Bulgaria

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Coordinates: 42°41′51″N 23°19′21″E

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the country. For other uses,
see Bulgaria (disambiguation).

Republic of Bulgaria
Република България
Republika Bŭlgariya

Flag
 Coat of arms

Motto: Съединението прави силата

Sŭedinenieto pravi silata
("Unity makes strength")

Anthem: Мила Родино

"Mila Rodino"
("Dear Motherland")
Duration: 1 minute and 27 seconds.1:27

Location of Bulgaria (dark green)

– in Europe (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (green) –
[Legend]
Capital Sofia
and largest 42°41′51″N 23°19′21
city ″E
Official lan Bulgarian[1]
 guages
Official Cyrillic
script
Ethnic grou 84.6% Bulgarians
ps 8.4% Turks
(2021 4.4% Roma
census)[2] 2.6% other[note 1]
Religion
(2021 o 64.7% Christianity
census)[2]  62.7%
Bulgarian Orthodoxy
 2.0%
other Christian
15.9% no religion
9.8% Islam
0.1% other
9.5% unanswered
Demonym(s Bulgarian
)
Governmen Unitary parliamentary
t republic
• President Rumen Radev
• Vice Iliana Iotova
President
• Prime Dimitar Glavchev
Minister
• Chairperson Raya Nazaryan
of the
National
Assembly
 Legislature National Assembly
Establishment history
• 1st 681–1018
Bulgarian
Empire
• 2nd 1185–1396
Bulgarian
Empire
• Principality 3 March 1878
of Bulgaria
• Independenc 5 October 1908
e from
the Ottoman
Empire
• Monarchy 15 September 1946
abolished
Area
• Total 110,993.6[3] km2 (42,85
4.9 sq mi) (103rd)
• Water (%) 2.16[4]
Population
• 2023 6,385,500 (109th)
estimate
• Density 63/km2 (163.2/sq mi)
(154th)
GDP (PPP) 2023 estimate
• Total $216.499 billion[5] (7
3rd)
• Per capita $33,780[5] (55th)
GDP (nomin 2023 estimate
 al)
• Total $103.099 billion[5] (6
9th)
• Per capita $16,086[5] (60th)
Gini (2023) 37.2[6]
medium inequality
HDI (2022) 0.799[7]
high (70th)
Currency Lev (BGN)
Time zone UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DS UTC+3 (EEST)
T)
Calling +359
code
ISO 3166 BG
code
Internet .bg
TLD .бг

Bulgaria,[a] officially the Republic of Bulgaria,[b] is a

country in Southeast Europe. Located west of the Black
Sea and south of the Danube river, Bulgaria is bordered
by Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and North
Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north. It
covers a territory of 110,994 square kilometres
(42,855 sq mi) and is the 16th largest country in
Europe. Sofia is the nation's capital and largest city;
other major cities include Burgas, Plovdiv, and Varna.
One of the earliest societies in the lands of modern-day
Bulgaria was the Karanovo culture (6,500 BC). In the 6th
to 3rd century BC, the region was a battleground for
ancient Thracians, Persians, Celts and Macedonians;
stability came when the Roman Empire conquered the
region in AD 45. After the Roman state splintered, tribal
invasions in the region resumed. Around the 6th century,
these territories were settled by the early Slavs.
The Bulgars, led by Asparuh, attacked from the lands
of Old Great Bulgaria and permanently invaded the
Balkans in the late 7th century. They established
the First Bulgarian Empire, victoriously recognised by
treaty in 681 AD by the Byzantine Empire. It dominated
most of the Balkans and significantly
influenced Slavic cultures by developing the Cyrillic
script. The First Bulgarian Empire lasted until the early
11th century, when Byzantine emperor Basil
II conquered and dismantled it. A successful Bulgarian
revolt in 1185 established a Second Bulgarian Empire,
which reached its apex under Ivan Asen II (1218–1241).
After numerous exhausting wars and feudal strife, the
empire disintegrated and in 1396 fell under Ottoman rule
for nearly five centuries.
The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 resulted in the
formation of the third and current Bulgarian state, which
declared independence from the Ottoman Empire in
1908. Many ethnic Bulgarians were left outside the new
nation's borders, which stoked irredentist sentiments that
led to several conflicts with its neighbours and alliances
with Germany in both world wars. In 1946, Bulgaria
came under the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc and became
a socialist state. The ruling Communist Party gave up its
monopoly on power after the revolutions of 1989 and
allowed multiparty elections. Bulgaria then transitioned
into a democracy and a market-based economy. Since
adopting a democratic constitution in 1991, Bulgaria has
been a unitary parliamentary republic composed of 28
provinces, with a high degree of political, administrative,
and economic centralisation.
Bulgaria has a high-income economy. Its market
economy is part of the European Single Market and is
largely based on services, followed by industry—
especially machine building and mining—and agriculture.
The country faces a demographic crisis; its population
peaked at 9 million in 1989, and has since decreased to
under 6.4 million as of 2024. Bulgaria is a member of
the European Union, the Schengen Area, NATO, and
the Council of Europe. It is also a founding member of
the OSCE and has taken a seat on the United Nations
Security Council three times.
Etymology
The name Bulgaria is derived from the Bulgars, a tribe
of Turkic origin that founded the First Bulgarian Empire.
Their name is not completely understood and is difficult
to trace it back earlier than the 4th century AD,[8] but it is
possibly derived from the Proto-Turkic word bulģha ("to
mix", "shake", "stir") and its derivative bulgak ("revolt",
"disorder").[9] The meaning may be further extended to
"rebel", "incite" or "produce a state of disorder", and so,
in the derivative, the "disturbers".[10][11][12] Tribal groups
in Inner Asia with phonologically close names were
frequently described in similar terms, as the Buluoji, a
component of the "Five Barbarian" groups, which during
the 4th century were portrayed as both: a "mixed race"
and "troublemakers".[13]
History
Main article: History of Bulgaria
Prehistory and Antiquity
Further information: Prehistoric Europe, Old Europe
(archaeology), Neolithic Europe, Chalcolithic
Europe, Bronze Age Europe, Iron Age Europe, Odrysian
kingdom, Thracians, Greek colonisation, and Slavs

Odrysian golden wreath in the National

History Museum
Neanderthal remains dating to around 150,000 years
ago, or the Middle Paleolithic, are some of the earliest
traces of human activity in the lands of modern Bulgaria.
[14]
Remains from Homo sapiens found there are
dated c. 47,000 years BP. This result represents the
earliest arrival of modern humans in Europe.[15]
[16]
The Karanovo culture arose c. 6,500 BC and was one
of several Neolithic societies in the region that thrived
on agriculture.[17] The Copper Age Varna culture (fifth
millennium BC) is credited with inventing gold metallurgy.
[18][19]
The associated Varna Necropolis treasure contains
the oldest golden jewellery in the world with an
approximate age of over 6,000 years.[20][21] The treasure
has been valuable for understanding social hierarchy
and stratification in the earliest European societies.[22][23][24]
The Thracians, one of the three primary ancestral groups
of modern Bulgarians, appeared on the Balkan
Peninsula some time before the 12th century BC.[25][26]
[27]
The Thracians excelled in metallurgy and gave
the Greeks the Orphean and Dionysian cults, but
remained tribal and stateless.[28] The
Persian Achaemenid Empire conquered parts of present-
day Bulgaria (in particular eastern Bulgaria) in the 6th
century BC and retained control over the region until 479
BC.[29][30] The invasion became a catalyst for Thracian
unity, and the bulk of their tribes united under
king Teres to form the Odrysian kingdom in the 470s BC.
[28][30][31]
It was weakened and vassalised by Philip II of
Macedon in 341 BC,[32] attacked by Celts in the 3rd
century,[33] and finally became a province of the Roman
Empire in AD 45.[34]
By the end of the 1st century AD, Roman governance
was established over the entire Balkan Peninsula
and Christianity began spreading in the region around
the 4th century.[28] The Gothic Bible—the first Germanic
language book—was created by Gothic bishop Ulfilas in
what is today northern Bulgaria around 381.[35] The region
came under Byzantine control after the fall of Rome in
476. The Byzantines were engaged in prolonged warfare
against Persia and could not defend their Balkan
territories from barbarian incursions.[36] This enabled
the Slavs to enter the Balkan Peninsula as marauders,
primarily through an area between the Danube River and
the Balkan Mountains known as Moesia.[37] Gradually, the
interior of the peninsula became a country of the South
Slavs, who lived under a democracy.[38][39] The Slavs
assimilated the partially Hellenised, Romanised,
and Gothicised Thracians in the rural areas.[40][41][42][43]
First Bulgarian Empire
Main article: First Bulgarian Empire

