Sixteen major economic centres stand out in Bulgaria, covering a total of 132 municipalities. Nearly 80% of the country's economic activity is concentrated within them, indicate data of the latest study by the Institute for Market Economics. In 2018, there were 20 centres, but there are merging processes in Southern Bulgaria. There are 6 leading centers. The Sofia-Pernik-Botevgrad zone covers 30 municipalities which employ 1.7 million people. 41.7% of all companies are concentrated there. 9.4% of the total production capacity is concentrated in the Plovdiv-Maritsa-Rakovski zone and 5.8% in Varna-Devnya. They are followed by the broad economic centers Stara Zagora-Kazanlak-Radnevo-Galabovo, Ruse-Targovishte-Razgrad and Burgas-Nesebar.

There is a big difference between the economic centres south of the Balkan mountain range and north of the Balkan Mountains. Secondary cores form in Southern Bulgaria and cover most of the regions with their periphery. The development follows the route of Trakia Motorway, which shows that its construction was a strong impetus for the development of the economy.