Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in
Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a geographical sub-region of Europe, consisting primarily of the region of the Balkans, as well as adjacent regions and Archipelago, archipelagos. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions of t ...
. It is situated on the eastern portion of the
Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
directly south of the
Danube river and west of the
Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
and
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
to the south,
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
and
North Macedonia to the west, and
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
to the north. It covers a territory of and is the tenth largest within the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
and the
sixteenth-largest country in Europe by area.
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
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
The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
and
Macedonians; stability came when the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
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
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
. It dominated most of the Balkans and significantly influenced
Slavic cultures by developing the
Cyrillic script
The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, Mongolic, Uralic languages, Uralic, C ...
. Under the rule of the
Krum's dynasty, the country rose to the status of a mighty empire and great power. 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
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
in both world wars. In 1946, Bulgaria came under the Soviet-led
Eastern Bloc and became a
socialist state
A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. This article is about states that refer to themselves as socialist states, and not specifically ...
. 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
Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
.
Since adopting
a democratic constitution in 1991, Bulgaria has been a
parliamentary republic composed of 28 provinces, with a high degree of
political, administrative, and economic centralisation. Its
high-income economy is part of the
European Single Market and is largely based on services, followed by
manufacturing and
mining—and
agriculture. Bulgaria has been influenced by its role as a transit country for
natural gas and oil pipelines, as well as its strategic
location on the Black Sea. Its
foreign relations have been shaped by its geographical location and its modern membership in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
,
Schengen Area and
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
.
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, but it is possibly derived from the
Proto-Turkic word ''bulģha'' ("to mix", "shake", "stir") and its derivative ''bulgak'' ("revolt", "disorder"). The meaning may be further extended to "rebel", "incite" or "produce a state of disorder", and so, in the derivative, the "disturbers". 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".
History
Prehistory and Antiquity
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. Remains from ''
Homo sapiens'' found there are dated . This result represents the earliest arrival of modern humans in Europe. The
Karanovo culture arose and was one of several
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
societies in the region that thrived on
agriculture. The
Copper Age Varna culture (fifth millennium BC) is credited with inventing
gold metallurgy. The associated
Varna Necropolis treasure contains the oldest golden jewellery in the world with an approximate age of over 6,000 years. The treasure has been valuable for understanding social hierarchy and stratification in the earliest European societies.
The
Thracians, one of the three primary ancestral groups of modern
Bulgarians
Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...
, appeared on the
Balkan Peninsula some time before the 12th century BC.
The Thracians excelled in
metallurgy and gave the
Greeks
Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
the
Orphean and
Dionysian cults, but remained tribal and stateless.
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. 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.
It was weakened and vassalised by
Philip II of Macedon in 341 BC, attacked
by Celts in the 3rd century, and finally
became a province of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
in AD 45.
By the end of the 1st century AD, Roman governance was established over the entire Balkan Peninsula and
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
began spreading in the region around the 4th century.
The
Gothic Bible
The Gothic Bible or Wulfila Bible is the Christian Bible in the Gothic language, which was spoken by the Eastern Germanic (Goths, Gothic) tribes in the Early Middle Ages.
The translation was allegedly made by the Arianism, Arian bishop and m ...
—the first
Germanic language
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania, and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, ...
book—was created by
Gothic bishop
Ulfilas in what is today northern Bulgaria around 381. The region came under
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
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. This enabled the
Slavs
The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...
to enter the Balkan Peninsula as marauders, primarily through an area between the Danube River and the Balkan Mountains known as
Moesia. Gradually, the interior of the peninsula became a country of the
South Slavs, who lived under a
democracy
Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
. The Slavs assimilated the partially
Hellenised,
Romanised, and
Gothicised Thracians in the rural areas.
First Bulgarian Empire