Emperor Simeon I: The Morning Star

of Slavonic Literature, The Slav Epic cycle by Alfons
Mucha
Not long after the Slavic incursion, Moesia was once
again invaded, this time by
the Bulgars under Khan Asparukh.[44] Their horde was a
remnant of Old Great Bulgaria, an extinct tribal
confederacy situated north of the Black Sea in what is
now Ukraine and southern Russia. Asparukh attacked
Byzantine territories in Moesia and conquered the Slavic
tribes there in 680.[26] A peace treaty with the Byzantine
Empire was signed in 681, marking the foundation of
the First Bulgarian Empire. The minority Bulgars formed
a close-knit ruling caste.[45]
Succeeding rulers strengthened the Bulgarian state
throughout the 8th and 9th centuries. Krum introduced a
written code of law[46] and checked a major Byzantine
incursion at the Battle of Pliska, in which Byzantine
emperor Nicephorus I was killed.[47] Boris I abolished
paganism in favour of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in
864. The conversion was followed by a Byzantine
recognition of the Bulgarian church[48] and the adoption of
the Cyrillic alphabet, developed in the capital, Preslav.
[49]
The common language, religion and script
strengthened central authority and gradually fused the
Slavs and Bulgars into a unified people speaking a
single Slavic language.[50][49] A golden age began during
the 34-year rule of Simeon the Great, who oversaw the
largest territorial expansion of the state.[51]
After Simeon's death, Bulgaria was weakened by wars
with Magyars and Pechenegs and the spread of
the Bogomil heresy.[50][52] Preslav was seized by the
Byzantine army in 971 after consecutive Rus' and
Byzantine invasions.[50] The empire briefly recovered from
the attacks under Samuil,[53] but this ended when
Byzantine emperor Basil II defeated the Bulgarian army
at Klyuch in 1014. Samuil died shortly after the battle,
[54]
and by 1018 the Byzantines had conquered the First
Bulgarian Empire.[55] After the conquest, Basil II
prevented revolts by retaining the rule of local nobility,
integrating them in Byzantine bureaucracy and
aristocracy, and relieving their lands of the obligation to
pay taxes in gold, allowing tax in kind instead.[56]
[57]
The Bulgarian Patriarchate was reduced to
an archbishopric, but retained its autocephalous
status and its dioceses.[57][56]
Second Bulgarian Empire
Main article: Second Bulgarian Empire

The walls of Tsarevets

fortress in Veliko Tarnovo, the capital of the second
empire
Byzantine domestic policies changed after Basil's death
and a series of unsuccessful rebellions broke out, the
largest being led by Peter Delyan. The empire's authority
declined after a catastrophic military defeat at
Manzikert against Seljuk invaders, and was further
disturbed by the Crusades. This prevented Byzantine
attempts at Hellenisation and created fertile ground for
further revolt. In 1185, Asen dynasty nobles Ivan Asen
I and Peter IV organised a major uprising and succeeded
in re-establishing the Bulgarian state. Ivan Asen and
Peter laid the foundations of the Second Bulgarian
Empire with its capital at Tarnovo.[58]
Kaloyan, the third of the Asen monarchs, extended his
dominion to Belgrade and Ohrid. He acknowledged the
spiritual supremacy of the pope and received a royal
crown from a papal legate.[59] The empire reached its
zenith under Ivan Asen II (1218–1241), when its borders
expanded as far as the coast of Albania, Serbia
and Epirus, while commerce and culture flourished.[59]
[58]
Ivan Asen's rule was also marked by a shift away from
Rome in religious matters.[60]
The Asen dynasty became extinct in 1257. Internal
conflicts and incessant Byzantine and Hungarian attacks
followed, enabling the Mongols to establish
suzerainty over the weakened Bulgarian state.[59][60] In
1277, swineherd Ivaylo led a great peasant revolt that
expelled the Mongols from Bulgaria and briefly made him
emperor.[61][58] He was overthrown in 1280 by the feudal
landlords,[61] whose factional conflicts caused the Second
Bulgarian Empire to disintegrate into small feudal
dominions by the 14th century.[58] These
fragmented rump states—two tsardoms
at Vidin and Tarnovo and the Despotate of Dobrudzha—
became easy prey for a new threat arriving from the
Southeast: the Ottoman Turks.[59]
Ottoman rule
Main article: Ottoman Bulgaria
 The Battle of Nicopolis in 1396 marked
the end of medieval Bulgarian statehood.
The Ottomans were employed as mercenaries by the
Byzantines in the 1340s, but later became invaders in
their own right.[62] Sultan Murad I took Adrianople from the
Byzantines in 1362; Sofia fell in 1382, followed
by Shumen in 1388.[62] The Ottomans completed their
conquest of Bulgarian lands in 1393 when Tarnovo was
sacked after a three-month siege and the Battle of
Nicopolis which brought about the fall of the Vidin
Tsardom in 1396. Sozopol was the last Bulgarian
settlement to fall, in 1453.[63] The Bulgarian nobility was
subsequently eliminated and the peasantry
was enserfed to Ottoman masters,[62] while much of the
educated clergy fled to other countries.[64]
Bulgarians were subjected to heavy taxes
(including Devshirme, or blood tax), their culture was
suppressed,[64] and they experienced partial Islamisation.
[65]
Ottoman authorities established a religious
administrative community called the Rum Millet, which
governed all Orthodox Christians regardless of their
ethnicity.[66] Most of the local population then gradually
lost its distinct national consciousness, identifying only
by its faith.[67][68] The clergy remaining in some isolated
monasteries kept their ethnic identity alive, enabling its
survival in remote rural areas,[69] and in the
militant Catholic community in the northwest of the
country.[70]
As Ottoman power began to wane, Habsburg
Austria and Russia saw Bulgarian Christians as potential
allies. The Austrians first backed an uprising in Tarnovo
in 1598, then a second one in 1686, the Chiprovtsi
Uprising in 1688 and finally Karposh's rebellion in 1689.
[71]
The Russian Empire also asserted itself as a protector
of Christians in Ottoman lands with the Treaty of Küçük
Kaynarca in 1774.[71]

The Russo-Bulgarian defence of

Shipka Pass in 1877
The Western European Enlightenment in the 18th
century influenced the initiation of a national awakening
of Bulgaria.[62] It restored national consciousness and
provided an ideological basis for the liberation struggle,
resulting in the April Uprising of 1876. Up to 30,000
Bulgarians were killed as Ottoman authorities put down
the rebellion. The massacres prompted the Great
Powers to take action.[72] They convened
the Constantinople Conference in 1876, but their
decisions were rejected by the Ottomans. This allowed
the Russian Empire to seek a military solution without
risking confrontation with other Great Powers, as had
happened in the Crimean War.[72] In 1877, Russia
declared war on the Ottomans and defeated them with
the help of Bulgarian rebels, particularly during the
crucial Battle of Shipka Pass which secured Russian
control over the main road to Constantinople.[73][74]
Third Bulgarian state
Main articles: History of Bulgaria (1878–1946), People's
Republic of Bulgaria, and History of Bulgaria since 1989

