Bulgaria

Government

Parliamentary democracy.

Geography

Bulgaria shares borders with Serbia, Macedonia, Romania, Greece, and Turkey. Two mountain ranges and two great valleys mark the topography of Bulgaria, situated on the Black Sea. The Maritsa is Bulgaria’s principal river, and the Danube also flows through the country.

Historical Background

The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. 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 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. The country joined NATO in 2004.

Capital

Sofia

Government

Parliamentary democracy

Language

Old Bulgarian

Area

110,993.6 km2 (104th) 42,823 sq mi

Population

2009 estimate 7,576,751 (95th)  2001 census 7,932,984 

Currency

Lev2 (BGN)

GDP

2010 estimate Total $90.763 billion[4] (70th) Per capita $12,052