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Northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coastat Kaliakra, a long and narrow headland in the Southern Dobruja region.
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Flag of Bulgaria

Location map of Bulgaria

Bulgaria (Bulgarian: България), officially the Republic of Bulgaria, a unitary state on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe bordering the Black Sea in east. The country shares international borders with Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey.

The country occupies an area of 110,879 km², compared it is somewhat larger than Iceland (103,000 km²), or slightly larger than the U.S. state of Tennessee.

Bulgaria has a population of 7.15 million people (2015), capital and largest city is Sofia with 1.3 million inhabitants. Official language is Bulgarian, which is written in Cyrillic.

Republic of Bulgaria | Republika Bulgariya | Република България

Country Profile

Background:
Bulgaria earned its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, but having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, it fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's Republic in 1946.

Communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multi-party election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime.

Bulgaria became a NATO member state in 2004 and joined the EU on 1 January 2007.

Other countries in Southeast Europe: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia

Official Name:
Republika Bulgariya
short form: Bulgariya
int'l long form: Republic of Bulgaria
int'l short form: Bulgaria

ISO Country Code: bg, bgr

Time:
Time Zone: EET
Local Time = UTC +2h (summer +3)
Actual Time: Fri-Apr-19 10:45

Country Calling Code: +359

Capital City: Sofia (pop. 1.3 million)

Other Cities: Plovdiv (370 000), Varna (350 000).

Government:
Type: Parliamentary Republic.
Independence: 1908 (from the Ottoman Empire)

Geography:
Location: Southeast Europe
Area: 111,000 km² (42,857 sq. mi.)
Terrain: with large mountainous areas, fertile valleys, plains, coastline along the Black Sea.

Climate: Temperate continental, mild summers and cold, snowy winters.

People:
Nationality: Bulgarian
Population: 7.15 million (2015)
Ethnic Groups: Bulgarian 84%, Turkish 10%, Roma 5%.
Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox 83%, Muslim 12%,
Language: Bulgarian
Literacy: 98.6% male: 99.1% female

Natural resources: Bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land.

Agriculture products: Vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets.

Industries: Electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel.

Exports - commodities: clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels.

Exports partners: Germany 12.5%, Italy 9.2%, Turkey 8.5%, Romania 8.2%, Greece 6.5%, France 4.2% (2015)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials

Imports partners: Germany 12.9%, Russia 12%, Italy 7.6%, Romania 6.8%, Turkey 5.7%, Greece 4.8%, Spain 4.8% (2015)

Currency: Bulgarian Lev (BGN)

Note: External links will open in a new browser window.

Official Sites of Bulgaria

Republic of Bulgaria
The Government of the Republic of Bulgaria.

President of Bulgaria
Official website of the President of Bulgaria.

National Assembly of Republic of Bulgaria
Bulgaria's Parliament.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria
Official website of the ministry.

Diplomatic Missions
Bulgarian Embassies
Diplomatic Missions of Bulgaria Abroad.
Embassy of Bulgaria to the US
Washington D.C.
Bulgarian Embassy in London
The Bulgarian Embassy in London, UK.

Statistics
National Statistical Institute
Sofia

Weather
National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH)

Maps

Map of Bulgaria
Political Map of Bulgaria.

Google Earth Bulgaria
Searchable map/satellite view of Bulgaria.

Google Earth Sofia
Searchable map/satellite view of Sofia.

Map of Europe
Political Map of Europe.

Cathedral of the Assumption, Varna

Cathedral of the Assumption in Varna, the largest city and a seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast.
Image: © nationsonline.org

News

24 Chasa
Bulgarian news (in Bulgarian).
Bulgarian News Agency
BTA with news in English and Bulgarian.
BNN - Bulgarian News Network
Online news agency.
Capital (Капитал)
News and analysis from Bulgaria, politics and economics, financial information, lifestyle (in Bulgarian).
Dnevnik (Дневник)
Bulgarian news (in Bulgarian).
Focus News Agency
National and international news by Focus Information Agency.
News.bg
Tabloid style national and international news (in Bulgarian).
novinite.com
Sofia News Agency - Current national and international news.
Wirtschaftsblatt
Monthly Bulgarian and Southern Europe Business News (in German).

