Sofia (capital)

The capital is the district with the highest GDP per capita, with a volume more than twice the national average and far above that of Sofia district, the second-ranking district in this category. In 2022, GDP per capita in Sofia reached 53,700 BGN, against 26,000 BGN in the country. Salaries and pensions have also been growing and their amounts are significantly higher than average. The average annual gross salary or people employed under labor contract has reached 29,700 BGN, against 21,200 BGN in the country, and the average monthly pension – 957 BGN, versus 784 BGN in the country. What is more, the rate of increase of both indicators is considerably faster than in the country. The capital is also the district with the lowest poverty level. The share of the population living below the national poverty line is 8.1%, compared to 20.6% nationally in 2023. At the same time, however, the Gini coefficient for income inequality remains high.

The capital’s good performance in the indicators for economic development is again manifested in the favorable dynamics of the local labor market in 2023. The share of the working-age population remains the highest in the country at 63.0%, compared to 58.5% nationally. Employment continues to be extremely high, and unemployment is the lowest in the whole country. The employment rate is 82.4%, against 76.2% nationally, and the unemployment rate – 1.6%, versus 5.3% nationally. The capital is once again the district with the best educational status of its workforce. The share of the population aged 25–64 with a university degree is 54%, against 31% in the country, while employed people with primary or lower education make up 5.0%, compared to 15.0% nationally.

In 2022, Sofia remained the undisputed leader in investment activity. The district has the largest number of enterprises relative to its population – 100 per 1,000 population, compared to an average of 70 per 1,000 population in the country. After their decrease in the previous year, TFA acquisition expenditures have again recorded an increase, reaching 8,800 BGN/person, compared to 4,300 BGN/person in the country. FDI is also far above the country’s average, reaching 11,700 EUR/person, against 4,500 EUR/person nationally. Production value has also continued to rise, though relative to the population it ranks Sofia (capital) fifth, after the districts of Sofia, Vratsa, Stara Zagora and Ruse. For its part, the share of export earnings in net sales revenues is lower than average – 26%, versus 29% nationally. The capital’s dominance in research and development expenditure is massive – in 2022 it was 734 BGN/person. By comparison, the next highest value in the country is in Plovdiv district – 112 BGN/person. By 30 June 2023, the capital again occupied the top place as regards utilization of EU funds. Payments made to beneficiaries under EU operational programs amounted to 4,719 BGN/person, versus 3,175 BGN/person in the country.

There are no roads from the national road network within Sofia (capital) district, but its territory is bordered directly by several highways. In addition, Sofia Central Railway Station is one of the main railway hubs in the country and the capital district’s density of the railway network of 12.4 km/100 sq. km territory significantly exceeds the national average of 3.6 km/100 sq. km. The share of households with access to high-speed internet is again very high, having risen in 2023 to 96%, compared to 89% in the country. The high degree of urbanization in the district also accounts for the high share of population with access to a public sewerage network – 96% of the population, versus 75% nationally, while the whole sewerage network is connected to a waste water treatment plant – 96% compared to 67% on average countrywide.

The average level of local taxation in Sofia (capital) district again remained the highest in the whole country for 2024. The biggest differences in comparison to the national figures were recorded in the retail trade tax (20.00 BGN/sq. m, compared to 13.09 BGN/sq. m in the country) and the tax on non-gratuitous acquisition of property (3.00% versus 2.82% in the country). Of all the monitored taxes, the only ones that remained below the average nationwide rate were the tax on immovable non-residential property for legal entities (1.88‰, against 2.15‰ in the country) and on motor vehicles – 1.33 BGN/kW, compared to 1.56 BGN/kW nationwide.

Sofia has again outranked Varna and now occupies the top place in this category as well. Provision of one-stop shop administrative services again received the maximum points in 2024. However, the self-assessment on the development of e-government remains below average. The AIP active transparency rating of the district’s local administration bodies has declined, but remains higher than the national average – 70.8%, against the national average of 69.3%. The capital is also the district with the highest share of own revenues in the total revenues – 67%, versus 27% in the country, as well as the highest coverage of municipal expenditures with local revenues – 110%, versus 74% in the country in 2023.