Not long after the Slavic incursion,
Moesia was once again invaded, this time by the
Bulgars under
Khan Asparukh. 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.
A peace treaty with the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
was signed in 681, marking the foundation of the
First Bulgarian Empire. The minority Bulgars formed a close-knit ruling caste.
Succeeding rulers strengthened the Bulgarian state throughout the 8th and 9th centuries.
Krum introduced a written code of law and checked a major Byzantine incursion at the
Battle of Pliska, in which Byzantine emperor
Nicephorus I was killed.
Boris I abolished paganism in favour of
Eastern Orthodox Christianity in 864. The
conversion was followed by a Byzantine recognition of the
Bulgarian church and the adoption of the
Cyrillic alphabet, developed in the capital,
Preslav. 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.
A
golden age began during the 34-year rule of
Simeon the Great, who oversaw the largest territorial expansion of the state. The literature produced in Old Bulgarian soon spread north from Bulgaria and became the
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
of the Balkans and Eastern Europe.
[Benjamin W. Fortson. ''Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction'', p. 374.] The political, cultural, and spiritual power of the Bulgarian Empire during the
Krum's dynasty turned Bulgaria into one of the
three superpowers in Europe at that time, alongside the Byzantine Empire and the
Carolingian Empire of the
Franks
file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty
The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
, which would later become the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
.

After Simeon's death, Bulgaria was weakened by wars with
Magyars
Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common culture, language and history. They also have a notable presence in former parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...
and
Pechenegs
The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks, , Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: , , , , , , ka, პაჭანიკი, , , ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Pečenezi, separator=/, Печенези, also known as Pecheneg Turks were a semi-nomadic Turkic peopl ...
and the spread of
Bogomilism.
Simeon's successor
Peter I negotiated a favourable
peace treaty
A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...
. The Byzantines agreed to recognize him as Emperor of Bulgaria and the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church as an independent Patriarchate, as well as to pay an annual tribute.
The peace was reinforced with a marriage between Peter and Romanos's granddaughter
Irene Lekapene.
This agreement ushered in a period of 40 years of peaceful relations between the two powers. During the first years of his reign, Peter I faced revolts by two of his three brothers, John in 928 and
Michael in 930, but both were quelled. During most of the reign of Emperor Peter I, the empire enjoyed a period of political consolidation, economic expansion, and cultural activity.
Preslav was seized by the Byzantine army in 971 after consecutive
Rus' and Byzantine invasions.
The empire briefly recovered from the attacks under
Samuil, but this ended when Byzantine emperor
Basil II defeated the Bulgarian army at
Klyuch in 1014. Samuil died shortly after the battle, and by 1018 the Byzantines
had conquered the First Bulgarian Empire. 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.
The
Bulgarian Patriarchate was reduced to an
archbishopric, but retained its
autocephalous status and its
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
s.
Second Bulgarian 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
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
. 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.
Kaloyan, the third of the Asen monarchs, extended his dominion to
Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
and
Ohrid. He acknowledged the spiritual supremacy of
the pope and received a royal crown from a
papal legate.
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
Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...
, while commerce and culture flourished.
Ivan Asen's rule was also marked by a shift away from Rome in religious matters.

The Asen dynasty became extinct in 1257. Internal conflicts and incessant Byzantine and Hungarian attacks followed, enabling the
Mongols
Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...
to
establish suzerainty over the weakened Bulgarian state.
In 1277, swineherd
Ivaylo led a
great peasant revolt that expelled the Mongols from Bulgaria and briefly made him emperor.
He was overthrown in 1280 by
the feudal landlords,
whose factional conflicts caused the Second Bulgarian Empire to disintegrate into small feudal dominions by the 14th century.
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.
In the 14th century, Bulgaria entered a period of cultural revival, sometimes called the "
Second Golden Age" of the empire. Bulgarian architecture, arts, and literature spread beyond the borders of Bulgaria into
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
,
Wallachia,
Moldavia, and the
Rus' Principalities and affected Slavic culture.
Ottoman rule

