NUTS-3 BG415 · Bulgaria
Кюстендил
Kyustendil
Кюстендил generates €893M of GDP across 106.1k residents. Its Opportunity Index of 32.2/100 sits in the lower tier of EU regions, led by economic growth and livability. Its economy has grown +9.3%/yr over five years and accelerating, with the employment rate up 3.0pp. On quality of life it ranks strongest for jobs (85th EU percentile) and weakest for health (4th).
Long-run trajectory · EU percentile of real GDP per head, 1995–2024
Persistent laggard10 → 1 EU percentile since 1995 (-9 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 advantage87
Labour market70
Talent & skills65
Energy cost65
Growth momentum63
Digital readiness55
Industrial base49
Quality of life49
Resilience39
Connectivity31
Freight intensity4
Demographic outlook2
Economic base1
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)
32.2
/ 100 · blends growth, livability, market access & scale · 4/4 pillars
Growth62.6
Livability49
Market access15
Economic scale2
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)
38.8
/ 100 · higher = more resilient to downturns · 4/4 pillars
GDP stability38
Labour stability31
Diversification81
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)
30.5
/ 100 · higher = better-connected · 2/3 facets
Transit density—
Airport access46
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)
65
/ 100 · higher = deeper skills base than more EU regions · 4/4 facets
Young tertiary78
Lifelong learning6
Knowledge workers90
Scientists & engineers86
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)
49
/ 100 · EU-relative · 6/7 pillars
Economy7
Jobs85
Education62.5
Health4
Safety80.7
Connectivity55
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
62.6
/ 100 momentum · EU-relative · 5/5 signals
GDP growth · 5-yr
+9.3%
CAGR, nominal
GDP growth · 10-yr
+6.9%
CAGR, nominal
Acceleration
+2.4 pp
5-yr vs 10-yr
vs country avg
-0.8 pp
inflation-adj.
Population · 5-yr
-1.3%
CAGR
Employment rate
+3.0 pp
5-yr change
Unemployment
-1.6 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 · 26.2%Diversified · HHI 2067
Agriculture 6.3%Industry 20.5%Construction 4.6%Trade · transport · ICT 20.7%Finance · real estate · prof. 21.7%Public · health · education 26.2%
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)
€893M2024
7.4% 1y 9.3% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 2
Real GDP (2020 prices)
€664M2025
2.0% 1y 2.3% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 2
Population
106,1312025
1.4% 1y 1.3% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 16
Unemployment rate
1.8%2025
35.7% 1y 12.5% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 0
Employment
46,5502023
3.4% 1y 1.4% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 14
Productivity / employee
€23,8422025
8.4% 1y 12.1% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 1
Gross value added
€779M2024
6.9% 1y 9.6% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 2
All indicators · 84 more metrics (Eurostat, all-EU)
Economy
Gross value added, total (current prices)
€779M
2024 · EU pctl 2
GVA — agriculture, forestry & fishing (A)
€49M
2024 · EU pctl 20
GVA — industry (B–E)
€160M
2024 · EU pctl 3
GVA — manufacturing (C)
€131M
2024 · EU pctl 5
GVA — construction (F)
€36M
2024 · EU pctl 2
GVA — wholesale/retail, transport, ICT (G–J)
€161M
2024 · EU pctl 2
Net disposable household income per capita (NUTS-2 source)
€11,300
2023 · EU pctl 13 · NUTS-2 src
GDP per capita in PPS (purchasing-power adjusted)
13,500 PPS
2024 · EU pctl 1
GDP per capita (current prices, EUR)
€8,400
2024 · EU pctl 1
Gross fixed capital formation — investment (total economy)
€9,359M
2023 · EU pctl 32 · NUTS-2 src
Investment in manufacturing capex (GFCF, NACE C)
€686M
2023 · EU pctl 17 · NUTS-2 src
Compensation of employees (total wage bill)
€21,611M
2023 · EU pctl 34 · NUTS-2 src
GVA — real estate activities (L)
€130M
2024 · EU pctl 6
GVA — information & communication (J)
€3M
2024 · EU pctl 1
GVA — finance, real estate & professional (K–N)
€169M
2024 · EU pctl 2
GVA — public admin, health & education (O–U)
€204M
2024 · EU pctl 2
Real GDP (constant 2020 prices, incl. short-term forecast)
€664M
2025 · EU pctl 2
Labour productivity per person employed (EUR)
€23,842
2025 · EU pctl 1
Gross fixed capital formation, NUTS-3 (ARDECO)
€207M
2025 · EU pctl 2
Labour market
Employment, total persons
