Stara Zagora District

GURKOVO

PAVEL BANYA > Population (2014) 327,034

> Area (sq. km) 5,151.1

> Number of settlements 207 > Share of urban population (%) 72.0 Opan

Overview

tara Zagora’s economy has traditionally been among A positive net migration rate of the population has been Sthe best-performing in . The average salary observed in recent years in Stara Zagora District, but the de- is high, but this has been caused by the concentration mographic background has deteriorated nonetheless. The of employees in big enterprises throughout the district. challenges before school education have intensified – the Poverty has crept up, and income inequality is among shares of dropouts and repeaters have increased as well as the top in the country. Unemployment has increased in the number of failed students at state matriculation exams. recent years. The district has attracted foreign direct in- The share of the population with tertiary education has vestments successfully, but there are challenges, faced increased. Stara Zagora has remained the district with the by municipalities, concerning the utilisation of EU funds. highest harmful emissions in Bulgaria, which impacts envi- Local taxes and fees are relatively low, and administra- ronmental quality. The district has become safer in recent tive services are rendered at a relatively good level. years, and cultural activities have intensified.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Weak Unsatisfactory Average Good Very good Weak Unsatisfactory Average Good Very good

Income and Living Conditions Demography

Labor Market Education

Investment Healthcare

Infrastructure Security and Justice

Taxes and Fees Environment

Administration Culture

Stara Zagora District 105 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Income and Living Conditions Infrastructure Stara Zagora District’s GDP was 11,669 BGN in 2012, The road network density of Stara Zagora District is not which made it the fourth richest district in Bulgaria. In- higher than the country’s usual levels, but the the Tra- dustry has traditionally dominated the structure of the kia highway, connecting the capital with and the local economy. Incomes are relatively high, and pension south coast, passing through the territory of incomes are among the top ones in Bulgaria. The aver- the district, is an important factor for the development age annual gross salary per employed person rose to of the region. The share of roads in good condition has reach 9,414 BGN in 2013, outranked solely by the capital diminished in recent years, reaching 53.7% in 2014, but city’s. it has still remained very high compared to the country 54.3% of the population lived in material deprivation in average. The quality of the highway, on district territory, 2012, i.e. faced difficulties in meeting their basic needs. is mainly good. The railway network of the district is also The relative share of the poor compared to the district’s a factor of development, and its density is high com- poverty line increased in 2012 to 26.5%. In Stara Zagora pared to the country average. income inequality has been among the most evident in The relative share of households with Internet access Bulgaria and has increased, and the ratio of the incomes slightly increased in 2014 to 53.7%, but use has been of the richest to the poorest 20% of households was 9 lower than the country average – 46.6% of people (aged times in 2012. 16–74) have used the Internet for the past 12 months.

Labour Market Taxes and Fees The municipalities in Stara Zagora District impose rela- Some negative trends not characteristic of the coun- tively low immovable property taxes on companies; the try were observed on the Stara Zagora District’s labour same holds for taxes on the sale of immovable property. market in 2013 and 2014. The economic activity of the In 2015 the immovable property tax for companies is population aged 15+ sustained 50,1% in 2014, follow- relatively low in the municipalities of Pavel Bania (1‰), ing its deterioration in 2013, while the employment rate Chirpan (1.1‰) and (1.2‰). This tax is not high even slightly shrank to 44.6%. Unemployment has not in the district centre of Stara Zagora, either – 1.45‰. followed the general downward trend, characteristic of Most municipalities in the district impose a tax of 2% on Bulgaria, either: it increased to 11% (2014). the sale of property, 2.5% in the district centre. The demographic replacement rate was 60.4% in 2014, Waste collection charges for legal entities in the munici- which means that there were about 60 people aged 15– palities of Kazanlak (2‰), Opan (3.5‰), Stara Zagora 19, who were to join the workforce, per 100 people aged (3.5‰) and Pavel Bania (4‰) are among the lowest in 60–64, who were to abandon it. Bulgaria in 2015. Radnevo Municipality features the highest annual waste collection charge in the district – 10‰.