The Ottomans were employed as mercenaries by the Byzantines in the 1340s, but later became invaders in their own right.
Sultan
Murad I took
Adrianople from the Byzantines in 1362;
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
fell in 1382, followed by
Shumen in 1388.
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. The Bulgarian nobility was subsequently eliminated and the peasantry was
enserfed to Ottoman masters,
while much of the educated clergy fled to other countries.
Bulgarians were subjected to heavy taxes (including
Devshirme, or ''blood tax''), their culture was suppressed,
and they experienced partial
Islamisation. Ottoman authorities established a religious administrative community called the
Rum Millet, which governed all Orthodox Christians regardless of their ethnicity. Most of the local population then gradually lost its distinct national consciousness, identifying only by its faith. The clergy remaining in some isolated monasteries kept their ethnic identity alive, enabling its survival in remote rural areas, and in the militant
Catholic community in the northwest of the country.
As Ottoman power began to wane,
Habsburg Austria and Russia saw Bulgarian Christians as potential allies. The
Austrians
Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...
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.
The
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
also asserted itself as a protector of Christians in Ottoman lands with the
Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in 1774.
The Western European
Enlightenment in the 18th century influenced the initiation of a
national awakening of Bulgaria.
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. 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. 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
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
.
Third Bulgarian state
The
Treaty of San Stefano was signed on 3 March 1878 by
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. It was to set up an autonomous Bulgarian principality spanning
Moesia,
Macedonia and
Thrace
Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...
, roughly on the territories of the
Second Bulgarian Empire, and this day is now
a public holiday called
National Liberation Day. The other
Great Powers immediately rejected the treaty out of fear that such a large country in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
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
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
, and leaving large populations of ethnic Bulgarians outside the new country.
This significantly contributed to Bulgaria's militaristic foreign affairs approach during the first half of the 20th century.
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. In the years following independence, Bulgaria increasingly militarised and was often referred to as "the Balkan
Prussia". It became involved in three consecutive conflicts between 1912 and 1918—two
Balkan Wars and
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. 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 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. More than 253,000 refugees from the lost territories
immigrated to Bulgaria from 1912 to 1929, placing additional strain on the already ruined national economy.
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
The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
, 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.

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. 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. The communist-dominated
Fatherland Front took power, ended participation in the Axis and joined the Allied side until the war ended. 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.

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. But it was not until 1946 that a
one-party people's republic was instituted following a referendum. It fell into the Soviet sphere of influence under the leadership of
Georgi Dimitrov (1946–1949), who established a repressive, rapidly industrialising
Stalinist state. By the mid-1950s, standards of living rose significantly and political repression eased. The Soviet-style
planned economy saw some experimental market-oriented policies emerging under
Todor Zhivkov (1954–1989). Compared to wartime levels, national
GDP increased five-fold and per capita GDP quadrupled by the 1980s, although severe debt spikes took place in 1960, 1977 and 1980. Zhivkov's daughter
Lyudmila bolstered national pride by promoting Bulgarian heritage, culture and arts worldwide. 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. These policies resulted in the emigration of some 300,000 ethnic Turks to Turkey.
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. The first free elections in June 1990 were won by the Communist Party, now rebranded as the
Bulgarian Socialist Party. 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. 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. After 2001, economic, political and geopolitical conditions improved greatly, and Bulgaria achieved high Human Development status in 2003. It became a member of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
in 2004
and participated in the
War in Afghanistan. After several years of reforms, it joined the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
and the
single market in 2007, despite EU concerns over government corruption.
Bulgaria hosted the 2018
Presidency of the Council of the European Union at the
National Palace of Culture in
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
.
Geography