In 2023, Sofia (capital) was once again the district with the most favorable demographic picture in the country. Although even in the capital the natural population increase rate is negative, it still outpaces all other districts with a value of –1.5‰, compared to the national average of –6.8‰. Sofia (capital) continues to attract new residents and its net migration rate is 6.6%. Sofia is also the district with the lowest share of the population aged 65 and over – 19.2%, compared to 23.8% in the country. At the same time, the share of children under 4 years is relatively high – 4.9%, versus 4.5% nationally. The district’s specificity accounts for the almost total urbanization of its territory, and its population density is four times the country’s average.

The capital remains the national leader in the education category, with a high rate of enrolment in 5th–7th grade, a low share of repeaters, good student performance and a high number of university students. The share of school year repeaters is 0.5% – the third lowest in the country (after the districts of Smolyan and Ruse). The capital district has a high alignment between vocational education and the profile of the local economy, mainly because of the high numbers of students in transport and ICT-related programs and employees with vocational qualifications in those sectors, and the low numbers of those in agriculture and industry. In 2024, the students from the capital achieved the highest average score in the country – 54.7 p. in the NEA in mathematics after 7th grade, which is far above the national average of 42.9 p. The average grade in the State matriculation exam in Bulgarian language and literature was also the highest nationwide – “Very good” 4.65, compared to the average of ”Good” 4.30 countrywide, while the share of “fail” grades (below 3.00) was 3.7%, against the national average of 8.7%.

In 2023, the capital remained among the country’s districts with very good healthcare, second only to Pleven and characterized by easy access to specialist physicians, a well-developed pharmacy network, high life expectancy and low infant mortality. The average life expectancy in the capital is the highest in the country – 75.4 years, compared to 73.5 years in the country. The indicator for access to GPs is less favorable than the national average. However, the number of specialist physicians relative to the population is the second highest in the country, after that in Pleven district. The hospital bed capacity is slightly more limited than the country’s average, though hospital bed occupancy is relatively high. The pharmacy network ensures good overall coverage. The infant mortality rate is less than half the national average.

The capital’s poor assessment and its bottom place in the whole country in the indicator for security and justice is a consequence of the heavy workloads of the local judges and the slow delivery of justice, as well as of the low detection rate. In 2023, one criminal judge in Sofia (capital) heard an average of 23.1 cases a month, which is the highest figure nationwide, compared to 14.4 cases per judge in the country. Workloads in the Administrative Court are also among the heaviest in the country. Those heavy workloads have a negative impact on the speed of delivery of justice. The proportion of criminal cases closed within 3 months is 88%, compared to the average of 91% nationwide, of administrative cases the share is 67%, versus 72% in the country, and that of civil cases – 46%, against 65% countrywide. The proportion of police officers relative to the population is above the national average. The number of crimes against the person and property registered in the capital district increased in 2023 to reach 11.9 per 1,000 population, which is close to, though above the national average. At the same time, the crime detection rate continues to be the lowest countrywide, with 37% cleared crimes, versus 53% nationally.

In 2022, the capital remained among the districts with a high annual volume of generated household waste – 548 kg/person, compared to 488 kg/person nationally. However, practically all waste was handed over for treatment and recycling, compared to 76% on average in the country. The share of disturbed area is high – 1.3%, versus 0.40% nationally, while the figures for installed RES capacities relative to the population are among the lowest in the country. The cooling degree days index in the district is low. However, the capital city is the district with the highest consumption of drinking water by households – 125 liters per person per day, compared to 103 liters nationally.

In 2023, the capital was once again the district with the second most active cultural life after Burgas. Visits to cinemas, theaters, museums and libraries have grown fast. With the exception of the relative number of museum visits, the values recorded for all other indicators are considerably above the average ones nationwide. Visits to the cinema, theatres and libraries are over twice the national average. Tourism in the capital is less well represented. In 2022, the number of beds in accommodation establishments was 12 per 1,000 population, versus 55 per 1,000 population in the country, and the number of overnight stays was 1,614 per 1,000 population, versus 3,739 per 1,000 population in the country. Tourism in the capital is less well represented. In 2023, the number of beds in accommodation establishments was 12 per 1,000 population, versus 56 per 1,000 population nationally, and the number of overnight stays was 1,703 per 1,000 population, against 4,167 per 1,000 population nationally.