Kardzhali is a municipal and regional centre located in the heart of the Eastern Rhodope Mountain Range, on both banks of the Arda River. It is the largest administrative, industrial, commercial and cultural centre of the Eastern Rhodopes.
INFRASTRUCTURE
The region's domestic and international connections are made by motorways, roads and railways. There is also an equipped airport site. The density of the road network is higher than the national average, but the share of motorways and first-class roads is relatively low (11% vs. 19% nationally).
The pan-European transport corridor 9 passes through Kardzhali via the Makaza Pass, with the distance from the district centre to the Bulgarian-Greek border (Makaza BCP) being 54 km.
Three dams have been built along the Arda River - "Kardzhali", "Studen Kladenets" and "Borovitsa". The installed RES capacity in the district in relation to the population (1.53kW/person) is higher than the national average.
NATURAL RESOURCES
In the region of Kardzhali there are huge deposits of lead-zinc ores, bentonite, perlite, zeolite, asbestos, precious and semi-precious minerals, gold. There are also significant deposits of non-ore minerals - bentonite, zeolite, feldspar, mica, limestone, sand, gravel, etc.
POPULATION
According to the General Directorate of Civil Registration and Administrative Services, as of June 15, 2024, there are 52,419 people living in the city with a current address and 66,130 people with a permanent address. According to the National Statistical Institute, the population of Kardzhali District at the end of 2023 is 146 562 people and of Kardzhali Municipality - 64 690 people. According to the latest population census conducted by the NSI in 2021, there are 141 177 people living in Kardzhali District, 62 005 people in Kardzhali Municipality and 62 000 people in the town of Kardzhali. The population of Kardzhali is 40 659 people. By ethnicity the population is distributed as follows: 65% - Turkish ethnic community, 29% - Bulgarian, 1% - Roma, 2% - other, 3% - "do not wish to answer".
Natural increase remains more favourable than average, although it is also negative with a coefficient of -6.5‰ (compared to -6.8‰ in the country). The district continues to attract a large number of people and the mechanical growth rate is the highest in the country at 34.5‰. The life expectancy (75.4 years) is among the highest in the country (together with that of the residents of the capital).
EDUCATION
Higher education is underrepresented in the district with 3.6 students per thousand population (compared to 29.6 per thousand in the country). In the town of Kurdzhali there are branches of three higher education institutions - MSU "Sv. Ivan Rilski" - Sofia, "Paisii Hilendarski" University, and "Agricultural College" - Plovdiv.
The town's educational infrastructure includes 15 primary and secondary schools, including one language school and six vocational schools - in economics, tourism, clothing and design, electrical and electronic engineering, construction and road transport. The total number of schools in Kardzhali District is 71, with 13 584 students.
The performance of the students of the district is poor. In 2024, the average score in the national external assessment in mathematics after grade VII is 36.8 (compared to 42.9 in the country). The average grade in the Bulgarian language and literature exam is "Good" 4.22 (vs. 4.30 in the country). The share of weak grades was 14.7% (vs. 8.7% in the country).
HEALTHCARE
There are six hospitals with a total of 786 beds and 21 outpatient care facilities in Kardzhali district. The number of beds in local multidisciplinary hospitals in relation to the population remains extremely low - 3.8 beds per thousand people (compared to 6.1 per thousand people in the country).
The largest health facility in Kardzhali is the Multiprofile Hospital for Active Treatment "Dr. Atanas Dafovski". At the end of March 2025, the construction of a new hospital of the "Heart and Brain" chain will start in the city, which has the ambition to become a centre of attraction for young medical specialists and patients from the region, as well as from neighbouring Greece and Turkey.
Health care in the district suffers from a chronic shortage of doctors. Kardzhali is the district with the lowest number of general practitioners and specialists in relation to the population. The district's supply of medical staff is as follows: 374 doctors, 134 dentists, 848 health care professionals. Particularly negative are the statistics regarding doctors, as in Kardzhali there are 392 people per doctor in the population (compared to the national average of 215).
LABOUR MARKET
The working-age population is declining and remains at a lower level than the national average - 56.8% in the district against 58.5% in the country. At the same time, employment is declining and unemployment is rising. The employment rate reached 70.6% (compared to 76.2% in the country), while the unemployment rate increased to 10.2% (compared to 5.3% in the country). The educational structure of the labour force remains a challenge for the labour market and continues to deteriorate. The share of the population aged 25-64 with primary education and below is 20% (vs. 15% in the country), and of higher education graduates - 22% (vs. 31% in the country).
INCOME AND PRODUCTIVITY
The gross domestic product per capita in Kardzhali district is relatively low - BGN 15.4 thousand compared to BGN 26 thousand in the country, and the average monthly salary is BGN 1507 compared to BGN 2323 in the country. The share of the population living below the national poverty line is 27.3% in the district against 20.6% in the country.