Borders of Bulgaria according to

the preliminary Treaty of San Stefano
The Treaty of San Stefano was signed on 3 March 1878
by Russia and the Ottoman Empire. It was to set up an
autonomous Bulgarian principality
spanning Moesia, Macedonia and Thrace, roughly on the
territories of the Second Bulgarian Empire,[75][76] and this
day is now a public holiday called National Liberation
Day.[77] The other Great Powers immediately rejected the
treaty out of fear that such a large country in
the Balkans might threaten their interests. It was
superseded by the Treaty of Berlin, signed on 13 July. It
provided for a much smaller state, the Principality of
Bulgaria, only comprising Moesia and the region
of Sofia, and leaving large populations of ethnic
Bulgarians outside the new country.[75][78] This significantly
contributed to Bulgaria's militaristic foreign affairs
approach during the first half of the 20th century.[79]
The Bulgarian principality won a war against Serbia and
incorporated the semi-autonomous Ottoman territory
of Eastern Rumelia in 1885, proclaiming itself an
independent state on 5 October 1908.[80] In the years
following independence, Bulgaria increasingly militarised
and was often referred to as "the Balkan Prussia".[81] It
became involved in three consecutive conflicts between
1912 and 1918—two Balkan Wars and World War I.
After a disastrous defeat in the Second Balkan War,
Bulgaria again found itself fighting on the losing side as a
result of its alliance with the Central Powers in World
War I. Despite fielding more than a quarter of its
population in a 1,200,000-strong army[82][83] and achieving
several decisive victories at Doiran and Monastir, the
country capitulated in 1918. The war resulted in
significant territorial losses and a total of 87,500 soldiers
killed.[84] More than 253,000 refugees from the lost
territories immigrated to Bulgaria from 1912 to 1929,
[85]
placing additional strain on the already ruined national
economy.[86]
Between 19 October 1925 and 29 October 1925,
the Incident at Petrich, nicknamed "the War of the Stray
Dog" occurred, which was a minor armed conflict.
Greece invaded Bulgaria, after the killing of a Greek
captain and sentry by Bulgarian soldiers. The conflict
was settled by the League of Nations, and resulted in a
Bulgarian diplomatic victory. The League ordered a
ceasefire, Greek troops to withdraw from Bulgaria and
Greece to pay £45,000 to Bulgaria.

Tsar Boris III

The resulting political unrest led to the establishment of a
royal authoritarian dictatorship by Tsar Boris III (1918–
1943). Bulgaria entered World War II in 1941 as a
member of the Axis but declined to participate
in Operation Barbarossa and saved its Jewish
population from deportation to concentration camps.
[87]
The sudden death of Boris III in mid-1943 pushed the
country into political turmoil as the war turned against
Germany, and the communist guerrilla movement gained
momentum. The government of Bogdan
Filov subsequently failed to achieve peace with the
Allies. Bulgaria did not comply with Soviet demands to
expel German forces from its territory, resulting in a
declaration of war and an invasion by the USSR in
September 1944.[88] The communist-
dominated Fatherland Front took power, ended
participation in the Axis and joined the Allied side until
the war ended.[89] Bulgaria suffered little war damage and
the Soviet Union demanded no reparations. But all
wartime territorial gains, with the notable exception
of Southern Dobrudzha, were lost.[90]

Georgi Dimitrov, leader of the Bulgarian

Communist Party from 1946 to 1949
The left-wing coup d'état of 9 September 1944 led to the
abolition of the monarchy and the executions of some
1,000–3,000 dissidents, war criminals, and members of
the former royal elite.[91][92][93] But it was not until 1946 that
a one-party people's republic was instituted following a
referendum.[94] It fell into the Soviet sphere of influence
under the leadership of Georgi Dimitrov (1946–1949),
who established a repressive, rapidly
industrialising Stalinist state.[90] By the mid-1950s,
standards of living rose significantly and political
repression eased.[95][96] The Soviet-style planned
economy saw some experimental market-oriented
policies emerging under Todor Zhivkov (1954–1989).
[97]
Compared to wartime levels, national GDP increased
five-fold and per capita GDP quadrupled by the 1980s,
[98]
although severe debt spikes took place in 1960, 1977
and 1980.[99] Zhivkov's daughter Lyudmila bolstered
national pride by promoting Bulgarian heritage, culture
and arts worldwide.[100] Facing declining birth rates among
the ethnic Bulgarian majority, Zhivkov's government in
1984 forced the minority ethnic Turks to adopt Slavic
names in an attempt to erase their identity and assimilate
them.[101] These policies resulted in the emigration of
some 300,000 ethnic Turks to Turkey.[102][103]
The Communist Party was forced to give up its political
monopoly on 10 November 1989 under the influence of
the Revolutions of 1989. Zhivkov resigned and Bulgaria
embarked on a transition to a parliamentary democracy.
[104]
The first free elections in June 1990 were won by the
Communist Party, now rebranded as the Bulgarian
Socialist Party.[105] A new constitution that provided for a
relatively weak elected president and for a prime minister
accountable to the legislature was adopted in July 1991.
[106]
The new system initially failed to improve living
standards or create economic growth—the average
quality of life and economic performance remained lower
than under communism well into the early 2000s.[107] After
2001, economic, political and geopolitical conditions
improved greatly,[108] and Bulgaria achieved high Human
Development status in 2003.[109] It became a member
of NATO in 2004[110] and participated in the War in
Afghanistan. After several years of reforms, it joined
the European Union and the single market in 2007,
despite EU concerns over government corruption.
[111]
Bulgaria hosted the 2018 Presidency of the Council of
the European Union at the National Palace of Culture
in Sofia.[112]
Geography
Main article: Geography of Bulgaria

Topography of Bulgaria

Rila, the highest mountain range in

the Balkans and Southeast Europe
Bulgaria is a middle-sized country situated in
Southeastern Europe, in the east of the Balkans. Its
territory covers an area of 110,994 square kilometres
(42,855 sq mi), while land borders with its five
neighbouring countries run a total length of 1,808
kilometres (1,123 mi), and its coastline is 354 kilometres
(220 mi) long.[113] Bulgaria's geographic coordinates
are 43° N 25° E.[114] The most
notable topographical features of the country are
the Danubian Plain, the Balkan Mountains, the Thracian
Plain, and the Rila-Rhodope massif.[113] The southern
edge of the Danubian Plain slopes upward into the
foothills of the Balkans, while the Danube defines the
border with Romania. The Thracian Plain is roughly
triangular, beginning southeast of Sofia and broadening
as it reaches the Black Sea coast.[113]
The Balkan mountains run laterally through the middle of
the country from west to east. The mountainous
southwest has two distinct alpine type ranges—
Rila and Pirin, which border the lower but more
extensive Rhodope Mountains to the east, and various
medium altitude mountains to west, northwest and south,
like Vitosha, Osogovo and Belasitsa.[113] Musala, at 2,925
metres (9,596 ft), is the highest point in both Bulgaria
and the Balkans. The Black Sea coast is the country's
lowest point.[114] Plains occupy about one third of the
territory, while plateaux and hills occupy 41%.[115] Most
rivers are short and with low water levels. The longest
river located solely in Bulgarian territory, the Iskar, has a
length of 368 kilometres (229 mi). The Struma and
the Maritsa are two major rivers in the south.[116][113]
Climate
Bulgaria has a varied and changeable climate, which
results from being positioned at the meeting point of
the Mediterranean, Oceanic and Continental air masses
combined with the barrier effect of its mountains.
[113]
Northern Bulgaria averages 1 °C (1.8 °F) cooler, and
registers 200 millimetres (7.9 in) more precipitation, than
the regions south of the Balkan mountains. Temperature
amplitudes vary significantly in different areas. The
lowest recorded temperature is −38.3 °C (−36.9 °F),
while the highest is 45.2 °C (113.4 °F).
[117]
Precipitation averages about 630 millimetres (24.8 in)
per year, and varies from 500 millimetres (19.7 in)
in Dobrudja to more than 2,500 millimetres (98.4 in) in
the mountains. Continental air masses bring significant
amounts of snowfall during winter.[118]

