NUTS-3 BG342 · Bulgaria
Сливен
Sliven
Сливен generates €1.1bn of GDP across 169.3k residents. Its Opportunity Index of 21.3/100 sits in the lower tier of EU regions, led by economic growth and livability. Its economy has grown +8.1%/yr over five years and accelerating, with the employment rate up 2.4pp. On quality of life it ranks strongest for safety (46th EU percentile) and weakest for economy (0th).
Long-run trajectory · EU percentile of real GDP per head, 1995–2024
Persistent laggard3 → 0 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 advantage100
Energy cost65
Growth momentum54
Demographic outlook30
Labour market25
Resilience24
Talent & skills21
Quality of life19
Digital readiness14
Connectivity12
Industrial base9
Freight intensity7
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)
21.3
/ 100 · blends growth, livability, market access & scale · 4/4 pillars
Growth54
Livability19.3
Market access9
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)
24
/ 100 · higher = more resilient to downturns · 4/4 pillars
GDP stability20
Labour stability21
Diversification39
Demographic stability16
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)
11.5
/ 100 · higher = better-connected · 2/3 facets
Transit density—
Airport access14
Market access9
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)
21.3
/ 100 · higher = deeper skills base than more EU regions · 4/4 facets
Young tertiary26
Lifelong learning3
Knowledge workers37
Scientists & engineers19
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)
19.3
/ 100 · EU-relative · 6/7 pillars
Economy0
Jobs36.5
Education17
Health2
Safety46
Connectivity14
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
54
/ 100 momentum · EU-relative · 5/5 signals
GDP growth · 5-yr
+8.1%
CAGR, nominal
GDP growth · 10-yr
+6.8%
CAGR, nominal
Acceleration
+1.3 pp
5-yr vs 10-yr
vs country avg
-2.1 pp
inflation-adj.
Population · 5-yr
-0.6%
CAGR
Employment rate
+2.4 pp
5-yr change
Unemployment
+0.1 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 · 32.4%Diversified · HHI 2315
Agriculture 6.7%Industry 7.6%Construction 5.9%Trade · transport · ICT 25.3%Finance · real estate · prof. 22.2%Public · health · education 32.4%
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)
€1,137M2024
3.3% 1y 8.1% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 3
Real GDP (2020 prices)
€494M2025
1.9% 1y 8.9% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 1
Population
169,2992025
0.4% 1y 0.6% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 34
Unemployment rate
4.6%2025
4.2% 1y 0.4% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 53
Employment
77,6202023
6.5% 1y 1.8% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 35
Productivity / employee
€18,2382025
8.4% 1y 8.6% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 0
Gross value added
€992M2024
3.7% 1y 8.3% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 3
All indicators · 84 more metrics (Eurostat, all-EU)
Economy
Gross value added, total (current prices)
€992M
2024 · EU pctl 3
GVA — agriculture, forestry & fishing (A)
€67M
2024 · EU pctl 27
GVA — industry (B–E)
€76M
2024 · EU pctl 1
GVA — manufacturing (C)
€60M
2024 · EU pctl 2
GVA — construction (F)
€58M
2024 · EU pctl 4
GVA — wholesale/retail, transport, ICT (G–J)
€250M
2024 · EU pctl 4
Net disposable household income per capita (NUTS-2 source)
€6,200
2023 · EU pctl 0 · NUTS-2 src
GDP per capita in PPS (purchasing-power adjusted)
10,800 PPS
2024 · EU pctl 0
GDP per capita (current prices, EUR)
€6,700
2024 · EU pctl 0
Gross fixed capital formation — investment (total economy)
€1,872M
2023 · EU pctl 4 · NUTS-2 src
Investment in manufacturing capex (GFCF, NACE C)
€382M
2023 · EU pctl 8 · NUTS-2 src
Compensation of employees (total wage bill)
€4,209M
2023 · EU pctl 5 · NUTS-2 src
GVA — real estate activities (L)
€158M
2024 · EU pctl 9
GVA — information & communication (J)
€16M
2024 · EU pctl 10
GVA — finance, real estate & professional (K–N)
€220M
2024 · EU pctl 3
GVA — public admin, health & education (O–U)
€321M
2024 · EU pctl 5
Real GDP (constant 2020 prices, incl. short-term forecast)
€494M
2025 · EU pctl 1
Labour productivity per person employed (EUR)
€18,238
2025 · EU pctl 0
