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The ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT area in Regional Profiles 2024 includes categories measuring income and standard of living, the labor market, investments, infrastructure, local taxes, and the work of the administration.

The material is part of the IME study "Regional Profiles: Indicators of Development 2024"

For more than ten years now, the Institute for Market Economy has been presenting the only study of its scale and depth on the economic and social development of the regions in Bulgaria. This year, the Regional Profiles expand to 80 indicators, presenting the real picture in the 28 regions.

For more than ten years now, the Institute for Market Economy has been presenting the only study of its scale and depth on the economic and social development of the regions in Bulgaria. The regional profiles step on 80 indicators representing the real picture in the 28 regions.

There is no doubt that decentralization is the right solution in almost all cases. It allows local government and regional communities to take their destiny into their own hands and apply local solutions to local problems that are far from the priorities and vision of the central government. However, the flip side of decentralization is fragmentation – breaking up the state into excessively small pieces prevents effective governance and prevents true autonomy. Bulgaria currently has a relatively high level of centralization and at the same time fragmentation, which is more than visible, as well as its negative consequences.

The municipalities in these three southwestern regions have a very different economic and social profile - here are the industrial leaders of Sofia (region), which are among the most developed economies of the country as a whole, but also the aging and frozen in time border municipalities of Pernik. However, the overall development trajectory looks positive, especially if they manage to overcome the challenges in terms of human capital and demographics.

In 2018, the reform of planning regions was on the agenda, with a focus on their demographic stability and ensuring equal access to European funding for all parts of the country. However, no real reform was achieved, and the years of pandemic, war and political instability forced other, more urgent topics on the agenda.