Köppen climate types of

Bulgaria
Considering its relatively small area, Bulgaria has
variable and complex climate. The country occupies the
southernmost part of the continental climatic zone, with
small areas in the south falling within the Mediterranean
climatic zone.[119] The continental zone is predominant,
because continental air masses flow easily into the
unobstructed Danubian Plain. The continental influence,
stronger during the winter, produces abundant snowfall;
the Mediterranean influence increases during the second
half of summer and produces hot and dry weather.
Bulgaria is subdivided into five climatic zones:
continental zone (Danubian Plain, Pre-Balkan and the
higher valleys of the Transitional geomorphological
region); transitional zone (Upper Thracian Plain, most of
the Struma and Mesta valleys, the lower Sub-Balkan
valleys); continental-Mediterranean zone (the
southernmost areas of the Struma and Mesta valleys,
the eastern Rhodope Mountains, Sakar and Strandzha);
Black Sea zone along the coastline with an average
length of 30–40 km inland; and alpine zone in the
mountains above 1000 m altitude (central Balkan
Mountains, Rila, Pirin, Vitosha, western Rhodope
Mountains, etc.).[120]
Biodiversity and conservation

Belogradchik
Rocks are among Bulgaria's numerous protected areas
The interaction of climatic, hydrological, geological and
topographical conditions has produced a relatively wide
variety of plant and animal species.
[121]
Bulgaria's biodiversity, one of the richest in Europe,
[122]
is conserved in three national parks, 11 nature parks,
10 biosphere reserves and 565 protected areas.[123][124]
[125]
Ninety-three of the 233 mammal species of Europe
are found in Bulgaria, along with 49% of butterfly and
30% of vascular plant species.[126] Overall, 41,493 plant
and animal species are present.[126] Larger mammals with
sizable populations include deer (106,323
individuals), wild boar (88,948), golden jackal (47,293)
and red fox (32,326). Partridges number some 328,000
individuals, making them the most widespread gamebird.
 A third of all nesting birds in Bulgaria can be found
[127]

in Rila National Park, which also hosts Arctic and alpine

species at high altitudes.[128] Flora includes more than
3,800 vascular plant species of which 170
are endemic and 150 are considered endangered.[121] A
checklist of larger fungi in Bulgaria by the Institute of
Botany identifies more than 1,500 species.[129] More than
35% of the land area is covered by forests.[130]
In 1998, the Bulgarian government adopted the National
Biological Diversity Conservation Strategy, a
comprehensive programme seeking the preservation of
local ecosystems, protection of endangered species and
conservation of genetic resources.[131] Bulgaria has some
of the largest Natura 2000 areas in Europe covering
33.8% of its territory.[132] It also achieved its Kyoto
Protocol objective of reducing carbon dioxide
emissions by 30% from 1990 to 2009.[133]
Bulgaria ranks 30th in the 2018 Environmental
Performance Index, but scores low on air quality.
[134]
Particulate levels are the highest in Europe,
[135]
especially in urban areas affected by automobile
traffic and coal-based power stations.[136][137] One of these,
the lignite-fired Maritsa Iztok-2 station, is causing the
highest damage to health and the environment in the
European Union.[138] Pesticide use in agriculture and
antiquated industrial sewage systems produce extensive
soil and water pollution.[139] Water quality began to
improve in 1998 and has maintained a trend of moderate
improvement. Over 75% of surface rivers meet European
standards for good quality.[140]
Politics
Main article: Politics of Bulgaria

Independence Square in Sofia: The

headquarters of the Presidency (right), the National
Assembly (centre) and the Council of Ministers (left).
Bulgaria is a parliamentary democracy where the prime
minister is the head of government and the most
powerful executive position.[108] The political system has
three branches—legislative, executive and judicial,
with universal suffrage for citizens at least 18 years old.
The Constitution also provides possibilities of direct
democracy, namely petitions and national referendums.
[141]
Elections are supervised by an independent Central
Election Commission that includes members from all
major political parties. Parties must register with the
commission prior to participating in a national election.
[142]
Normally, the prime minister-elect is the leader of the
party receiving the most votes in parliamentary elections,
although this is not always the case.[108]
Unlike the prime minister, presidential domestic power is
more limited. The directly elected president serves
as head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed
forces, and has the authority to return a bill for further
debate, although the parliament can override
the presidential veto by a simple majority vote.[108] Political
parties gather in the National Assembly, a body of 240
deputies elected to four-year terms by direct popular
vote. The National Assembly has the power to enact
laws, approve the budget, schedule presidential
elections, select and dismiss the prime minister and
other ministers, declare war, deploy troops abroad, and
ratify international treaties and agreements.[143]

Rumen Radev
President

Overall, Bulgaria displays a pattern of unstable

governments.[144] Boyko Borisov, the leader of the centre-
right, pro-EU party GERB, served three terms as prime
minister between 2009 and 2021. It won the 2009
general election and formed a minority government,
[145]
which resigned in February 2013 after nationwide
protests over the low living standards, corruption[146] and
the perceived failure of the democratic system.[147] The
subsequent snap elections in May resulted in a narrow
win for GERB,[148] but the Bulgarian Socialist
Party eventually formed a government led by Plamen
Oresharski after Borisov failed to secure parliamentary
support.[149][150] The Oresharski government resigned in
July 2014 amid continuing large-scale protests.[151]
[152]
The October 2014 elections resulted in a third GERB
victory.[153] Borisov formed a coalition[154] with several right-
wing parties, but resigned again after the candidate
backed by his party failed to win the 2016 Presidential
election. The March 2017 snap election was again won
by GERB, but with 95 seats in Parliament. They formed
a coalition with the far-right United Patriots, who held 27
seats.[155]
Borisov's last cabinet saw a dramatic decrease in
freedom of the press, and a number of corruption
revelations that triggered yet another wave of mass
protests in 2020.[156][157] GERB came out first in the
regular April 2021 election, but with its weakest result so
far.[158] All other parties refused to form a government,
[159]
and after a brief deadlock, another election was
called for July 2021. It too failed to break the stalemate,
as no political party was able to form a coalition
government.[160]
In April 2023, because of the political deadlock, Bulgaria
held its fifth parliamentary election since April 2021.
GERB was the biggest, winning 69 seats. The bloc led
by We Continue the Change won 64 seats in the 240-
seat parliament. In June 2023, Prime Minister Nikolai
Denkov formed a new coalition between We Continue
The Change and GERB. According to the coalition
agreement, Denkov will lead the government for the first
nine months. He will be succeeded by former European
Commissioner, Mariya Gabriel, of the GERB party. She
will take over as prime minister after nine months.[161]
Freedom House has reported a continuing deterioration
of democratic governance after 2009, citing reduced
media independence, stalled reforms, abuse of authority
at the highest level and increased dependence of local
administrations on the central government.[162] Bulgaria is
still listed as "Free", with a political system designated as
a semi-consolidated democracy, albeit with deteriorating
scores.[162] The Democracy Index defines it as a "Flawed
democracy".[163] A 2018 survey by the Institute for
Economics and Peace reported that less than 15% of
respondents considered elections to be fair.[164]
Legal system
Bulgaria has a civil law legal system.[165] The judiciary is
overseen by the Ministry of Justice. The Supreme
Administrative Court and the Supreme Court of
Cassation are the highest courts of appeal and oversee
the application of laws in subordinate courts.[142] The
Supreme Judicial Council manages the system and
appoints judges. The legal system is regarded by both
domestic and international observers as one of Europe's
most inefficient due to a pervasive lack of transparency
and corruption.[166][167][168][169] Law enforcement is carried out
by organisations mainly subordinate to the Ministry of the
Interior.[170] The General Directorate of National
Police (GDNP) combats general crime and maintains
public order.[171] GDNP fields 26,578 police officers in its
local and national sections.[172] The bulk of criminal cases
are transport-related, followed by theft and drug-related
crime; homicide rates are low.[173] The Ministry of the
Interior also heads the Border Police Service and
the National Gendarmerie—a specialised branch for anti-
terrorist activity, crisis management and riot control.
Counterintelligence and national security are the
responsibility of the State Agency for National Security.
[174]