Bulgaria is a middle-sized country situated in Southeast Europe, in the east of the Balkans. Its territory covers an area of , while land borders with its five neighbouring countries run a total length of , and its coastline is long. Bulgaria's geographic coordinates are
43° N 25° E.
The most notable
topographical features of the country are the
Danubian Plain, the
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs f ...
, the
Upper Thracian Plain, and the
Rila-
Rhodope massif. 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
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
and broadening as it reaches the
Black Sea coast.
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.
Musala, at , is the highest point in both Bulgaria and the Balkans. The Black Sea coast is the country's lowest point.
Plains occupy about one third of the territory, while plateaux and hills occupy 41%. Most rivers are short and with low water levels. The longest river located solely in Bulgarian territory, the
Iskar, has a length of . The
Struma and the
Maritsa are two major rivers in the south.
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. Northern Bulgaria averages cooler, and registers more precipitation, than the regions south of the Balkan mountains. Temperature amplitudes vary significantly in different areas. The lowest recorded temperature is , while the highest is .
Precipitation averages about per year, and varies from in
Dobrudja to more than in the mountains. Continental air masses bring significant amounts of snowfall during winter.
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. 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.).
Biodiversity and conservation

The interaction of climatic, hydrological, geological and topographical conditions has produced a relatively wide variety of plant and animal species.
Bulgaria's
biodiversity, one of the richest in Europe,
is conserved in three national parks, 11 nature parks, 10
biosphere reserves and 565 protected areas. Ninety-three of the 233
mammal
A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
species of Europe are found in Bulgaria, along with 49% of
butterfly and 30% of
vascular plant species.
Overall, 41,493 plant and animal species are present.
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 in
Rila National Park, which also hosts Arctic and alpine species at high altitudes.
Flora includes more than 3,800 vascular plant species of which 170 are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
and 150 are considered endangered.
A checklist of larger
fungi
A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...
in Bulgaria by the Institute of Botany identifies more than 1,500 species. In Bulgaria
forest cover is around 36% of the total land area, equivalent to 3,893,000 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, up from 3,327,000 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 3,116,000 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 777,000 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 18% was reported to be
primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 18% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 88% of the forest area was reported to be under
public ownership and 12%
private ownership.

