Pleven

Although in 2019 GDP per capita in Pleven district again recorded a considerable nominal growth rate – 12%, compared to the national average of 10%, it still remained relatively low – 9,800 BGN/person, against 17,200 BGN/person in the country. Salaries also rose relatively fast and their average amount reached 11,600 BGN, compared to 15,200 BGN nationwide. Incomes per household member remained generally stable, with a rate of increase for 2019 of a bare 2%, compared to 8% in the country. The average annual income per household member reached 5,900 BGN and for the first time in ten years fell below the national average of 6,000 BGN. The share of population living with material deprivation remained above the national average in 2019. At the same time, the share of those living below the poverty line shrank to a level below the national average – 20.4% in the district, versus 22.6% nationally.

Economic activity in Pleven district continued to intensify in 2020, but at 72.9%, it remained below the national average of 73.7%. This growth was accompanied by a parallel decline in employment and a rise in unemployment. The employment rate shrank at the same rate as the average one in the country and was down to 61.6%, against 68.5% nationwide. The unemployment rate, for its part, rose faster and was double the national one – 11.3%, versus the national average of 5.2%. In 2020 the educational structure of the workforce in Pleven district marked an improvement. The share of the population aged 25–64 with a university degree rose to 25.4%, against 29.2% in the country, while the share of those with primary or lower education decreased to 19.1%, compared to 16.9% nationally. The population replacement rate as a ratio of those aged 15–19 to those aged 60–64 has been rising but it still remains relatively low – 63.2% in Pleven district, against 67.1% countrywide. This means that for every 100 people who are about to leave the labor market in the next few years, there will be 63 young people joining the workforce.

Investment and business activity in Pleven district rallied and grew significantly in 2019, but the indicator values still lagged considerably behind the national average. The relative number of non-financial enterprises reached 42 per 1,000 persons, versus 61 per 1,000 persons nationally. FTA acquisition expenditures grew by 19%, compared to 15% in the country, and for the first time exceeded 2,000 BGN/person. After the outflow of FDI the previous year, in 2019 its amounts grew considerably – by 123%, compared to the average national rate of 3%, reaching 1,171 EUR/person, versus the national average of 3,655 EUR/person. Production value in the district rose by 11%, against 8% in the country, and in 2019 it reached 14,500 BGN/person, compared to 28,000 BGN/person nationwide. Utilization of European funds in Pleven district remains close to the national average. By 15 June 2021, payments made in the district to beneficiaries under EU operational programs amounted to 2,120 BGN/person, compared to 2,217 BGN/person on a national level. Within the district, the highest figures for utilization of EU funding were recorded by Belene municipality.

Pleven district is characterized by a higher than average density of its railroad network. The density of its road network is close to, though slightly below the national average. In 2019, the share of highways and first-class roads was low – 12.2%, versus 18.5 in the country, and the share of road surfaces in good condition remained small – 36.5%, compared to the national average of 41.4%. The share of households with internet access remains low – 68.9%, against the average of 78.9% nationally. The share of households connected to a gas supply in 2020 was 2.3%, against 3.1% in the country. The installed RES capacity is 0.3 kW/person, compared to the national average of 0.6 kW/person.

Against the background of its relatively weak economic development, in 2021 Pleven district again kept local taxes at levels comparable to the national average rates, though the local rates were significantly higher than the average ones in Northwestern Bulgaria. Two of the monitored rates in the district were considerably higher than the respective national averages – the tax on non-residential real estate for legal entities and the tax on non-gratuitous acquisition of property.

Cadastral map coverage in Pleven district has registered a considerable increase and in 2019 it exceeded the national average. The local administrations’ self-assessments on the development of e-government and on the provision of one-stop shop services also rose and in 2021 they were above those in the country on average. The AIP Active transparency ratings of the local administration have been lagging behind and in 2021 for the first time they fell below the national average – 71.1% in Pleven district, versus 73.2% nationally. Within the district, the highest ratings of over 82% were achieved by the municipalities of Dolna Mitropoliya, Knezha and Cherven bryag.

