Location
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey
Total area
110 879 sq. km
Population
6 951 482 (2020)
Conditional reduction of currency
BGN
Climate, average max and min t°
Temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers; avg. maximum temperature (August) +28°; avg. minimum temperature (January) -2°
Time difference from Moscow
No
Ethnic groups
Bulgarian 83,9%, Turk 9,4%, Roma 4,7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian)
Literacy rate
94,4% (2019)
History
The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Northern Bulgaria attained autonomy in 1878 and all of Bulgaria became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1908. Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria 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 multiparty 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. The country joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007.
Government type
Parliamentary democracy
Executive branch
Head of Government: Prime Minister. Government: Council of Ministers appointed by the Prime Minister and elected by the People's Assembly
Legislative branch
Unicameral People's Assembly (240 seats)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court of Cassation, Supreme Administrative Court, appellate, circuit, military and district courts. Special courts outside the general jurisdiction system can also be created by law.
GDP per capita rank
65 (2020)
Corruption perceptions index rank
42 (2020)