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. Bulgaria has some of the largest
Natura 2000 areas in Europe covering 33.8% of its territory. It also achieved its
Kyoto Protocol objective of reducing
carbon dioxide emissions by 30% from 1990 to 2009.
Bulgaria ranks 37th in the 2024
Environmental Performance Index, but scores low on air quality.
Particulate levels are the highest in Europe, especially in urban areas affected by automobile traffic and coal-based power stations. One of these, the
lignite-fired
Maritsa Iztok-2 station, is causing the highest damage to health and the environment in the European Union.
Pesticide use in agriculture and antiquated industrial sewage systems produce extensive soil and water pollution.
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.
Politics
Bulgaria is a
parliamentary democracy where the
prime minister is the
head of government
In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...
and the most powerful executive position. 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
referendum
A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
s.
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. 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.
Unlike the prime minister, presidential domestic power is more limited. The directly elected
president serves as
head of state
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
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. 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.
Overall, Bulgaria displays a pattern of unstable governments.
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, which resigned in February 2013 after
nationwide protests over the low living standards, corruption and the perceived failure of the democratic system.
The subsequent
snap elections in May resulted in a narrow win for GERB, but the
Bulgarian Socialist Party eventually formed a government led by
Plamen Oresharski after Borisov failed to secure parliamentary support.
The Oresharski government resigned in July 2014 amid continuing
large-scale protests.
The
October 2014 elections resulted in a third GERB victory. Borisov
formed a coalition 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.
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. GERB came out first in the regular
April 2021 election, but with its weakest result so far. All other parties refused to form a government, 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.
In April 2023, because of the political deadlock, Bulgaria held its fifth parliamentary
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
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 was supposed to take over as prime minister in nine months.
Denkov resigned in accordance with the rotation agreement on 5 March 2024, to allow Gabriel to become the new Prime Minister. On 20 March 2024, the planned government rotation and signing of a renewed government failed due to disagreements between the two alliances on the cabinet and breaking down of relations. Negotiations ensued across to form a new government, but failed to produce any governments that could reach a majority support. GERB rejected the chance to form a government. PP–DB made a limited attempt to respect the original rotation agreement. The final chance to form a government, chosen by president
Rumen Radev, went to ITN, which was immediately rejected.
On 29 March, as per Article 98 of the constitution, the President appointed the Chairman of the
National Audit Office,
Dimitar Glavchev, as the candidate for caretaker prime minister. He was granted a one-week deadline of until 6 April 2024 to propose the composition of the caretaker government.
Glavchev presented his proposal for the caretaker government on 5 April 2024, accepted by the President following negotiations and scheduling the election for 9 June 2024.
Glavchev and his cabinet were inaugurated on 9 April 2024 by the National Assembly.
The new elected
51st Parliament replaced the
50th Parliament when all elected members were sworn in on 11 November 2024.
After 11 voting rounds,
Natalia Kiselova (
BSP–OL) was elected as speaker of the National Assembly on 6 December 2024.
President
Rumen Radev granted the
first negotiation mandate to the largest party GERB-SDS on 15 January 2025,
which formed a minority government alongside
BSP and
ITN, with support from
APS (Dogan). The government is led by GERB politician
Rosen Zhelyazkov.
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.
Bulgaria is still
listed as "Free", with a political system designated as a semi-consolidated democracy, albeit with deteriorating scores.
The
Democracy Index defines it as a "Flawed democracy". A 2018 survey by the
Institute for Economics and Peace reported that less than 15% of respondents considered elections to be fair.
Legal system
Bulgaria has a
civil law legal system. 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. 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. Law enforcement is carried out by organisations mainly subordinate to the
Ministry of the Interior. The
General Directorate of National Police (GDNP) combats general crime and maintains public order. GDNP fields 26,578 police officers in its local and national sections. The bulk of criminal cases are transport-related, followed by theft and drug-related crime;
homicide rates are low. 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.
Administrative divisions
Bulgaria is a
unitary state. Since the 1880s, the number of territorial management units has varied from seven to 26. Between 1987 and 1999, the administrative structure consisted of nine provinces (''oblasti'', singular ''
oblast
An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...
''). A new administrative structure was adopted in parallel with the decentralisation of the economic system. It includes 27 provinces and a metropolitan capital province (
Sofia City). 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.
Foreign relations

Bulgaria became a member of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
in 1955. Since 1966, it has been a non-permanent member of the
Security Council three times, most recently from 2002 to 2003. It was also among the founding nations of the
Organisation 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
The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...
and joining the
European Communities
The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of Institutions of the European Union, institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Co ...
by 1987. Bulgaria signed the European Union
Treaty of Accession on 25 April 2005,
and became a full member of the European Union on 1 January 2007.
In addition, it has a tripartite economic and diplomatic collaboration with Romania and Greece, good ties with China and
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
and a historical relationship with Russia.

Bulgaria deployed significant numbers of both civilian and military advisors in Soviet-allied countries like
Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
and
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
during the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. 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 with accession to
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
in March 2004
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.
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.
Following the 2022
Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bulgaria decided to assist Ukraine; in 2023, after Gazprom illegally stopped exporting gas to Bulgaria, the country in turn stopped importing Russian oil and gas.
Military
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. The land forces consist of two
mechanised brigades and eight independent
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation.
In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...
s 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.
Military inventory mainly consists of Soviet equipment like
Mikoyan MiG-29 and
Sukhoi Su-25 jets,
S-300PT air defence systems and
SS-21 Scarab short-range
ballistic missiles. The Armed Forces are modernising 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.
Economy