Administrative divisions
Main articles: Provinces of Bulgaria and Municipalities of
Bulgaria
Bulgaria is a unitary state.[175] Since the 1880s, the
number of territorial management units has varied from
seven to 26.[176] Between 1987 and 1999, the
administrative structure consisted of nine provinces
(oblasti, singular oblast). A new administrative structure
was adopted in parallel with the decentralisation of the
economic system.[177] It includes 27 provinces and a
metropolitan capital province (Sofia-Grad). All areas take
their names from their respective capital cities. The
provinces are subdivided into 265 municipalities.
Municipalities are run by mayors, who are elected to
four-year terms, and by directly elected municipal
councils. Bulgaria is a highly centralised state where
the Council of Ministers directly appoints regional
governors and all provinces and municipalities are
heavily dependent on it for funding.[142]
 1. Blagoe 10. P 19. S
vgrad azard molya
2. Burgas zhik n
3. Dobric 11. P 20. S
h ernik ofia
4. Gabrov 12. P Provin
o leven ce
5. Haskov 13. P 21. S
o lovdi tara
6. Kardzh v Zagor
ali 14. R a
7. Kyuste azgra 22. T
ndil d argovi
8. Lovech 15. R shte
9. Monta use 23. V
na 16. S arna
hume 24. V
n eliko
17. S Tarno
ilistra vo
18. S 25. V
liven idin
26. V
ratsa
27. Y
ambol
Foreign relations
Main article: Foreign relations of Bulgaria
 Mikoyan MiG-29 jet fighters of
the Bulgarian Air Force
Bulgaria became a member of the United Nations in
1955. Since 1966, it has been a non-permanent member
of the Security Council three times, most recently from
2002 to 2003.[178] It was also among the founding nations
of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE) in 1975. Euro-Atlantic integration has
been a priority since the fall of communism, although the
communist leadership also had aspirations of leaving
the Warsaw Pact and joining the European
Communities by 1987.[179][180] Bulgaria signed the
European Union Treaty of Accession on 25 April 2005,
[181]
and became a full member of the European Union on
1 January 2007.[111] In addition, it has a tripartite
economic and diplomatic collaboration with Romania and
Greece,[182] good ties with China[183] and Vietnam[184] and a
historical relationship with Russia.[185]
Bulgaria deployed significant numbers of both civilian
and military advisors in Soviet-allied countries
like Nicaragua[186] and Libya during the Cold War.[187] The
first deployment of foreign troops on Bulgarian soil since
World War II occurred in 2001, when the country hosted
six KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft and 200 support
personnel for the war effort in Afghanistan.
 International military relations were further expanded
[23]

with accession to NATO in March 2004[110] and the US-

Bulgarian Defence Cooperation Agreement signed in
April 2006. Bezmer and Graf Ignatievo air bases,
the Novo Selo training range, and a logistics centre
in Aytos subsequently became joint military training
facilities cooperatively used by the United States and
Bulgarian militaries.[188][189] Despite its active international
defence collaborations, Bulgaria ranks as among the
most peaceful countries globally, tying 6th alongside
Iceland regarding domestic and international conflicts,
and 26th on average in the Global Peace Index.[190]
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,
Bulgaria decided to assist Ukraine;[191] in 2023, after
Gazprom illegally stopped exporting gas to Bulgaria, the
country in turn stopped importing Russian oil and gas.[192]
Military
Main article: Bulgarian Armed Forces
The Bulgarian Armed Forces are the military of Bulgaria
and are composed of land forces, navy and an air force.
The Armed Forces have 36,950 active troops,
supplemented by 3,000 reservists.[193] The land forces
consist of two mechanised brigades and eight
independent regiments and battalions; the air force
operates 106 aircraft and air defence systems across six
air bases, and the navy operates various ships,
helicopters and coastal defence weapons.[194] Military
inventory mainly consists of Soviet equipment
like Mikoyan MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-25 jets,[195] S-
300PT air defence systems[196] and SS-21 Scarab short-
range ballistic missiles.[197] The Armed Forces are
modernizing with F-16 Block 70 fighter jets, new multi-
purpose corvettes and other modern NATO-standard
equipment. Bulgaria is in the process of buying new US-
built Stryker vehicles, new 155 mm self-propelled
howitzers, new 3D early-warning radars, new surface-to-
air missiles and more.[198]
Economy
Main article: Economy of Bulgaria

Economic
growth (green) and unemployment (blue) statistics since
2001
Bulgaria has an open, high-income range market
economy where the private sector accounts for more
than 70% of GDP.[199][200] From a largely agricultural
country with a predominantly rural population in 1948, by
the 1980s Bulgaria had transformed into an industrial
economy, with scientific and technological research at
the top of its budgetary expenditure priorities.[201] The loss
of COMECON markets in 1990 and the subsequent
"shock therapy" of the planned system caused a steep
decline in industrial and agricultural production,
ultimately followed by an economic collapse in 1997.[202]
[203]
The economy largely recovered during a period of
rapid growth several years later,[202] but the average
salary of 2,072 leva ($1,142) per month remains the
lowest in the EU.[204]
A balanced budget was achieved in 2003 and the
country began running a surplus the following year.
[205]
Expenditures amounted to $21.15 billion and
revenues were $21.67 billion in 2017.[206] Most
government spending on institutions is earmarked for
security. The ministries of defence, the interior and
justice are allocated the largest share of the annual
government budget, whereas those responsible for the
environment, tourism and energy receive the least
funding.[207] Taxes form the bulk of government
revenue[207] at 30% of GDP.[208] Bulgaria has some of the
lowest corporate income tax rates in the EU at a flat 10%
rate.[209] The tax system is two-tier. Value added
tax, excise duties, corporate and personal income tax
are national, whereas real estate, inheritance, and
vehicle taxes are levied by local authorities.[210] Strong
economic performance in the early 2000s
reduced government debt from 79.6% in 1998 to 14.1%
in 2008.[205] It has since increased to 22.6% of GDP by
2022, but remains the second lowest in the EU.[211]
 A business park in Sofia, the nation's

