Country Summary: Bulgaria
Country Name: Bulgaria
Capital: Sofia
Official Visa & Travel Information: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria (Visa Services)
Government Type: parliamentary republic
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. 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 Ottoman Turks overran the country. 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, the EU in 2007, and the Schengen Area for air and sea travel in 2024.
Continent: Europe
Population: 6,827,736 (2023 est.)
Ethnic Groups: Bulgarian 78.5%, Turkish 7.8%, Roma 4.1%, other 1.2%, unspecified 9.4% (2021 est.)
Languages: Bulgarian (official) 77.3%, Turkish 7.9%, Romani 3.5%, other 1%, unspecified 10.4% (2021 est.)
Religions: Christian 64.7%, Muslim 9.8%, other 0.1%, none 4.7%, unspecified 20.7% (2021 est.)
Economic Overview: upper-middle-income EU economy; improving living standards and very robust economic growth; coal-based infrastructure; legacy structural vulnerabilities and widespread corruption; increasing Russian economic relations, particularly through energy trade
Currency: Bulgarian Lev (BGN)
Reserves of Foreign Exchange & Gold: $40.989 billion (2022 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Real GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $174.307 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars
Real GDP Growth Rate: 3.93% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency
Real GDP per Capita: $27,000 (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars
Exports:
$60.712 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Comparison Ranking: 62
Export Commodities: copper, wheat, electricity, refined petroleum, packaged medicines (2021)
Export Partners: Germany 14%, Romania 10%, Greece 8%, Italy 8%, Turkey 6% (2021)
Imports:
$60.252 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Comparison Ranking: 62
Import Commodities: crude petroleum, copper, cars, packaged medicines, refined petroleum (2019)
Import Partners: Germany 12%, Turkey 8%, Greece 8%, Romania 8%, Italy 7% (2021)
Natural Resources: bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land
Agricultural Products: wheat, maize, sunflower seed, milk, barley, rapeseed, potatoes, grapes, tomatoes, watermelons
Industries: electricity, gas, water; food, beverages, tobacco; machinery and equipment, automotive parts, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel; outsourcing centers
Industrial Production Growth Rate:
11.92% (2022 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency
Comparison Ranking: 14
Labor Force: 3.147 million (2022 est.)
Unemployment Rate: 4.27% (2022 est.)
Natural Hazards: earthquakes; landslides
Geography:
Total: 110,879 sq km
Land: 108,489 sq km
Water: 2,390 sq km
(Country Summary, The World Factbook, CIA.gov)
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