46,550
2023 · EU pctl 14
Self-employed persons
14,520
2023 · EU pctl 48
Employment in manufacturing (C)
10,940
2023 · EU pctl 32
Activity rate, 15–64 (NUTS-2 source)
76.5%
2025 · EU pctl 38 · NUTS-2 src
Youth unemployment rate (15–24)
6.6%
2025 · EU pctl 14 · NUTS-2 src
Unemployment rate 15-74, NUTS-3 native (ARDECO)
1.8%
2025 · EU pctl 0
Labour force aged 15+ (ARDECO)
49,600
2025 · EU pctl 15
Business demography
Active enterprises (business economy, all sizes)
6,060
2023 · EU pctl 24
Enterprise births
612
2023 · EU pctl 31
Enterprise deaths
806
2023 · EU pctl 43
3-year enterprise survival rate
5.4%
2023 · EU pctl 74
Innovation & R&D
R&D expenditure as % of GDP
1.3%
2023 · EU pctl 38 · NUTS-2 src
Employment in high-tech sectors (% of total)
10.2%
2025 · EU pctl 98 · NUTS-2 src
R&D personnel (% of active population, FTE)
1.6%
2023 · EU pctl 71 · NUTS-2 src
Education
Tertiary education attainment, age 25–64
44.5%
2025 · EU pctl 87 · NUTS-2 src
Tertiary attainment, age 25–34 (young talent pool)
48.4%
2025 · EU pctl 78 · NUTS-2 src
Adult participation in learning, age 25–64 (last 4 weeks)
5.4%
2025 · EU pctl 6 · NUTS-2 src
Knowledge workers — tertiary-educated & in science/tech (% of labour force)
32.4%
2025 · EU pctl 90 · NUTS-2 src
Scientists & engineers (% of labour force)
11.7%
2025 · EU pctl 86 · NUTS-2 src
Digital
Households with internet access
95.9%
2025 · EU pctl 55 · NUTS-2 src
Tourism
Nights spent at tourist accommodation (total)
241,171
2024 · EU pctl 14
Mobility
Passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants
525 /1k pop
2024 · EU pctl 26 · NUTS-2 src
Road freight loaded (annual, thousand tonnes)
735 kt
2025 · EU pctl 3
Motorway density (km per 1,000 km²)
15 km/1000km²
2024 · EU pctl 28 · NUTS-2 src
Distance from the region centroid to the nearest major (large) airport, in km - air-connectivity accessibility. Lower is better.
59
CURRENT · EU pctl 54
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)
62,828
2025 · EU pctl 15
Population aged 65+
30,497
2025 · EU pctl 23
Population aged under 15
12,806
2025 · EU pctl 13
Median age of population
51.5 yrs
2025 · EU pctl 92
Old-age dependency ratio (65+ / 15–64)
48.5%
2025 · EU pctl 92
Crude rate of total population change
-14.4 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 1
Crude rate of net migration plus adjustment
0.0 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 14
Crude birth rate
6.9 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 32
Crude death rate
21.3 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 100
Live births
735
2024 · EU pctl 15
Deaths
2,277
2024 · EU pctl 38
Total age-dependency ratio (young+old / 15-64)
68.9%
2025 · EU pctl 88
Total fertility rate (births per woman)
1.78
2024 · EU pctl 97
Population density (persons per km²)
35 /km²
2024 · EU pctl 10
Projected population, 2030–2040 (EUROPOP2019 baseline)
46,050
2100 · EU pctl 5
Health
Hospital beds per 100k inhabitants
792 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 94 · NUTS-2 src
Mortality, all causes (age-standardised rate)
2,069 /100k
2021 · EU pctl 98 · NUTS-2 src
Cancer mortality (age-standardised rate)
194 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 4 · NUTS-2 src
Safety & crime
Intentional homicides per 100k inhabitants
0.0 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 0
Robberies per 100k inhabitants
6.5 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 14
Burglaries per 100k inhabitants
35.3 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 5
Thefts per 100k inhabitants
267 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 17
Road traffic deaths per million inhabitants
40 /M pop
2024 · EU pctl 41 · 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)
1,224 m
CURRENT · EU pctl 98
Hot days ≥30°C (avg per year)
3 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 21
Frost days ≤0°C (avg per year)
153 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 96
Heavy-precipitation days ≥20mm (avg per year)
4 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 58
Environment
Industrial facilities per 100k inhabitants (E-PRTR)
7.0 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 10
Population in the 100-year river floodplain (% of residents, EFAS × census grid)
2.3%
2021 · EU pctl 43
Similar regions · nearest peers on standardised NUTS-3 indicators
Other Bulgaria regions