largest economic hub An electronics

factory in Trakia Economic Zone near Plovdiv
The Yugozapaden planning area is the most developed
region with a per capita gross domestic product (PPP) of
$29,816 in 2018.[212] It includes the capital city and the
surrounding Sofia Province, which alone generate 42%
of national gross domestic product despite hosting only
22% of the population.[213][214] GDP per capita (in PPS) and
the cost of living in 2019 stood at 53 and 52.8% of the
EU average (100%), respectively.[215][216] National PPP
GDP was estimated at $143.1 billion in 2016, with a per
capita value of $20,116.[217] Economic growth statistics
take into account illegal transactions from the informal
economy, which is the largest in the EU as a percentage
of economic output.[218][219] The Bulgarian National
Bank issues the national currency, lev, which is pegged
to the euro at a rate of 1.95583 levа per euro.[220]
After several consecutive years of high growth,
repercussions of the financial crisis of 2007–
2008 resulted in a 3.6% contraction of GDP in 2009 and
increased unemployment.[221][222] Positive growth was
restored in 2010 but intercompany debt exceeded $59
billion, meaning that 60% of all Bulgarian companies
were mutually indebted.[223] By 2012, it had increased to
$97 billion, or 227% of GDP.[224] The government
implemented strict austerity measures with IMF and EU
encouragement to some positive fiscal results, but the
social consequences of these measures, such as
increased income inequality and accelerated outward
migration, have been "catastrophic" according to
the International Trade Union Confederation.[225]
Siphoning of public funds to the families and relatives of
politicians from incumbent parties has resulted in fiscal
and welfare losses to society.[226][227] Bulgaria ranks 71st in
the Corruption Perceptions Index[228] and experiences the
worst levels of corruption in the European Union, a
phenomenon that remains a source of profound public
discontent.[229][230] Along with organised crime, corruption
has resulted in a rejection of the country's Schengen
Area application and withdrawal of foreign investment.[231]
[232][233]
Government officials reportedly engage in
embezzlement, influence trading, government
procurement violations and bribery with impunity.
[234]
Government procurement in particular is a critical
area in corruption risk. An estimated 10 billion leva
($5.99 billion) of state budget and European
cohesion funds are spent on public tenders each year;
[235]
nearly 14 billion ($8.38 billion) were spent on public
contracts in 2017 alone.[236] A large share of these
contracts are awarded to a few politically
connected[237] companies amid widespread irregularities,
procedure violations and tailor-made award criteria.
[238]
Despite repeated criticism from the European
Commission,[233] EU institutions refrain from taking
measures against Bulgaria because it supports Brussels
on a number of issues, unlike Poland or Hungary.[229]
Structure and sectors
The labour force is 3.36 million people,[239] of whom 6.8%
are employed in agriculture, 26.6% in industry and
66.6% in the services sector.[240] Extraction of metals and
minerals, production of chemicals, machine building,
steel, biotechnology, tobacco, food processing
and petroleum refining are among the major industrial
activities.[241][242][243] Mining alone employs 24,000 people
and generates about 5% of the country's GDP; the
number of employed in all mining-related industries is
120,000.[244][245] Bulgaria is Europe's fifth-largest coal
producer.[245][246] Local deposits of coal, iron, copper and
lead are vital for the manufacturing and energy sectors.
[247]
The main destinations of Bulgarian exports outside
the EU are Turkey, China and Serbia, while Russia,
Turkey and China are by far the largest import partners.
Most of the exports are manufactured goods, machinery,
chemicals, fuel products and food.[248] Two-thirds of food
and agricultural exports go to OECD countries.[249]
Although cereal and vegetable output dropped by 40%
between 1990 and 2008,[250] output in grains has since
increased, and the 2016–2017 season registered the
biggest grain output in a decade.[251]
[252]
Maize, barley, oats and rice are also grown.
Quality Oriental tobacco is a significant industrial crop.
[253]
Bulgaria is also the largest producer globally
of lavender and rose oil, both widely used in fragrances.
[23][254][255][256]
Within the services sector, tourism is a
significant contributor to economic
growth. Sofia, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo, coastal
resorts Albena, Golden Sands and Sunny Beach and
winter resorts Bansko, Pamporovo and Borovets are
some of the locations most visited by tourists.[257][258] Most
visitors are Romanian, Turkish, Greek and German.
[259]
Tourism is additionally encouraged through the 100
Tourist Sites system.[260]
Science and technology
Main article: Science and technology in Bulgaria

The launch of BulgariaSat-1 by SpaceX

Spending on research and development amounts to
0.78% of GDP,[261] and the bulk of public R&D funding
goes to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS).
 Private businesses accounted for more than 73% of
[262]

R&D expenditures and employed 42% of Bulgaria's

22,000 researchers in 2015.[263] The same year, Bulgaria
ranked 39th out of 50 countries in the Bloomberg
Innovation Index, the highest score being in education
(24th) and the lowest in value-added manufacturing
(48th).[264] Bulgaria was ranked 38th in the Global
Innovation Index in 2023.[265] Chronic government
underinvestment in research since 1990 has forced
many professionals in science and engineering to leave
Bulgaria.[266]
Despite the lack of funding, research in
chemistry, materials science and physics remains strong.
[262]
Antarctic research is actively carried out through
the St. Kliment Ohridski Base on Livingston
Island in Western Antarctica.[267][268] The information and
communication technologies (ICT) sector generates
three per cent of economic output and employs
40,000[269] to 51,000 software engineers.[270] Bulgaria was
known as a "Communist Silicon Valley" during the Soviet
era due to its key role in COMECON computing
technology production.[271] A concerted effort by the
communist government to teach computing and IT skills
in schools also indirectly made Bulgaria a major source
of computer viruses in the 1980s and 90s.[272] The country
is a regional leader in high performance computing: it
operates Avitohol, the most powerful supercomputer in
Southeast Europe, and will host one of the
eight petascale EuroHPC supercomputers.[273][274]
Bulgaria has made numerous contributions to space
exploration.[275] These include two scientific satellites,
more than 200 payloads and 300 experiments in Earth
orbit, as well as two cosmonauts since 1971.[275] Bulgaria
was the first country to grow wheat in space with
its Svet greenhouses on the Mir space station.[276][277] It
was involved in the development of the Granat gamma-
ray observatory[278] and the Vega program, particularly in
modelling trajectories and guidance algorithms for both
Vega probes.[279][280] Bulgarian instruments have been
used in the exploration of Mars, including a spectrometer
that took the first high quality spectroscopic images of
Martian moon Phobos with the Phobos 2 probe.[275]
[278]
Cosmic radiation en route to and around the planet
has been mapped by Liulin-ML dosimeters on
the ExoMars TGO.[281] Variants of these instruments have
also been fitted on the International Space Station and
the Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe.[282][283] Another lunar
mission, SpaceIL's Beresheet, was also equipped with a
Bulgarian-manufactured imaging payload.[284] Bulgaria's
first geostationary communications satellite—
BulgariaSat-1—was launched by SpaceX in 2017.[285]
Infrastructure
Main articles: Energy in Bulgaria and Transport in
Bulgaria
 Trakia motorway
Telephone services are widely available, and a central
digital trunk line connects most regions.
[286]
Vivacom (BTC) serves more than 90% of fixed lines
and is one of the three operators providing mobile
services, along with A1 and Telenor.[287]
[288]
Internet penetration stood at 69.2% of the population
aged 16–74 and 78.9% of households in 2020.[289][290]
Bulgaria's strategic geographic location and well-
developed energy sector make it a key European energy
centre despite its lack of significant fossil fuel deposits.
[291]
Thermal power plants generate 48.9% of electricity,
followed by nuclear power from the Kozloduy
reactors (34.8%) and renewable sources (16.3%).
[292]
Equipment for a second nuclear power station
at Belene has been acquired, but the fate of the project
remains uncertain.[293] Installed capacity amounts to
12,668 MW, allowing Bulgaria to exceed domestic
demand and export energy.[294]
The national road network has a total length of 19,512
kilometres (12,124 mi),[295] of which 19,235 kilometres
(11,952 mi) are paved. Railroads are a major mode of
freight transportation, although highways carry a
progressively larger share of freight. Bulgaria has 6,238
kilometres (3,876 mi) of railway track, [286] with rail links
available to Romania, Turkey, Greece, and Serbia, and
express trains serving direct routes
to Kyiv, Minsk, Moscow and Saint Petersburg.[296] Sofia is
the country's air travel hub, while Varna and Burgas are
the principal maritime trade ports.[286]
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Bulgaria
Ethnic groups in Bulgaria (2021 census)[297][298]
Bulgarians (84.57%)
Bulgarian Turks (8.40%)
Romani (4.41%)
Other (1.31%)
Undeclared (1.31%)
According to the government's official 2022 estimate, the
population of Bulgaria consists of 6,447,710 people,
down from 6,519,789 according to the last official census
in 2021.[299][298] The majority of the population, 72.5%,
reside in urban areas.[300] As of 2019, Sofia is the most
populated urban centre with 1,241,675 people, followed
by Plovdiv (346,893), Varna (336,505), Burgas (202,434)
and Ruse (142,902).[214] Bulgarians are the main ethnic
group and constitute 84.6% of the
population. Turkish and Roma minorities account for 8.4
and 4.4%, respectively; some 40 smaller minorities
account for 1.3%, and 1.3% do not self-identify with an
ethnic group.[297][298] The Roma minority is usually
underestimated in census data and may represent up to
11% of the population.[301][302] Population density is 55-60
per square kilometre (ultimo 2023), almost half the
European Union average.[303]
Bulgaria is in a state of demographic crisis.[304][305] It has
had negative population growth since 1989, when the
post-Cold War economic collapse caused a long-
lasting emigration wave.[306] Some 937,000 to 1,200,000
people—mostly young adults—had left the country by
2005.[306][307] The majority of children are born to unmarried
women.[308] In 2024, the average total fertility rate (TFR) in
Bulgaria was 1.59 children per woman,[309] a slight
increase from 1.56 in 2018,[310] and well above the all-time
low of 1.1 in 1997, but still below the replacement rate of
2.1 and considerably below the historical high of 5.83
children per woman in 1905.[311] Bulgaria thus has one of
the oldest populations in the world, with an average age
of 43 years.[312] Furthermore, a third of all households
consist of only one person and 75.5% of families do not
have children under the age of 16.[305] The resulting birth
rates are among the lowest in the world[313][314] while death
rates are among the highest.[315]
Bulgaria scores high in gender equality, ranking 18th in
the 2018 Global Gender Gap Report.
[316]
Although women's suffrage was enabled relatively
late, in 1937, women today have equal political rights,
high workforce participation and legally mandated equal
pay.[316] In 2021, market research agency Reboot
Online ranked Bulgaria as the best European country for
women to work.[317] Bulgaria has the highest ratio of
female ICT researchers in the EU,[318] as well as the
second-highest ratio of females in the technology sector
at 44.6% of the workforce. High levels of female
participation are a legacy of the Socialist era.[319]
Largest cities

