Non-agricultural economic activities in the rural regions of Bulgaria | Неселскостопански икономически дейности в селските райони на България

The article investigates the place of the rural regions in the countrys economy as a whole and the significance of the non-agricultural activities for the employment and the economic growth. The study is carried out at a level district. According the definition of the OESD at a NUTS 3 level, the districts in the country are differentiated in three groups – predominantly rural, intermediate and predominantly urban. In the category predominantly rural are included 21 from a total number of 28 districts in Bulgaria. They occupy over 79 % of the countrys territory and are inhabited by less than 60 % of the total countrys population. The dynamics of the main economic indexes, featuring the temps of development of the rural regions for the period 2004 – 2009 shows a trend of decrease of their economic activity, due to a lower investors interest, a faster population decrease and a lower labor employment than the average values for the country. An increasing volume of activities is concentrated into the capital on account on the rest of the districts, which leads to a deeper differentiation in the living conditions in a territorial aspect. The marginalization of the standard of living of the population, measured by the GDP per person extends and has lowest values in the rural regions with a trend of a further decrease. At the general background of the economic activities decrease in the rural regions, the industrial activities preserve at a highest grade its level values, while the agriculture collapses. The share of industrial output in the total production in the rural regions for the period 2007- 2008 is considerably higher – 67%, than the average for the country – 46-48%. Analyzing the values becomes notable a trend of increase of the industrial output in the rural regions –with 0,5 units, at a general decrease for the country as a whole with around 3 units. The industrial activities in the rural regions provide a highest rate of employment.