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 the year. Mists are common in the cooler months, especially along the banks of the Maritsa. On average there are 33 days with mist during the year. The history of Plovdiv spans more than eight millennia. Numerous nations have left their traces on the cultural layers of the city. The earliest signs of habitation on the territory of Plovdiv date as far back as the 6th millennium BCE. Plovdiv has settlement traces including necropolises dating from the Neolithic era, roughly 6000–5000 BCE, like the mounds Yasa Tepe 1 in Philipovo district and Yasa Tepe 2 in Lauta park. Archaeologists have