While in the previous ten years the natural population growth rate had fluctuated between –9.0‰ and –11.0‰, in 2020 it fell sharply to –13.5‰, against the national average of –9.5‰. As in most other districts, the net migration rate reached a positive value, but at 1.3 ‰, it remained relatively low. These processes are the main prerequisite for the high degree of population ageing in the district. In 2020, the age dependency rate as a ratio of people aged 65+ to those aged 0–14 years reached 187.7%, compared to 150.6% in the country on average, and to those aged 15–64 years – 44.2%, versus 34.1% nationwide. The share of urban population remains relatively small – 65.9%, compared to 72.9% in the country, and population density in the urban settlements is relatively low – 1,070 persons/sq. km, while nationally it is 1,506 persons/sq. km.

The district does not perform well in terms of the indicators assessing education. The enrolment ratio in 5th–8th grades rose in 2020 to 87.3% and remained slightly above the national average of 86.5%. The percentage of repeaters continued to shrink and came close to the average for the country. At the same time, for the third consecutive year the share of dropouts from primary and secondary school remained high, reaching a figure well above average – 3.5% in the district, against 2.5% in the country. The relative number of teachers in primary and secondary schools dropped sharply in 2020 but retained a level above the national average – 90 teachers per 1,000 students, against 87 teachers per 1,000 students nationally. Students’ results again remained low in 2021. The average score in the external examination in mathematics after 7th grade was 31.8 p., compared to 37.9 p. nationally. The average grade in the State matriculation exam in Bulgarian language and literature was among the lowest in the country – 3.97, versus 4.21 in the country, and “fail” grades (below 3.00) made up 12%, against the national average of 7%. Pleven is one of the few districts in Bulgaria registering a steady increase in the number of university students over the past few years. In 2020 it reached 16/1,000 persons, yet it still remained half the national average.

Pleven district has strong traditions in the sphere of healthcare and in 2020 it held the top place in the country in this category. The share of people with health insurance in the region remained at levels above the national average – 91.0% in the district, compared to 88.7% in the country. Pleven is also the district with the highest proportion both of GPs and specialist physicians. One local GP cares for 1,243 persons on average, compared to 1,727 persons per doctor in the country. Pleven is also the district best provided with hospital beds. In 2020 their number even went up to reach 9.94 beds per 1,000 persons, compared to 5.52 beds per 1,000 persons in the country. The relative number of patients treated in the local general hospitals remained high in 2020 – 206 per 1,000 persons, compared to 138 per 1,000 persons nationwide, which is probably related to the easy access to doctors and the availability of hospital beds in the district. It can also be assumed that residents of other districts come to Pleven to seek medical care.

The workloads of the criminal judges in Pleven district are relatively small, which has a favorable impact on the speed of delivery of justice. In 2020, one local judge heard an average of 6.4 cases a month, compared to 8.6 cases nationally. The proportion of criminal cases closed within 3 months was 92%, compared to the average of 90% nationwide, while pending cases made up 10%, versus 11% in the country. The total number of crimes registered in Pleven district in the past ten years is on the whole higher than the national average but within the past three years it has followed a steady downward curve. In 2020, registered crimes against the person and property in the district constituted 10.9 per 1,000 persons, versus the average of 9.9 per 1,000 persons nationwide. The detection rate was 53.4%, against 52.1% for the country on average.

In 2019, the relative volumes of carbon dioxide emissions in Pleven district again remained many times smaller than the country’s average. The share of population living in settlements with access to a public sewerage network amounted to 57.0%, compared to 76.4% countrywide. 53.3% of the population were connected to a wastewater treatment plant, against 64.6% in the country. Both indicators place Pleven district considerably behind the respective national averages, which is also a consequence of the relatively low share of urban population. In 2018, the amounts of household waste generated in the district increased for the third year in a row, but they remained below the national average. At the same time, the amounts of waste handed over for treatment and recycling also went up and reached 90%, compared to the national average of 71%.

In 2020, Pleven district’s cultural life again remained characterized by relatively low intensity. The drop in attendance to cultural events caused by the pandemic and the restrictions imposed in 2020 had an even greater impact on the district. Only the number of museum visits reached a level above the national average – 345 visits per 1,000 persons, against 332 per 1,000 persons nationally.