 v
 t
 e
Largest cities or t
2021 Ce
Rank Name Province Pop. R
1 Sofia Sofia-Capital 1,190,256
2 Plovdiv Plovdiv 321,824
3 Varna Varna 311,093
4 Burgas Burgas 188,242
5 Ruse Ruse 123,134
6 Stara Zagora Stara Zagora 121,582
7 Pleven Pleven 90,209
8 Sliven Sliven 79,362
9 Dobrich Dobrich 71,947
10 Shumen Shumen 67,300
Health
Main article: Health in Bulgaria
High death rates result from a combination of an ageing
population, high numbers of people at risk of poverty,
and a weak healthcare system.[321] Over 80% of deaths
are due to cancer and cardiovascular conditions; nearly
a fifth of those are avoidable.[322] Although healthcare in
Bulgaria is nominally universal,[323] out-of-pocket
expenses account for nearly half of all healthcare
spending, significantly limiting access to medical care.
[324]
Other problems disrupting care provision are the
emigration of doctors due to low wages, understaffed
and under-equipped regional hospitals, supply shortages
and frequent changes to the basic service package for
those insured.[325][326] The 2018 Bloomberg Health Care
Efficiency Index ranked Bulgaria last out of 56 countries.
[327]
Average life expectancy is 74.8 years, compared with
an EU average of 80.99 and a world average of 72.38.[328]
[329]

Education
Main article: Education in Bulgaria

The Rectorate of Sofia University

Public expenditures for education are far below the
European Union average as well.[330] Educational
standards were once high,[331] but have declined
significantly since the early 2000s.[330] Bulgarian students
were among the highest-scoring in the world in terms of
reading in 2001, performing better than their Canadian
and German counterparts; by 2006, scores in reading,
math and science had dropped. By 2018, Programme for
International Student Assessment studies found 47% of
pupils in the 9th grade to be functionally illiterate in
reading and natural sciences.[332] Average
basic literacy stands high at 98.4% with no significant
difference between sexes.[333] The Ministry of Education
and Science partially funds public schools, colleges and
universities, sets criteria for textbooks and oversees the
publishing process. Education in primary and secondary
public schools is free and compulsory.[331] The process
spans 12 grades, in which grades one through eight are
primary and nine through twelve are secondary level.
Higher education consists of a 4-year bachelor degree
and a 1-year master's degree.[334] Bulgaria's highest-
ranked higher education institution is Sofia University.[335]
[336]

Language
Main article: Languages of Bulgaria
Bulgarian is the only language with official status.[337] It
belongs to the Slavic group of languages but has a
number of grammatical peculiarities that set it apart from
other Slavic languages: these include a complex verbal
morphology (which also codes for distinctions
in evidentiality), the absence of noun
cases and infinitives, and the use of a suffixed definite
article.[338]
Religion
Main article: Religion in Bulgaria

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia

Bulgaria is a secular state with guaranteed freedom of
religion by constitution, but Eastern Orthodox
Christianity is designated as the traditional religion of the
country.[339] Approximately two-thirds of Bulgarians
identify as Eastern Orthodox Christians.[298] The Bulgarian
Orthodox Church was the first church apart from
the Four Ancient Patriarchates of the Eastern Orthodox
Church—in Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jer
usalem—and the first national church to
gain autocephalous status in 927 AD.[340][341] The Bulgarian
Patriarchate has 12 dioceses and over 2,000 priests.[342]
Muslims are the second-largest religious community and
constitute approx. 10% of Bulgaria's overall religious
makeup. A 2011 survey of 850 Muslims in Bulgaria found
30% self-professing as deeply religious and 50% as just
religious. According to the study, some religious
teachings, like Islamic funeral, have been traditionally
incorporated and are widely practiced while other major
ones are less observed, such as the Muslim prayer or
abstaining from drinking alcohol, eating pork,
and cohabitation.[343]
Other important religions include Roman
Catholicism and Judaism, whose history in Bulgaria
dates back to the early Middle Ages, the Armenian
Apostolic Church, as well as various Protestant
denominations, all of which stand for around 2% of
Bulgaria's population. An ever increasing number of
Bulgarians are either irreligious or unaffiliated with any
religion, a percentage that has been growing rapidly over
the past 20 years, from 3.9% in 2001, through 9.3% in
2011 and all the way to 15.9% in 2021.[298][344][345][346]
According to the most recent census of 2021 the
religious denominations of the population are, as
follows: Christian (71.5%), Islam (10.8%), other religions
(0.1%). Further 12.4% were unaffiliated or did not
respond.[347][348][298]
Culture
Main article: Culture of Bulgaria

