Yambol District Straldzha YAMBOL > Population (2014) 126,450 > Area (sq. km) 3,355.5 > Number of settlements 109 ELHOVO Bolyarovo > Share of urban population (%) 70.3 Overview ambol was one of the few districts where there was Population ageing is relatively more evident in Yam- Yno GDP drop at the beginning of the crisis. Never- bol District due to the number of people leaving the theless, the district’s GDP per capita, as well as incomes district and the high negative natural increase. Yam- and salaries, have remained below the country averages. bol was the district with the highest share of failed Unemployment, however, increased, and employment students at the state matriculation exams in 2015. decreased with the onset of the crisis. Yambol District A higher share of health-insured persons and lower ranked fourth as at the end of 2013 with the smallest morbidity rates, compared to the country average, cumulative inflow of foreign investments, but utilisation characterise the district. The crime rate has been of EU funds by the district’s municipalities has been rela- relatively low for the past 10 years. The workload of tively good. Most local taxes and fees in Yambol District penal judges at the District Court has also remained are also about the country averages in 2015 but the local low, but, nonetheless, the share of pending cases has administration has lagged behind in transparency. surged. 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 Yambol District 129 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Income and Living Conditions Infrastructure Yambol was one of the few districts where there was no Yambol District was one of the few districts where the GDP drop at the beginning of the crisis. By contrast, the railway network grew smaller in 2013 after the closing nominal GDP per capita has even increased at a yearly of the railway line between Yambol and Elhovo whose rate of 5% since 2008, and by about 10% per annum in rails are to be dismantled. Simultaneously, road network 2011 and 2012, reaching 6,937 BGN per capita in 2012. density is higher in the district than the country average. Still, GDP per capita has remained below the country av- The district has traditionally had a high quality of roads. erage. Incomes are also relatively low. The annual income 51.7% of roads were evaluated as being in good condi- per capita in the district was 4,133 BGN in 2014, compared tion in 2014 compared to the country average of 40.5%. to 4,813 in Bulgaria. Moreover, the average annual income The share of households with Internet access is high, per household member has increased by 89% for the past just like the use of the Internet by people aged 16–74. 10 years in Yambol District while the national average in- 8.4% of all households in the district had Internet access creased by 109%, i.e. income in the district has grown at a in 2006, Bulgaria’s average being 17%. This share rose to slower rate. Salaries have faced a similar situation in Yam- 57.2% in 2014 in Yambol District, compared to the coun- bol District – an increase of 169% for 10 years (reaching try average of 56.7%. In 2014 64.5% of citizens living in 7,111 BGN per employee, gross, in 2013), the country’s av- the district had used the Internet in the past 12 months erage growth being 184% (9,301 BGN in 2013). compared to the country average of 59.2%. Labour Market Taxes and Fees Although aggregate production did not decrease with In 2015 the rates of most monitored local taxes and fees in the onset of the crisis, labour market conditions aggra- the municipalities of Yambol District are about the coun- vated a lot. Given that unemployment in the district has try average. This refers to the immovable property taxes fluctuated about the country average, it reached 15% for legal entities, vehicle taxes and taxes on the sale of in 2014 compared to the average of 11.4%. Contrary to immovable property. The annual license tax for retailers, the increasing employment rate in most of Bulgaria, em- on the other hand, is considerably lower than the country ployment in the district has dropped for the past couple average – 8.20 BGN per sq. m of retail space compared to of years to reach 44.7% in 2014 compared to the coun- the country average of 12.72 BGN per sq. m in 2015. There try average of 48%. Economic activity, which had been are big differences between the district’s municipalities in above the national average for the past three or four the rates of this tax. While the rate of this tax was 10 BGN years, gradually decreased and was already below the per sq. m for a successive year in Yambol Municipality, in national average in 2014: 52.6% compared to the coun- Straldzha Municipality it remained 4 BGN per sq. m. The try average of 54.1%. The demographic replacement annual waste collection charge is also lower in the district’s rate was the eighth lowest in Bulgaria in 2014. There municipalities compared to their national counterparts. were 57.3 people aged 15–19 per 100 people aged 60– 64 compared to the country average of 61.9. Administration Investment The level of local government e-services in the district has continued to be higher than the country average At the end of 2013 Yambol District had the fourth small- in 2015. The local administrations’ self-assessment re- est cumulative inflow of foreign investments (53 m euros, garding one-stop shop services, on the other hand, has or 0.2% of the overall foreign investments) and was one been considerably lower than the country average for of the six districts with the lowest foreign investment the past three years. Territory inclusion in the cadastral per capita (421 euros, or 8 times less than the country map has also lagged a little – 16.6% of Yambol District’s average of 3,231 euros per capita). Expenditure on ac- territory was included in the cadastral map in 2014(com- quisition of FTAs was half the country average in 2013 in pared to the country average of 18.1%), a figure which proportion to the population: 1,326 BGN per capita com- has not increased in the last five years. The 2015 Active pared to the country average of 2,490 BGN per capita. Transparency Rating of local government bodies, issued Municipalities have performed better in the utilisation annually by the AIP Foundation, ranked Yambol District of EU funds. As of 31 January 2015 the municipalities in below the country average – the district was evaluated Yambol District received 603.5 BGN per capita under the at 45.7 points in 2015 out of 88.4, compared to the coun- operational programmes compared to 564.9 BGN per try average of 54.5 points. Tundzha Municipality was rat- capita for the country. Tundzha Municipality drew down ed as the most transparent (63.5 points) and the munici- most funds (1,105.1 BGN per capita), and Elhovo Munici- palities of Straldzha and Elhovo as the least transparent pality has utilised least (69.1 BGN per capita). ones (42.1 points, 43.1 points respectively). 130 Regional Profiles 2015 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Demography Security and Justice Population ageing stands out in Yambol District. The ra- Crime rates have been relatively low for the past ten tio of the population aged 65+ to that aged 0–14 was years and while the number of registered crimes against 155.9% in 2014 compared to the national average of property had tended to rise prior to the economic crisis, 144.3%. The rate of natural increase in Yambol District their number has been falling fast after 2009 and 2010. has been below the national average for years to reach 4.6 crimes against the person per 10,000 people, com- –7.6‰ in 2014, compared to the country average of pared to 5.9 for the country, and 65.2 crimes against the –5.7‰. The net migration rate was also negative in 2014 property per 10,000 people, compared to the country (–3.8‰), although it fell considerably below its two-dig- average of 89, were registered in 2014. it levels since the beginning of the crisis. The workloads of the district’s courts increased in 2013 following several years of decline but continued to be among the lowest in Bulgaria – 6.3 cases per month Education per judge compared to the country average of 8.3 cas- es per month, per judge. The share of pending crimi- The net enrolment rate (grades 5th through 8th) has tra- nal cases soared with the more intensive workload, to ditionally been higher than the country average, which reach even above the country average in 2013 – 10.3% means more of the children subject to education were compared to the country average of 8.5%. The share in school: 83.5% compared to the country average of of criminal cases closed in the first 3 months has also 78.6%. The relative share of repeaters and the share of diminished. dropouts from schools are close to the national aver- age. However, the district has been among those with the highest shares of failed students at state matricula- tion exams since 2010. Yambol even ranked first with the highest share of failed students in 2015 – 15.6% com- Environment pared to the country average of 6.4%.