Bulgaria, territorially and administratively divided into six statistical regions, 28 districts and 264 municipalities, demonstrates a significant gap between rich and poor municipalities. Recent data from the Institute for Market Economics shed light on this economic disparity.
The municipality of Chelopech, which ranks first in the country with an average monthly salary of BGN 2,930, leads the country in terms of employee salaries. Kozloduy Municipality is close behind with BGN 2,431, followed by Pirdop (BGN 2,205) and Sofia Municipality (BGN 2,144).
In fifth place is the energy hub Radnevo (2040 BGN), with the top 10 completed by:
– Galabovo (BGN 1985).
– Devnya (1947 BGN)
– Panagyurishte (1860 BGN)
– Elin Pelin (1745 BGN)
– Bozhurishte (1717 BGN).
Positive trends in recent years have led to an increase in the average salary in every municipality in the country between 2017 and 2021. In fact, the average salary of employees in 183 municipalities rose between 40 and 60 percent over a five-year period.
Nessebar and Sozopol have the highest share of own revenues relative to total municipal budget expenditures, 93.1 percent and 71.4 percent, respectively. Traditionally, coastal municipalities, as well as small municipalities in the Srednogorje region, show high levels of own revenue, which gives them greater autonomy and capacity to implement and finance their own policies and services.
At the bottom of the income hierarchy are Haskovo and Vidin. The gross domestic product per capita in the Southeastern region falls below BGN 10 000 per year. By comparison, the national average is twice as high, and GDP per capita in Sofia exceeds BGN 45 000.
As of June this year, the lowest average wage was in Vidin – BGN 1,256, followed by Blagoevgrad – BGN 1,271, and Haskovo – BGN 1,294.
These insights highlight the complex economic dynamics within Bulgarian municipalities, underlining the need for targeted interventions to tackle income disparities and promote sustainable economic growth across the country.
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