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Vratsa is a region of northwest Bulgaria with an area of 3,621.8 sq.km.
It is bordered to the north by the Danube, and to the south by the Sofia region lies to the South.
The population of 235,189 inhabitants is distributed over 10 communities, the largest being Vratsa Municipality.
The Regional road system consists of 1277 km of the Republican road system. Predominating are the IVth class roads. Their maintenance and control are under the responsibilities of the Municipalities. The rehabilitation of these roads is a priority of the regional policy. Mezdra town is a major railroad station connecting the major cities in Bulgaria. The passenger's transport is ensured by 116 buses and 26 trolleys. The telecommunication network consists of 4 regional post stations- Vratsa Biala Slatina, Mezdra and Kozloduy, and 116 local post offices. They offer universal post services including express mail and international courier services EMS, SKYPAK, DHL. In the town of Vratsa there are two branch offices of Mobiltel and Mobicom. The water supply system was envisaged to be improved and sewerage was mostly built, but there is a program for modernization all over the Region / in the small villages incl./. The Nuclear Power Plant Kozloduy , in the Northern part of the Region, is the major supplier of electricity in Bulgaria.
The administrative capital of the Region is Vratsa town, in the Southern part of the Region, about 116 km from Sofia .The distance to the Major cities is as follows : -Vratsa - Varna 414 km; Vratsa - Plovdiv 217km; Vratsa- Pleven 108 km; Vratsa Bourgas - 416 km. The International road E79 passes through the Region. The major European port and the Ferry complex Oriahovo-Becket, on the River Danube, is situated in Oriahovo municipality.
The economically active population is 48 892 employed as follows : in the Services sector - 27 685, in Industry - 19 020, in Agriculture - 2 187. The population has increased since the year 2000, and are mostly in private labour employment. The rate of unemployment is higher than the Bulgarian average, and the aim of the Regional policy is to implement programs to resolve this problem. The labour force distribution in the basic economic sectors is the following - in Industry - 38.9%, in Agriculture - 4.5 % and in Services - 56.6%. The decrease of the number and relative share of the employees in the public sector is matched by an increase in the private sector. The proportion of workforce in State and Private sectors is 44.2 % to 55.8%. ?The higher level of education stipulates a higher employment rate. In the Region predominates the number of employees of secondary education? - What do these sentences mean? . On the labour market the number of the specialists of higher education decreases in favour of those without education. The average salary level for the Region is 297leva.
The natural peculiarities of the Vratsa Region contribute to the development of agriculture /mostly in private farms/, lumber industry and electricity production. Major companies are the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, of national importance; Chimco AD - fertilizer factory, Beloizvorski cement - cement factory and brewery; Ledenika AD -joint stock company; Centromet AD - centrifugal casting; Vratitsa LTD - yarns, raw and finished fabrics, sewing articles; OMK Holding - machining and machinery, tooling equipment, foundry, special production; Hemus -M AD - limestone, slabs, tiles, blocks, columns; Sunnytex - AD - production of household linen, weaving etc.; Metizi AD - steel wires, ropes and their products, spare parts; Variana LTD - concrete articles, greyiron cast, metal safes; Enemona Holding - civil engineering.
The main Projects are related to the development of the transport infrastructure, water supply and sewerage, agriculture - vegetables, cattle breeding, silk-worm breeding, mushroom cultivation, development and strengthening of the existing industrial plants, development of alternative forms of tourism - rural, ecotourism, cultural, religious, spaeology, mountaineering, hang gliding etc. The long term strategy for the Regional economy is to promote Small and Medium enterprises as alternative way to develop the industry.