Investment Administration Stara Zagora is among the districts with most attract- Several municipalities in Stara Zagora District have per- ed FDIs. The number of non-financial companies has formed relatively well in e-services and one-stop shop remained relatively low, which implies high concentra- services (as per data from 2015). E-services are well tion of investment in several big enterprises. Expendi- developed in the municipalities of Stara Zagora, Pavel ture on the acquisition of fixed tangible assets has Bania and Kazanlak, and one-stop services are well or- been far below its pre-crisis levels, dropping to 678 m ganised in the municipalities of Radnevo, Stara Zagora, BGN in 2013. Galabovo and Nikolaevo. The district’s territory included The municipalities in Stara Zagora District have con- in cadastral maps was 15% of the entire territory in 2014, tinued to lag in the utilisation of EU funds under the with better coverage in the municipalities of Gurkovo, operational programmes – the funds the municipalities Kazanlak, Stara Zagora and Nikolaevo. were paid reached 129 m BGN as at 31 January 2015. There are contrasts in the ways municipalities in Stara The municipalities of Radnevo, Stara Zagora, Kazanlak Zagora District perform in the 2015 Active Transparency and Chirpan have utilised the most EU funds in the dis- Rating of local government bodies by the AIP Founda- trict (12 m BGN, respectively 75 m BGN, 29 m BGN and tion. The best-performing municipalities in this rating 8 m BGN). are Stara Zagora and Radnevo.

106 Regional Profiles 2015 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Demography Security and Justice The population of Stara Zagora District totalled 327,034 Stara Zagora District has become slightly safer in re- in 2014, which ranked it fifth in Bulgaria. Over 70% of the cent years; crimes against property slumped from 2011 district’s population live in towns and cities. The drop in to 2014. 6.2 crimes against the person and 74.4 crimes the population size has been caused by the negative against property were registered per 10,000 people in natural increase (–7‰ in 2014). A positive net migration 2014. The data disclose insufficient effectiveness and ra- rate, despite being barely 0.5‰ in 2014, was observed pidity of the court – the share of quickly closed cases in recent years (2012–2014); migration has been mainly has decreased, and that of pending cases in the District from the neighbouring districts. Court has increased. The share of criminal cases closed Age dependency ratios have followed the national neg- in the first 3 months was 85% in 2013 and the share of ative trends. The population 65+ was almost 1.5 times pending criminal cases was 9.5% as at the end of 2013 higher than the number of children (0–14) and about the country’s average being 8.5%. Judges’ workload di- one third of the working population (15–64) in 2014. The minished in recent years to reach 8.4 cases per judge per birthrate was 9.5‰ in 2014 – slightly higher than the month in 2013. country average.

Education Both the number of students and the number of teach- Environment ers slightly increased in 2013 and 2014 in Stara Zagora Emissions of carbon dioxide considerably dropped in District, the number of teachers staying relatively low 2013 but have remained several times higher than in in proportion to students: 14.3 students per teacher in other districts in Bulgaria: 3,405 t/sq. km. The big pollut- 2014. The net enrolment rate (grades 5th through 8th) ant factors are the enterprises in the energy sector and remained relatively high: 80.8%. The share of dropouts those in heavy industry. Household waste collected per from primary and secondary education slightly in- capita of serviced population increased in 2013 reaching creased to 2.5% (2013), and the relative share of repeat- 432 kg per capita. The construction of a regional waste ers was among the highest in Bulgaria in 2014: 2.2%. management system financed by EU funds started in The grades from state matriculation exams have tradi- Stara Zagora in 2014. tionally been about the country averages (4.19 in 2015), More than 70% of the population lived in settlements but the share of failed students increased to 5.8%. with public sewerage systems in 2013, and 61.2% of it There were more than 5,000 university students in Stara had access to public sewerage systems connected to Zagora in 2014; Trakia University constitutes a factor for waste water treatment plants. A waste water treatment attracting and retaining young people in the district plant financed with EU funds was commissioned in 2011 centre. The share of graduates in the workforce has in- in Stara Zagora City, which seriously enhanced the dis- creased – 21.8% of the population aged 25–64 were uni- trict’s indicators. versity graduates in 2014.

