Plovdiv has one of the country's largest economies and contributes 7.5% of Bulgaria's GDP . In 2014, more than 35 thousand companies operate in the region which create jobs for 285,000 people. The advantages of Plovdiv include the central geographic location, good infrastructure, and large population. Plovdiv has international airport, terminal for intermodal transport, several connections with Trakia motorway (connecting Sofia and Burgas), proximity to Maritsa motorway (the main corridor to Turkey), and well-developed road and rail infrastructure which all led to the development of the city as the leading city in terms of industrial output in Bulgaria. The economy of
Plovdiv English Language School, the High School of Mathematics, the Ivan Vazov Language School, the National Schools of Commerce Plovdiv, the English Academy, the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts Plovdiv, and the French High School of Plovdiv. The city has six universities and a number of state and private colleges and branches of other universities. Those include Plovdiv University, with 900 lecturers and employees and 13,000 students; the Plovdiv Medical University, with 2,600 students; the Medical College; the Technical University of SofiaBranch Plovdiv; the Agricultural University Plovdiv; the University of Food Technologies; the Academy for Music, Dance and Fine