Gross fixed capital formation, NUTS-3 (ARDECO)
€212M
2025 · EU pctl 2
Labour market
Employment, total persons
77,620
2023 · EU pctl 35
Self-employed persons
34,710
2023 · EU pctl 76
Employment in manufacturing (C)
11,920
2023 · EU pctl 35
Activity rate, 15–64 (NUTS-2 source)
72.5%
2025 · EU pctl 20 · NUTS-2 src
Youth unemployment rate (15–24)
16.3%
2025 · EU pctl 58 · NUTS-2 src
Unemployment rate 15-74, NUTS-3 native (ARDECO)
4.6%
2025 · EU pctl 53
Labour force aged 15+ (ARDECO)
74,200
2025 · EU pctl 28
Business demography
Active enterprises (business economy, all sizes)
6,813
2023 · EU pctl 28
Enterprise births
732
2023 · EU pctl 36
Enterprise deaths
1,002
2023 · EU pctl 50
3-year enterprise survival rate
4.2%
2023 · EU pctl 44
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)
2.4%
2025 · EU pctl 10 · NUTS-2 src
R&D personnel (% of active population, FTE)
0.4%
2023 · EU pctl 5 · NUTS-2 src
Education
Tertiary education attainment, age 25–64
30.9%
2025 · EU pctl 32 · NUTS-2 src
Tertiary attainment, age 25–34 (young talent pool)
33.5%
2025 · EU pctl 26 · NUTS-2 src
Adult participation in learning, age 25–64 (last 4 weeks)
4.3%
2025 · EU pctl 3 · NUTS-2 src
Knowledge workers — tertiary-educated & in science/tech (% of labour force)
21.4%
2025 · EU pctl 37 · NUTS-2 src
Scientists & engineers (% of labour force)
6.4%
2025 · EU pctl 19 · NUTS-2 src
Digital
Households with internet access
91.6%
2025 · EU pctl 14 · NUTS-2 src
Tourism
Nights spent at tourist accommodation (total)
95,276
2024 · EU pctl 3
Mobility
Passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants
450 /1k pop
2024 · EU pctl 11 · NUTS-2 src
Road freight loaded (annual, thousand tonnes)
1,526 kt
2025 · EU pctl 8
Motorway density (km per 1,000 km²)
11 km/1000km²
2024 · EU pctl 23 · 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)
99,394
2025 · EU pctl 31
Population aged 65+
38,157
2025 · EU pctl 31
Population aged under 15
31,748
2025 · EU pctl 47
Median age of population
44.6 yrs
2025 · EU pctl 33
Old-age dependency ratio (65+ / 15–64)
38.4%
2025 · EU pctl 60
Crude rate of total population change
-4.4 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 19
Crude rate of net migration plus adjustment
-1.6 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 7
Crude birth rate
12.5 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 99
Crude death rate
15.3 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 91
Live births
2,117
2024 · EU pctl 56
Deaths
2,590
2024 · EU pctl 43
Total age-dependency ratio (young+old / 15-64)
70.3%
2025 · EU pctl 91
Total fertility rate (births per woman)
2.58
2024 · EU pctl 100
Population density (persons per km²)
48 /km²
2024 · EU pctl 16
Projected population, 2030–2040 (EUROPOP2019 baseline)
143,707
2100 · EU pctl 32
Health
Hospital beds per 100k inhabitants
797 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 95 · NUTS-2 src
Mortality, all causes (age-standardised rate)
2,099 /100k
2021 · EU pctl 98 · NUTS-2 src
Cancer mortality (age-standardised rate)
215 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 30 · NUTS-2 src
Safety & crime
Intentional homicides per 100k inhabitants
0.6 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 44
Robberies per 100k inhabitants
11.8 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 29
Burglaries per 100k inhabitants
74.7 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 12
Thefts per 100k inhabitants
421 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 26
Road traffic deaths per million inhabitants
79 /M pop
2024 · EU pctl 92 · 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)
190 m
CURRENT · EU pctl 46
Hot days ≥30°C (avg per year)
42 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 89
Frost days ≤0°C (avg per year)
52 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 42
Heavy-precipitation days ≥20mm (avg per year)
5 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 66
Environment
Industrial facilities per 100k inhabitants (E-PRTR)
32.0 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 55
Population in the 100-year river floodplain (% of residents, EFAS × census grid)
0.5%
2021 · EU pctl 12
Similar regions · nearest peers on standardised NUTS-3 indicators
Other Bulgaria regions