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Arts & Culture Kultura (Култура) Weekly art, culture and journalism magazine (in Bulgarian). Sofia MENAR Film Festival Sofia Middle East & North Africa Region Film Festival.	Sunny Beach, the other mayor seaside resort in Bulgaria © nationsonline.org

Business & Economy

Bulgaria was a former Communist country that entered the EU on 1 January 2007, it had an averaged more than 6% annual growth from 2004 to 2008, driven by significant amounts of bank lending, consumption, and foreign direct investment.

Corruption in public administration, a weak judiciary, and the presence of organized crime continue to hamper the country's investment climate and economic prospects.

Bulgarian National Bank
The Central Bank of Bulgaria, established in 1879.

Bulgarian Stock Exchange
The only functioning stock exchange in Bulgaria.

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Official website of the chamber.

Transportation
Airlines
Bulgaria Air
The national airline carrier of Bulgaria, based in Sofia.

Bulgaria International Airports
Sofia Airport
Site provides airport and flight information for departures and arrivals.
Bourgas Airport
Charter hub.
Varna Airport
The gateway to the Black Sea coast.

Rail
Bulgarian State Railways
Official website of Bulgarian State Railways - BDZ.

Ports
Port of Varna
Official website of Varna's port.

Beach at Golden Sands, a major seaside resort near Varna

Travel and Tour Consumer Information

Destination Bulgaria - Travel and Tour Guides

Discover Bulgaria: Black Sea, Danube, Golden Sands, Nessebar, Pirin, Sunny Beach, Strandja,
Links to accommodation, hotels, attractions, festivals, events, tourist boards, biking, hiking, climbing, cruising, diving, tours and much more.

BulgariaTravel.org
The Official Tourism site for Destination Bulgaria.

Discover Strandja
Discover the area of Strandja Mountain and National park.

Travel Bulgaria
A travel guide to Bulgaria.

Wonderland Bulgaria
Bulgaria - with its history, geography, population, and folklore.

Resorts
Golden Sands
Goldstrand, a Black Sea resort close to Varna.
Sunny Beach
The biggest Black Sea resort, Burgas, Bulgaria.

Cities:
Sofia
The Municipality of Sofia Capital City of Bulgaria.
Bourgas
Bourgas the city at Black Sea.
Plovdivguide
Tourism guide to the city of Plovdiv.
Varna
Official website of the the biggest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast (in Bulgarian).

Education

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Bulgaria, founded in 1869.

National Academy of Arts
The oldest and most renowned school of arts in Bulgaria.

New Bulgarian University
The first private university in Bulgaria is based in Sofia.

Paissii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv
Largest institution of higher education in southern Bulgaria.

Veliko Tarnovo University
The St. Cyril and St. Methodius University is with 18,000 students among the largest universities in the country.

Saint Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia.
The Sofia University is the oldest institution of higher education in Bulgaria, established in 1888.

Environment & Nature

Ministry of Environment and Water of Bulgaria
To preserve the natural heritage of Bulgaria and to ensure a healthy environment for the population.

Balkani Wildlife Society
Society for the conservation and restoration of flora and fauna in natural ecosystems.

BlueLink Information Network
Civil environmental gateway to Bulgaria.

NGObg.info
The Information Portal of Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) in Bulgaria.

Evromegdan
Bulgarian environmental web-portal on climate change and its impact on the environment.

Za Zemiata ("For the Earth")
One of the oldest Bulgarian environmental NGO's, determined to work for self-sustainable lifestyles and combating exploitation of people and nature (in Bulgarian).


History History and Culture Comprehensive information about Bulgaria's rich history. History of Bulgaria Comprehensive information about Bulgaria's rich history. An extract from the book "Bulgaria Illustrated History" by Dr. Bojidar Dimitrov (1995) National Museum of History The Bulgarian history. History of Bulgaria Wikipedia articles about Bulgaria's history.	Ancient Town of Nessebar, a world heritage site in south east of the country. © nationsonline.org


Additional Information on Bulgaria BBC Country Profile: Bulgaria U.S. Relations With Bulgaria GlobalEDGE: Bulgaria OEC: Bulgaria Open Directory Project: Bulgaria Wikipedia: Bulgaria The World Factbook -- Bulgaria