Bulgaria has an open,
high-income range
market economy where the private sector accounts for more than 70% of
GDP. 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. The loss of
COMECON
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, often abbreviated as Comecon ( ) or CMEA, was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under the leadership of the Soviet Union that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc#List of states, Easter ...
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.
The economy largely recovered during a period of rapid growth several years later,
but the average salary of 2,072 leva ($1,142) per month remains the lowest in the EU.
A
balanced budget was achieved in 2003 and the country began running a
surplus the following year.
Expenditures amounted to $21.15 billion and revenues were $21.67 billion in 2017. 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.
Taxes form the bulk of government revenue
at 30% of GDP. Bulgaria has some of the lowest corporate income
tax rates in the EU at a flat 10% rate. 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. Strong economic performance in the early 2000s reduced
government debt from 79.6% in 1998 to 14.1% in 2008.
It has since increased to 22.6% of GDP by 2022, but remains the second lowest in the EU.

The
Yugozapaden planning area is the most developed region with a
per capita gross domestic product (
PPP) of $29,816 in 2018. 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. GDP per capita (in
PPS) and the cost of living in 2019 stood at 53 and 52.8% of the EU average (100%), respectively. National PPP GDP was estimated at $143.1 billion in 2016, with a per capita value of $20,116.
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. The
Bulgarian National Bank issues the national currency,
lev, which is pegged to the euro at a rate of 1.95583 levа per euro.
After several consecutive years of high growth, repercussions of the
2008 financial crisis resulted in a 3.6% contraction of GDP in 2009 and increased unemployment. Positive growth was restored in 2010 but intercompany debt exceeded $59 billion, meaning that 60% of all Bulgarian companies were mutually indebted. By 2012, it had increased to $97 billion, or 227% of GDP. 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.
Siphoning of public funds to the families and relatives of politicians from incumbent parties has resulted in fiscal and welfare losses to society. Bulgaria ranks 71st in the
Corruption Perceptions Index and experiences the worst levels of
corruption in the European Union, a phenomenon that remains a source of profound public discontent.
Along with organised crime, corruption has resulted in a rejection of the country's
Schengen Area application and withdrawal of foreign investment,
though the country officially became a full member of the zone in January 2025. Government officials reportedly engage in embezzlement, influence trading, government procurement violations and bribery with impunity.
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; nearly 14 billion ($8.38 billion) were spent on public contracts in 2017 alone. A large share of these contracts are awarded to a few politically connected companies amid widespread irregularities, procedure violations and tailor-made award criteria. Despite repeated criticism from the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
,
EU institutions refrain from taking measures against Bulgaria because it supports Brussels on a number of issues, unlike
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
or
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
.
Structure and sectors
The labour force is 3.36 million people, of whom 6.8% are employed in agriculture, 26.6% in industry and 66.6% in the services sector. Extraction of metals and minerals, production of
chemicals,
machine building, steel, biotechnology, tobacco, food processing and
petroleum refining are among the major industrial activities. 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.
Bulgaria is Europe's fifth-largest coal producer.
Local deposits of coal, iron, copper and lead are vital for the manufacturing and energy sectors. 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. Two-thirds of food and agricultural exports go to
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
countries.
Although cereal and vegetable output dropped by 40% between 1990 and 2008, output in grains has since increased, and the 2016–2017 season registered the biggest grain output in a decade.
Maize,
barley,
oats and
rice are also grown. Quality
Oriental tobacco is a significant industrial crop. Bulgaria is also the largest producer globally of
lavender and
rose oil, both widely used in fragrances.
Within the services sector,
tourism is a significant contributor to economic growth.
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
,
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. Most visitors are Romanian, Turkish, Greek and German. Tourism is additionally encouraged through the
100 Tourist Sites system.
Science and technology
Spending on
research and development amounts to 0.78% of GDP, and the bulk of public R&D funding goes to the
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS).
Private businesses accounted for more than 73% of R&D expenditures and employed 42% of Bulgaria's 22,000 researchers in 2015.
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). Bulgaria was ranked 38th in the
Global Innovation Index in 2024. Chronic government underinvestment in research since 1990 has forced many professionals in science and engineering to leave Bulgaria.