ECONOMY
The leading sector of the economy of Kardzhali is the manufacturing industry, which accounts for 48% of the municipality's value added. Trade, in turn, accounts for 11% of value added, construction - 8%, health - 6%.
The city's economy is dominated by several large enterprises - the rubber products manufacturer for the auto industry "Teklas Bulgaria", which employs almost 3 thousand people, the multidisciplinary hospital in Kardzhali, the mining "Gorubso" and the hydraulic cylinders manufacturer "Kyashif".
Against the backdrop of the relatively small size of the local economy, Kardzhali attracts a relatively large amount of foreign investment, reaching 3,000 euros per capita. Expenditure on acquisition of fixed assets amounted to BGN 257 million (BGN 1.8 thousand per person), 41% of which was realized in industry, 14% - in construction, 13% - in trade, transport and tourism.
The output in the district is also significantly below the national average in relation to the number of employees - BGN 69.8 thousand (compared to BGN 122.4 thousand in the country). However, the share of export revenues in net sales revenues is significantly higher than the national average (38% vs. 29%), which is also related to the district's location on the state border.
Per capita R&D expenditures in the district are low - BGN 232 thousand/year. The absorption of EU funds in the district lags behind the average levels. As of 30 June 2024, the value of amounts paid to beneficiaries of operational programmes in Kardzhali district reached BGN 2,529 per capita (compared to BGN 3,175 in the country).
SECURITY AND JUSTICE
The administration of justice in the district is swift. The share of criminal cases completed within 3 months is 97% (compared to 91% in the country), of administrative cases - 78% (compared to 72% in the country) and of civil cases - 85% (compared to 65% in the country). In 2023, the number of registered crimes against the person and property in Kardzhali District is slightly increasing, but remains among the lowest in the country - 5.7 per thousand people (vs. 11.3 per thousand people in the country). The detection rate, on the other hand, remains extremely high at 69% (compared to 53% in the country), although the number of police officers in relation to the population is lower than the national average.
SIGHTSEEINGS
It is believed that the first inhabitants of these places were the ancestors of the Thracians. In the Middle Ages, on the site of today's Kardzhali, there was a town in the region of Ahrida (Eastern Rhodopes), which is believed to have been an Episcopal Christian centre. Its foundations date back to the 4th-1st centuries BC.
The Thracian megalithic sanctuary Perperek/Perperikon is located 15 km northeast of Kardzhali. Near the village of. Tatul is a rock tomb. Among the tourist sites in the region is the Thracian sanctuary of Orlovi skali (Eagle Rocks) - the rock niches are cult places where the Thracians laid the urns of their deceased brothers.
The region is famous for its many medieval and Thracian fortresses, temples and monasteries. Among them are: Medieval fortress Sixth Fortress (586. 7 m) above the village of Shiroko Pole - Monyak/Monyak; Thracian fortress, on the hill "Kamenen Harman", 2 km southwest of the village of Visegrad; Medieval fortress, 50 m northwest of the village of Visegrad; Thracian fortress above the village of Ivantsi; Thracian fortress and rock niches near the village of Lisitsite; Thracian fortress, on the hill "Kamenen Harman", 2 km southwest of the village of Vishegrad; Fortress "Ustra"; Kardzhali monastery with the church "Sv. St. John the Forerunner Monastery (built IV-VII century and restored in 2000); Monastery complex "Assumption of the Virgin", restored and completed by Father Boyan Saraev.
Near the town are the rock formations Kamenna svatba ("Stone Wedding") and Kamenni gabi ("Stone Mushrooms"), as well as the cave "Utrobata" (the Womb).
The Devil's Bridge is another notable tourist site in the region. This is the largest and most majestic Rhodope bridge, a true masterpiece of the construction of the Middle Ages. The Arda River passes under it, forming an extremely beautiful canyon with large meanders.
On the territory of Kardzhali municipality there is the reserve of rare plants "Vulchi dol", the localities of the unique flower silivryak or "Orpheus flower", the snow snowdrop, the red peony, the blue juniper and others.
Among the landmarks of Kardzhali is the so-called Water Mirror - an artificial canal along the river. Arda in the part passing through the town. Apart from flood protection, the Water Mirror is used for water sports and the areas along the river have been turned into parks and recreational areas.
The guests of Kardzhali should not miss to visit the Astronomical Observatory "Slavey Zlatev", which is located in "Prostor" Park and has a 150-mm refractor and other smaller telescopes. The observatory provides the opportunity for demonstration observations of various space objects.
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The article uses materials from the National Statistical Institute and the Institute for Market Economics.
