NUTS-3 BG425 · Bulgaria
Кърджали
Kardzhali
Кърджали generates €1.2bn of GDP across 149.5k residents. Its Opportunity Index of 25.2/100 sits in the lower tier of EU regions, led by economic growth and livability. Its economy has grown +9.8%/yr over five years, with the employment rate up 1.0pp. On quality of life it ranks strongest for safety (51.7th EU percentile) and weakest for economy (0.5th).
Long-run trajectory · EU percentile of real GDP per head, 1995–2024
Persistent laggard1 → 2 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
Demographic outlook85
Industrial base78
Growth momentum71
Energy cost65
Resilience53
Talent & skills30
Quality of life23
Connectivity18
Labour market17
Digital readiness17
Freight intensity5
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)
25.2
/ 100 · blends growth, livability, market access & scale · 4/4 pillars
Growth70.8
Livability22.8
Market access4
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)
53.3
/ 100 · higher = more resilient to downturns · 4/4 pillars
GDP stability24
Labour stability10
Diversification80
Demographic stability99
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)
18
/ 100 · higher = better-connected · 2/3 facets
Transit density—
Airport access32
Market access4
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)
29.8
/ 100 · higher = deeper skills base than more EU regions · 4/4 facets
Young tertiary37
Lifelong learning13
Knowledge workers34
Scientists & engineers35
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)
22.8
/ 100 · EU-relative · 6/7 pillars
Economy0.5
Jobs49
Education16
Health2.5
Safety51.7
Connectivity17
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
70.8
/ 100 momentum · EU-relative · 5/5 signals
GDP growth · 5-yr
+9.8%
CAGR, nominal
GDP growth · 10-yr
+10.0%
CAGR, nominal
Acceleration
-0.3 pp
5-yr vs 10-yr
vs country avg
-0.4 pp
inflation-adj.
Population · 5-yr
+1.7%
CAGR
Employment rate
+1.0 pp
5-yr change
Unemployment
-0.2 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 · 30.5%Diversified · HHI 2075
Agriculture 11.5%Industry 30.5%Construction 5.3%Trade · transport · ICT 13.8%Finance · real estate · prof. 15.2%Public · health · education 23.7%
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)
€1,218M2024
5.6% 1y 9.8% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 3
Real GDP (2020 prices)
€1,026M2025
2.0% 1y 2.5% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 3
Population
149,4782025
2.0% 1y 1.7% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 29
Unemployment rate
3.2%2025
10.3% 1y 0.6% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 20
Employment
64,5002023
2.8% 1y 1.5% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 25
Productivity / employee
€25,0162025
8.4% 1y 12.5% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 1
Gross value added
€1,062M2024
5.1% 1y 10.0% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 3
All indicators · 85 more metrics (Eurostat, all-EU)
Economy
Gross value added, total (current prices)
€1,062M
2024 · EU pctl 3
GVA — agriculture, forestry & fishing (A)
€123M
2024 · EU pctl 44
GVA — industry (B–E)
€324M
2024 · EU pctl 9
GVA — manufacturing (C)
€266M
2024 · EU pctl 11
GVA — construction (F)
€56M
2024 · EU pctl 4
GVA — wholesale/retail, transport, ICT (G–J)
€146M
2024 · EU pctl 1
Net disposable household income per capita (NUTS-2 source)
€6,700
2023 · EU pctl 1 · NUTS-2 src
GDP per capita in PPS (purchasing-power adjusted)
13,300 PPS
2024 · EU pctl 0
GDP per capita (current prices, EUR)
€8,200
2024 · EU pctl 0
Gross fixed capital formation — investment (total economy)
€2,738M
2023 · EU pctl 7 · NUTS-2 src
Investment in manufacturing capex (GFCF, NACE C)
€682M
2023 · EU pctl 16 · NUTS-2 src
Compensation of employees (total wage bill)
€5,794M
2023 · EU pctl 7 · NUTS-2 src
GVA — real estate activities (L)
€127M
2024 · EU pctl 5
GVA — information & communication (J)
€6M
2024 · EU pctl 3
GVA — finance, real estate & professional (K–N)
€162M
2024 · EU pctl 2
GVA — public admin, health & education (O–U)
€251M
2024 · EU pctl 4
Real GDP (constant 2020 prices, incl. short-term forecast)
€1,026M
2025 · EU pctl 3
Labour productivity per person employed (EUR)
€25,016
2025 · EU pctl 1
Gross fixed capital formation, NUTS-3 (ARDECO)
€315M
2025 · EU pctl 3
Labour market
Employment, total persons
64,500
2023 · EU pctl 25
Self-employed persons
26,890
2023 · EU pctl 67
Employment in manufacturing (C)