Despite the lack of funding, research in chemistry,
materials science
Materials science is an interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries.
The intellectual origins of materials sci ...
and
physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
remains strong.
Antarctic research is actively carried out through the
St. Kliment Ohridski Base on
Livingston Island in
Western Antarctica. The
information and communication technologies (ICT) sector generates three per cent of economic output and employs 40,000 to 51,000 software engineers. Bulgaria was known as a "Communist
Silicon Valley" during the Soviet era due to its key role in
COMECON
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, often abbreviated as Comecon ( ) or CMEA, was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under the leadership of the Soviet Union that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc#List of states, Easter ...
computing technology production. 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. 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.
Bulgaria has made numerous contributions to
space exploration.
These include two scientific satellites, more than 200 payloads and 300 experiments in Earth orbit, as well as
two cosmonauts since 1971.
Bulgaria was the first country to grow
wheat in space with its
Svet greenhouses on the
Mir space station. It was involved in the development of the
Granat gamma-ray observatory and the
Vega program
Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinisation of names, Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is List of star systems wi ...
me, particularly in modelling trajectories and guidance
algorithms for both Vega probes. 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.
Cosmic radiation en route to and around the planet has been mapped by
Liulin-ML dosimeters on the
ExoMars TGO.
Variants of these instruments have also been fitted on the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
and the
Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe. Another lunar mission,
SpaceIL's ''Beresheet'', was also equipped with a Bulgarian-manufactured imaging payload. Bulgaria's first
geostationary communications satellite—
BulgariaSat-1—was launched by
SpaceX in 2017.
Infrastructure

