MENU
руский english hebrew
Tuesday, 10 december 2024,
Today : 9
Yesterday : 52
Total : 163992 for 5673 days
Daily average : 29
Top : 346 on 24.09.2024

Bulgaria

Bulgarian national flag                               Coat of arms

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