12,990
2023 · EU pctl 39
Activity rate, 15–64 (NUTS-2 source)
69.9%
2025 · EU pctl 11 · NUTS-2 src
Youth unemployment rate (15–24)
14.6%
2025 · EU pctl 50 · NUTS-2 src
Unemployment rate 15-74, NUTS-3 native (ARDECO)
3.2%
2025 · EU pctl 20
Labour force aged 15+ (ARDECO)
65,700
2025 · EU pctl 23
Business demography
Active enterprises (business economy, all sizes)
5,257
2023 · EU pctl 21
Enterprise births
558
2023 · EU pctl 28
Enterprise deaths
670
2023 · EU pctl 37
3-year enterprise survival rate
5.7%
2023 · EU pctl 82
Innovation & R&D
R&D expenditure as % of GDP
0.4%
2023 · EU pctl 6 · NUTS-2 src
Employment in high-tech sectors (% of total)
3.2%
2025 · EU pctl 21 · NUTS-2 src
R&D personnel (% of active population, FTE)
0.5%
2023 · EU pctl 9 · NUTS-2 src
Education
Tertiary education attainment, age 25–64
29.3%
2025 · EU pctl 26 · NUTS-2 src
Tertiary attainment, age 25–34 (young talent pool)
36.6%
2025 · EU pctl 37 · NUTS-2 src
Adult participation in learning, age 25–64 (last 4 weeks)
6.8%
2025 · EU pctl 13 · NUTS-2 src
Knowledge workers — tertiary-educated & in science/tech (% of labour force)
21.0%
2025 · EU pctl 34 · NUTS-2 src
Scientists & engineers (% of labour force)
7.5%
2025 · EU pctl 35 · NUTS-2 src
Digital
Households with internet access
92.3%
2025 · EU pctl 17 · NUTS-2 src
Tourism
Nights spent at tourist accommodation (total)
122,348
2024 · EU pctl 5
Mobility
Passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants
457 /1k pop
2024 · EU pctl 12 · NUTS-2 src
Road freight loaded (annual, thousand tonnes)
1,138 kt
2025 · EU pctl 5
Motorway density (km per 1,000 km²)
9 km/1000km²
2024 · EU pctl 20 · NUTS-2 src
Distance from the region centroid to the nearest major (large) airport, in km - air-connectivity accessibility. Lower is better.
71
CURRENT · EU pctl 68
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)
90,707
2025 · EU pctl 28
Population aged 65+
40,483
2025 · EU pctl 34
Population aged under 15
18,288
2025 · EU pctl 25
Median age of population
51.2 yrs
2025 · EU pctl 91
Old-age dependency ratio (65+ / 15–64)
44.6%
2025 · EU pctl 84
Crude rate of total population change
19.7 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 98
Crude rate of net migration plus adjustment
28.6 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 99
Crude birth rate
6.3 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 19
Crude death rate
15.2 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 90
Live births
927
2024 · EU pctl 22
Deaths
2,250
2024 · EU pctl 37
Total age-dependency ratio (young+old / 15-64)
64.8%
2025 · EU pctl 80
Total fertility rate (births per woman)
1.50
2024 · EU pctl 71
Population density (persons per km²)
47 /km²
2024 · EU pctl 15
Projected population, 2030–2040 (EUROPOP2019 baseline)
222,015
2100 · EU pctl 51
Health
Hospital beds per 100k inhabitants
924 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 97 · NUTS-2 src
Mortality, all causes (age-standardised rate)
2,023 /100k
2021 · EU pctl 98 · NUTS-2 src
Cancer mortality (age-standardised rate)
240 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 67 · NUTS-2 src
Safety & crime
Intentional homicides per 100k inhabitants
0.7 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 51
Robberies per 100k inhabitants
1.4 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 1
Burglaries per 100k inhabitants
4.8 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 0
Thefts per 100k inhabitants
91.4 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 2
Road traffic deaths per million inhabitants
80 /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)
241 m
CURRENT · EU pctl 54
Hot days ≥30°C (avg per year)
44 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 90
Frost days ≤0°C (avg per year)
44 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 35
Heavy-precipitation days ≥20mm (avg per year)
7 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 74
Environment
O3 (ground-level ozone) annual mean concentration — a summer-smog pollutant; mean across EEA monitoring stations within the region (verified E1a data).
25
2024 · EU pctl 0
Industrial facilities per 100k inhabitants (E-PRTR)
15.0 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 28
Population in the 100-year river floodplain (% of residents, EFAS × census grid)
0.4%
2021 · EU pctl 11
Similar regions · nearest peers on standardised NUTS-3 indicators
Other Bulgaria regions