Sofia and Bulgaria in the Rankings
Sofia is included in the Tech Cities of the Future 2020/21 debut ranking of fDi Magazine and TNW.
We are delighted to announce that out of 76 surveyed locations in Europe, 25 of which included in the report, Sofia has ranked:
– 20th in the overall ranking of Tech Cities of the Future 2020/21
– 7th in the Cost Effectiveness category
– 17th in the FDI Strategy category
For its ranking, fDi evaluates cities under five categories: Economic Potential, Innovation and Attractiveness, FDI Performance, Cost Effectiveness, and Start-up Environment. In addition, surveys were collected under a sixth category – FDI Strategy. Locations that ranked in the top 20 in this category were given bonus points, which were added to their overall score for the final ranking.
Read more about Sofia’s ranking in Tech Cities of the Future 2020/21 here.
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Sofia ranks 1st in the Smart City Development category and 7th in the overall ranking of Emerging Europe’s Business-Friendly Cities Perception Ranking 2020 of the best cities for doing business in Central and Eastern Europe. Sofia also ranks in Top 10 in the Quality of Life category, sharing the 5th place with Gdynia, Poland, and Bratislava, Slovakia. For the ranking, Emerging Europe researched 75 cities in the region of developing Europe – capitals and cities with over 200,000 inhabitants.
The Business-Friendly Cities Perception Ranking 2020 is part of the Emerging Europe Awards 2020 – the third edition of a programme that presents the best of Europe’s emerging economies and honors the achievements of individuals, public and private organizations, projects, and initiatives.
Budapest has been named the most business-friendly city. The Hungarian capital also tops two of the eight categories taken into account in the ranking – Brand, and Local Authority Support. Sofia, along with Tallinn, is the winner in the Smart City Development category. Tbilisi leads in Economic Potential, Łódź in Business Climate, Bucharest in Pool of Talent, Warsaw in Infrastructure and Connectivity, and Prague in Quality of Life. Budapest, Prague, and Warsaw lead the overall ranks, where Sofia ranks 7th.
Due to the restrictive measures related to COVID-19, this year, the ranking was presented online. In its publication, Emerging Europe quoted the Mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova on the occasion of Sofia’s recognition as one of the two leading cities in the Smart City Development category .
“Our efforts are focused on implementing innovative solutions in city governance and urban development. Sofia is changing and the most important thing is that more and more citizens are taking part in this change. Sofia’s most valuable asset is the city’s highly educated workforce that demands a constantly improving city environment. We are working with a consistent focus on one strategic priority – the improvement of the quality of life of Sofia’s citizens.”
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Eurostat data on price levels on consumer goods and services in individual European Union Member States show that in 2019 Denmark had the highest price level, and Bulgaria – the lowest. In other words, the difference in prices varied by up to three times between the cheapest and the most expensive Member state.
Compared to the EU average, prices in Denmark were a total of 141% above average, with the next most expensive countries being Ireland (134%), Luxembourg (131%), Finland (127%), and Sweden (121%). At the opposite end of the ranking are Bulgaria (53%) and Romania (55%).
Food and non-alcoholic beverages were most expensive in Denmark (129% of the EU average), Luxembourg, and Austria (124% each). The cheapest food and soft drinks were reported in Romania (66%), Poland (70%), and Bulgaria (78%).
Price levels for alcoholic beverages and tobacco showed significant variations between the EU Member States. The lowest prices were registered in Bulgaria (62% of the average), ahead of Poland (74%), Hungary and Romania (both 75%). At the opposite end of the scale, the highest prices were observed in Ireland (188%), followed by Finland (157%), Sweden (131%), France (126%), and Denmark (119%). It should be noted that this large price variation is mainly due to differences in taxation of these products among the Member States.
Restaurants and hotels is another category where large differences in price levels were observed. Price levels ranged from 45% of the EU average in Bulgaria to 156% in Denmark.
Smaller disparities were observed for consumer electronics, personal transport equipment, and clothes.
Find more detailed information in the official Eurostat data in this file.
