Real GDP (constant 2020 prices, incl. short-term forecast)
€1,820M
2025 · EU pctl 9
Labour productivity per person employed (EUR)
€27,451
2025 · EU pctl 2
Gross fixed capital formation, NUTS-3 (ARDECO)
€506M
2025 · EU pctl 8
Labour market
Employment, total persons
97,090
2023 · EU pctl 43
Self-employed persons
21,230
2023 · EU pctl 59
Employment in manufacturing (C)
24,930
2023 · EU pctl 64
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)
4.1%
2025 · EU pctl 45
Labour force aged 15+ (ARDECO)
83,800
2025 · EU pctl 34
Business demography
Active enterprises (business economy, all sizes)
11,023
2023 · EU pctl 42
Enterprise births
1,124
2023 · EU pctl 48
Enterprise deaths
1,582
2023 · EU pctl 63
3-year enterprise survival rate
5.3%
2023 · EU pctl 73
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)
173,093
2024 · EU pctl 10
Mobility
Passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants
492 /1k pop
2024 · EU pctl 18 · 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.
6
CURRENT · EU pctl 7
Road freight loaded (annual, thousand tonnes)
8,835 kt
2025 · EU pctl 59
Public-transport stops per 100,000 inhabitants — transit service density relative to population (GTFS feeds, coordinate-deduplicated).
3
CURRENT · EU pctl 9
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.
89
CURRENT · EU pctl 80
Number of major (large) airports within 100 km of the region centroid - air-hub catchment richness.
2
CURRENT · EU pctl 50
Demography
Population aged 15–64 (working age)
112,597
2025 · EU pctl 37
Population aged 65+
50,567
2025 · EU pctl 42
Population aged under 15
22,929
2025 · EU pctl 34
Median age of population
50.2 yrs
2025 · EU pctl 85
Old-age dependency ratio (65+ / 15–64)
44.9%
2025 · EU pctl 84
Crude rate of total population change
-9.3 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 5
Crude rate of net migration plus adjustment
2.4 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 30
Crude birth rate
6.8 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 30
Crude death rate
18.5 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 99
Live births
1,277
2024 · EU pctl 36
Deaths
3,455
2024 · EU pctl 58
Total age-dependency ratio (young+old / 15-64)
65.3%
2025 · EU pctl 81
Total fertility rate (births per woman)
1.60
2024 · EU pctl 88
Population density (persons per km²)
67 /km²
2024 · EU pctl 26
Projected population, 2030–2040 (EUROPOP2019 baseline)
125,675
2100 · EU pctl 27
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
1.6 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 86
Robberies per 100k inhabitants
13.3 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 33
Burglaries per 100k inhabitants
61.2 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 9
Thefts per 100k inhabitants
365 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 22
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)
151 m
CURRENT · EU pctl 40
Hot days ≥30°C (avg per year)
35 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 86
Frost days ≤0°C (avg per year)
57 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 50
Heavy-precipitation days ≥20mm (avg per year)
5 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 60
Environment
NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) annual mean concentration — a traffic / combustion pollutant; mean across EEA monitoring stations within the region (verified E1a data). Lower is better.
18
2024 · EU pctl 78
O3 (ground-level ozone) annual mean concentration — a summer-smog pollutant; mean across EEA monitoring stations within the region (verified E1a data).
53
2024 · EU pctl 44
Industrial facilities per 100k inhabitants (E-PRTR)
42.0 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 64
Population in the 100-year river floodplain (% of residents, EFAS × census grid)
1.3%
2021 · EU pctl 26
Similar regions · nearest peers on standardised NUTS-3 indicators
Other Bulgaria regions