VARNA district

Traditionally outward looking, the city of Varna and its district acquire a key role for the development of the national economy in the context of the intensively ongoing processes of economic globalization and integration. Varna Port and Varna International Airport are major infrastructure units in the region. Varna district has the highest rate of digitization of the telephone network in Bulgaria. The number of ISDN lines, however, is still limited, which offers a field for potential development. The city of Varna is a major telecommunications terminal of the optic-fiber highway, which connects Bulgaria with Turkey, Rumania, Ukraine and Western Europe. That, together with the large number of highly skilled human resources and IT firms, which operate in the region, renders Varna district suitable for investment in the high-tech sector. The GDP of the district amounts to 5,4% of the national GDP. The most dynamic sector is tourism with an annual growth of more than 20%. Varna is also a centre of international fairs and exhibitions. In the city's five universities, the navy academy and the six colleges of  work 2,500 scientific experts and 30,600 students are being educated. Research and development is carried out in six scientific institutes in the fields of fish resources, marine research, hydro and aero dynamics, water transport, shipbuilding and metallography.