Plovdiv is sixth in the ranking of the world’s most congested cities, while Sofia is in 52nd place. The study was conducted by the TomTom agency, whose representatives have traveled 700 million kilometers across 62 countries on six continents. Mexico City ranks first, followed by Bangkok (Thailand), Davao City (Philipinnes), Kumamoto (Japan) and Bucharest (Romania). The data shows that the residents of Plovdiv spend three hours more in traffic congestion than the residents of Sofia, or 107 hours a year.

According to representatives of the Plovdiv Municipality, the city ranked high on the global list for traffic congestion because the study was conducted in 2022-2023, when many of the streets in Plovdiv were under renovation.