Healthcare The number of hospitals in Stara Zagora District as well as the number of beds increased for the past two years and Culture the number of beds in multi-profile hospitals reached The indicators regarding cultural activities in Stara Zag- 1,544 in 2014. The cases of hospitalisation in multi-pro- ora Distric have improved in recent years. Visits to thea- file hospitals decreased in 2014: 146.2 per 1,000 people tres increased to reach 117,000 in 2014. Visits to cinemas of the population, below the country average. also increased and are now about 210,000. The modern The district features a relatively sufficient number of cinemas at the big shopping centres of Stara Zagora City general practitioners but lags in key health profession- are an important factor for this growth. Visits to muse- als. The share of health-insured persons has preserved ums have also increased to reach 372,000 in 2014. Visits good levels – 89% in 2014. Infant mortality rate has to museums, weighed against the population, were al- soared for the past two years and is already high – 9.7‰ most double the country average. Visits to libraries have in 2014. slightly dropped to 149,000.

Stara Zagora District 107 Key Indicators for the District of Stara Zagora

Economic Development 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

GDP per capita (BGN, current prices) 9,478 9,781 10,459 11,699 n.a. n.a.

Average annual income per household member (BGN) 3,713 3,886 4,184 4,382 5,037 4,957

Average annual gross salary (BGN) 7,602 8,080 8,512 9,117 9,414 n.a.

Relative share of people living below the district’s poverty line (%) 24.2 26.0 24.0 26.5 n.a. n.a.

Annual average economic activity rate of the population 15+ (%) 50.6 50.9 51.8 52.2 50.0 50.1

Annual average employment rate of the population 15+ (%) 48.6 47.5 48.5 48.5 44.8 44.6

Annual average unemployment rate (%) 3.9 6.7 6.3 7.1 10.6 11.0

Number of non-financial companies per 1,000 people 43 43 43 44 44 n.a.

Expenditure on the acquisition of fixed tangible assets per capita (BGN) 3,431 2,522 1,936 2,946 2,062 n.a.

Cumulative FDI to non-financial enterprises per capita (EUR) 1,209 1,643 1,691 2,024 2,437 n.a.

Relative share of households with Internet access (%) 26.6 31.7 40.4 53.4 52.3 53.7

Share of roads in good condition (%) n.a. 60.4 59.3 59.0 53.4 53.7

Share of territory included in cadastral maps (%) 7.7 15.0 15.0 15.0 15.0 15.0

Social Development 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Rate of natural increase (‰) –4.5 –5.2 –5.5 –5.8 –5.8 –7.0

Net migration rate (‰) –2.8 –4.9 –1.6 1.9 0.5 0.5

Relative share of the population aged 25–64 with tertiary education (%) 19.3 19.3 21.5 20.5 19.5 21.8

Average grades at state matriculation exams 4.4 4.4 4.6 4.2 4.3 4.3

Percent of failed students at state matriculation exams 3.6 2.9 3.2 3.9 4.0 3.8

Health insured persons as share of the population (%) 88.8 87.6 90.6 89.7 88.4 89.0

Cases of hospitalization in general hospitals 162.6 153.9 156.0 170.4 205.5 146.2

Crimes against the property per 10,000 people 75.4 115.8 126.9 100.6 91.1 74.4

Share of pending criminal cases (%) 8.2 8.1 8.9 8.3 9.5 n.a.

Expenditure on environmental protection per capita (BGN) 323.0 205.5 567.9 309.6 262.2 n.a.

Share of the population living in settlements with public 18.8 18.7 60.9 61.0 61.2 n.a. sewerage systems, connected to WTTP (%)

Number of visits to cinemas per 1,000 people 329.5 516.1 653.3 588.0 590.4 642.1

Number of visits to theatres per 1,000 people 216.7 196.8 325.4 319.0 349.2 358.7

108 Regional Profiles 2015