Republic of Bulgaria is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is situated in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula and occupies 22% of its territory. Bulgaria neighbors with the Black Sea to the east, with Greece and Turkey to the south, Republic of Macedonia and Serbia to the west and Romania to the north. The total length of the state borders is 2,245 km, of which 1,181 km on the land, 686 km — river (mainly along the Danube river) and 378 km — sea.
The Bulgarian state has had its current borderlines since the 7-th century when the First Bulgarian State was founded (632/681–1018). It played a vital role in the distribution of Orthodox Christianity, literature and culture among the peoples in Eastern Europe. The Bulgarian alphabet created by the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius (known as the Cyrillic) has been used by many countries up to the present day.
Several centuries later with the collapse of the Second Bulgarian State (1185–1396/1422), the country was occupied by the Ottoman Empire and became part of it for five centuries. The Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878 resulted to the foundation of the Third Bulgarian State. After World War II the country became part of the Eastern Block dominated by the communist regime.
In 1990 Bulgaria restored its parliamentary democracy. The country has been a NATO member since 2004 and a EU member-state since 2007.
Brief information
Capital |
Sofia (42º39´ N, 23º16´ E) |
Area |
110 099 km² |
Population |
7.679 mln (2006) , 70.3% - urban population |
Official language |
Bulgarian |
Official religion |
Orthodox Christianity |
Main ethnical groups |
Bulgarian 83.9%, Turkish 9.4%, Gypsies 4.7%, 2% others (data from 2001 census) |
Type of government |
Parliamentary republic |
Head of state |
Elected directly by the population with a 5-year mandate |
Prime minister |
Appointed by the parliament with a 4-year mandate |
Parliament |
One chamber – National Assembly (240 members) with a 4-year mandate |
Phone area code |
+359 |
Time zone |
GMT + 2 h |
Local currency |
lev (BGN), 1 lev = 100 stotinki. The exchange rate of the lev is fixed to the rate of the euro, 1€ = 1.95583 BGN |
Prefix, code |
For goods produced in Bulgaria: 380 |
Internet domain |
.bg |