The Roman
theatre of Plovdiv, European Capital of Culture in 2019

Rila Monastery, an important

spiritual centre for the Bulgarians

Kuker in Lesichovo
Contemporary Bulgarian culture blends the formal
culture that helped forge a national consciousness
towards the end of Ottoman rule with millennia-old folk
traditions.[349] An essential element of Bulgarian folklore is
fire, used to banish evil spirits and illnesses. Many of
these are personified as witches, whereas other
creatures like zmey and samodiva (veela) are either
benevolent guardians or ambivalent tricksters.[350] Some
rituals against evil spirits have survived and are still
practised, most notably kukeri and survakari.
[351]
Martenitsa is also widely celebrated.[352] Nestinarstvo,
a ritual fire-dance of Thracian origin, is included in the list
of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.[353][354] Nine
historical and natural objects are UNESCO World
Heritage Sites: Pirin National Park, Sreburna Nature
Reserve, the Madara Rider, the Thracian tombs
in Sveshtari and Kazanlak, the Rila Monastery,
the Boyana Church, the Rock-hewn Churches of
Ivanovo and the ancient city of Nesebar.[355] The Rila
Monastery was established by Saint John of Rila,
Bulgaria's patron saint, whose life has been the subject
of numerous literary accounts since Medieval times.[356]
The establishment of the Preslav and Ohrid literary
schools in the 10th century is associated with a golden
period in Bulgarian literature during the Middle Ages.
[356]
The schools' emphasis on Christian scriptures made
the Bulgarian Empire a centre of Slavic culture, bringing
Slavs under the influence of Christianity and providing
them with a written language.[357][358][359] Its
alphabet, Cyrillic script, was developed by the Preslav
Literary School.[360] The Tarnovo Literary School, on the
other hand, is associated with a Silver age of literature
defined by high-quality manuscripts on historical or
mystical themes under
the Asen and Shishman dynasties.[356] Many literary and
artistic masterpieces were destroyed by the Ottoman
conquerors, and artistic activities did not re-emerge until
the National Revival in the 19th century.[349] The
enormous body of work of Ivan Vazov (1850–1921)
covered every genre and touched upon every facet of
Bulgarian society, bridging pre-Liberation works with
literature of the newly established state.[356] Notable later
works are Bay Ganyo by Aleko Konstantinov,
the Nietzschean poetry of Pencho Slaveykov,
the Symbolist poetry of Peyo Yavorov and Dimcho
Debelyanov, the Marxist-inspired works of Geo
Milev and Nikola Vaptsarov, and the Socialist
realism novels of Dimitar Dimov and Dimitar Talev.
[356]
Tzvetan Todorov is a notable contemporary author,
[361]
while Bulgarian-born Elias Canetti was awarded
the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1981.[362]
А religious visual arts heritage
includes frescoes, murals and icons, many produced by
the medieval Tarnovo Artistic School.[363] Like literature, it
was not until the National Revival when Bulgarian visual
arts began to reemerge. Zahari Zograf was a pioneer of
the visual arts in the pre-Liberation era.[349] After the
Liberation, Ivan Mrkvička, Anton Mitov, Vladimir
Dimitrov, Tsanko Lavrenov and Zlatyu
Boyadzhiev introduced newer styles and substance,
depicting scenery from Bulgarian villages, old towns and
historical subjects. Christo is the most famous Bulgarian
artist of the 21st century, known for his outdoor
installations.[349]
Folk music is by far the most extensive traditional art and
has slowly developed throughout the ages as a fusion of
Far Eastern, Oriental, medieval Eastern Orthodox and
standard Western European tonalities and modes.
[364]
Bulgarian folk music has a distinctive sound and uses
a wide range of traditional instruments, such
as gadulka, gaida, kaval and tupan. A distinguishing
feature is extended rhythmical time, which has no
equivalent in the rest of European music.[23] The State
Television Female Vocal Choir won a Grammy Award in
1990 for its performances of Bulgarian folk music.
[365]
Written musical composition can be traced back to the
works of Yoan Kukuzel (c. 1280–1360),[366] but modern
classical music began with Emanuil Manolov, who
composed the first Bulgarian opera in 1890.[349] Pancho
Vladigerov and Petko Staynov further
enriched symphony, ballet and opera, which
singers Ghena Dimitrova, Boris Christoff, Ljuba
Welitsch and Nicolai Ghiaurov elevated to a world-class
level.[c] Bulgarian performers have gained acclaim in
other genres like electropop (Mira Aroyo), jazz (Milcho
Leviev) and blends of jazz and folk (Ivo Papazov).[349]
The Bulgarian National Radio, bTV and daily
newspapers Trud, Dnevnik and 24 Chasa are some of
the largest national media outlets.[373] Bulgarian
media were described as generally unbiased in their
reporting in the early 2000s and print media had no legal
restrictions.[374] Since then, freedom of the press has
deteriorated to the point where Bulgaria scores 111th
globally in the World Press Freedom Index, lower than all
European Union members and membership candidate
states. The government has diverted EU funds to
sympathetic media outlets and bribed others to be less
critical on problematic topics, while attacks against
individual journalists have increased.[375][376] Collusion
between politicians, oligarchs and the media is
widespread.[375]
Bulgarian cuisine is similar to that of other Balkan
countries and demonstrates strong Turkish and Greek
influences.[377] Yogurt, lukanka, banitsa, shopska
salad, lyutenitsa and kozunak are among the best-known
local foods. Meat consumption is lower than the
European average, given a cultural preference for a
large variety of salads.[377] Bulgaria was the world's
second-largest wine exporter until 1989, but has since
lost that position.[378][379] The 2016 harvest yielded 128
million litres of wine, of which 62 million was exported
mainly to Romania, Poland and Russia.[380] Mavrud,
Rubin, Shiroka melnishka, Dimiat and Cherven
Misket are the typical grapes used in Bulgarian wine.
 Rakia is a traditional fruit brandy that was consumed
[381]

in Bulgaria as early as the 14th century.[382]

Sports
Main article: Sport in Bulgaria

Grigor Dimitrov at the 2015 Italian

Open
Bulgaria appeared at the first modern Olympic games in
1896, when it was represented by gymnast Charles
Champaud.[383] Since then, Bulgarian athletes have won
55 gold, 90 silver, and 85 bronze medals,[384] ranking 25th
in the all-time medal table. Weight-lifting is a signature
sport of Bulgaria. Coach Ivan Abadzhiev developed
innovative training practices that have produced many
Bulgarian world and Olympic champions in weight-lifting
since the 1980s.[385] Bulgarian athletes have also excelled
in wrestling, boxing, gymnastics, volleyball and tennis.
[385]
Stefka Kostadinova is the reigning world record holder
in the women's high jump at 2.09 metres (6 feet
10 inches), achieved during the 1987 World
Championships.[386] Grigor Dimitrov is the first Bulgarian
tennis player in the Top 3 ATP rankings.[387]
Football is the most popular sport in the country by a
substantial margin. The national football team's best
performance was a semi-final at the 1994 FIFA World
Cup, when the squad was spearheaded by
forward Hristo Stoichkov.[385] Stoichkov is the most
successful Bulgarian player of all time; he was awarded
the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball and was
considered one of the best in the world while playing
for FC Barcelona in the 1990s.[388][389] CSKA and Levski,
both based in Sofia,[385] are the most successful clubs
domestically and long-standing rivals.[390] Ludogorets is
remarkable for having advanced from the local fourth
division to the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League group
stage in a mere nine years.[391] Placed 39th in 2018, it is
Bulgaria's highest-ranked club in UEFA.[392]