Telephone services are widely available, and a central digital trunk line connects most regions.
Vivacom (BTC) serves more than 90% of fixed lines and is one of the three operators providing mobile services, along with
A1 and
Telenor.
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
penetration stood at 69.2% of the population aged 16–74 and 78.9% of households in 2020.
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. Thermal power plants generate 48.9% of electricity, followed by
nuclear power from the
Kozloduy reactors (34.8%) and
renewable sources (16.3%). Equipment for a second nuclear power station at
Belene has been acquired, but the fate of the project remains uncertain. Installed capacity amounts to 12,668 MW, allowing Bulgaria to exceed domestic demand and export energy.
The national road network has a total length of , of which are paved. Railroads are a major mode of freight transportation, although highways carry a progressively larger share of freight. Bulgaria has of railway track, with rail links available to Romania, Turkey, Greece, and Serbia, and express trains serving direct routes to
Kyiv
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
,
Minsk
Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
,
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
and
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
. Sofia is the country's air travel hub, while Varna and Burgas are the principal maritime trade ports.
Demographics
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.
The majority of the population, 72.5%, reside in urban areas. , 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).
Bulgarians
Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...
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.
The Roma minority is usually underestimated in census data and may represent up to 11% of the population. Population density is 55–60 per square kilometre (ultimo 2023), almost half the European Union average.
Bulgaria is in a state of demographic crisis.
It has had negative population growth since 1989, when the post-Cold War economic collapse caused a long-lasting
emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
wave.
Some 937,000 to 1,200,000 people—mostly young adults—had left the country by 2005.
The majority of children are born to unmarried women. In 2024, the average
total fertility rate (TFR) in Bulgaria was 1.59 children per woman, a slight increase from 1.56 in 2018, 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. Bulgaria thus has one of the oldest populations in the world, with an average age of 43 years. 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.
The resulting birth rates are among the lowest in the world while
death rates are among the highest.
Bulgaria scores high in
gender equality, ranking 18th in the 2018
Global Gender Gap Report.
Although
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
was enabled relatively late, in 1937, women today have equal political rights, high workforce participation and legally mandated
equal pay.
In 2021, market research agency ''Reboot Online'' ranked Bulgaria as the best European country for women to work. Bulgaria has the highest ratio of female
ICT researchers in the EU, 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.
Largest cities
Health
High death rates result from a combination of an ageing population, high numbers of people at risk of poverty, and a weak
healthcare system. Over 80% of deaths are due to
cancer and
cardiovascular conditions; nearly a fifth of those are avoidable. Although
healthcare in Bulgaria is nominally universal,
out-of-pocket expenses account for nearly half of all healthcare spending, significantly limiting access to medical care. 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. The 2018 Bloomberg Health Care Efficiency Index ranked Bulgaria last out of 56 countries. Average
life expectancy is 74.8 years, compared with an EU average of 80.99 and a world average of 72.38.
Education
Public expenditures for education are far below the European Union average as well.
Educational standards
were once high, but have declined significantly since the early 2000s.
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. Average basic
literacy stands high at 98.4% with no significant difference between sexes. 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. 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. Bulgaria's highest-ranked higher education institution is
Sofia University
Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" () is a public university, public research university in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Bulgaria.
Founded on 1 October 1888, the edifice of the university was constr ...
.
Language
Bulgarian is the only language with official status. 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
In grammar, an article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech.
In English, both "the" ...
.
Religion
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. Approximately two-thirds of Bulgarians identify as Eastern Orthodox Christians.
The
Bulgarian Orthodox Church was the first church apart from the
Four Ancient Patriarchates of the Eastern Orthodox Church—in
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
,
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
,
Antioch and
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
—and the first national church to gain
autocephalous status in 927 AD. The Bulgarian Patriarchate has 12
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
s and over 2,000 priests.
Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
are the second-largest religious community and constitute approximately 10% of Bulgaria's population. A 2011 survey of 850 Muslims in Bulgaria found 30% professing to be “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.
Other important religions include
Roman Catholicism and
Judaism, whose history in Bulgaria dates back to the early
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, the
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...
, 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.
According to the most recent census of 2021 the religious denominations of the population are as follows:
Christian (71.5%),
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
(10.8%), other religions (0.1%). A further 12.4% were unaffiliated or did not respond.
Culture
Contemporary Bulgarian culture blends the formal culture that helped forge a national consciousness towards the end of Ottoman rule with millennia-old folk traditions.
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. Some rituals against evil spirits have survived and are still practised, most notably
kukeri and
survakari.
Martenitsa is also widely celebrated.
Nestinarstvo, a ritual fire-dance of Thracian origin, is included in the list of
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
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. 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.

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
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
.
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. Its alphabet,
Cyrillic
The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...
script, was developed by the Preslav Literary School. 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.
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.
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.
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
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
-inspired works of
Geo Milev and
Nikola Vaptsarov, and the
Socialist realism novels of
Dimitar Dimov and
Dimitar Talev.
Tzvetan Todorov is a notable contemporary author, while Bulgarian-born
Elias Canetti was awarded the
Nobel Prize in Literature in 1981.
А religious visual arts heritage includes
frescoes,
murals and
icons, many produced by the medieval
Tarnovo Artistic School. 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.
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.
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. 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.
The
State Television Female Vocal Choir won a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
in 1990 for its performances of Bulgarian folk music. Written musical composition can be traced back to the works of
Yoan Kukuzel (–1360), but modern classical music began with
Emanuil Manolov, who composed the first Bulgarian
opera in 1890.
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. Bulgarian performers have gained acclaim in other genres like
electropop (
Mira Aroyo),
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
(
Milcho Leviev) and blends of jazz and folk (
Ivo Papazov).
The
Bulgarian National Radio,
bTV and daily newspapers ''
Trud'', and ''
24 Chasa'' are some of the largest national media outlets.
Bulgarian media were described as generally unbiased in their reporting in the early 2000s and print media had no legal restrictions. 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.
Collusion between politicians, oligarchs and the media is widespread.
Bulgarian cuisine is similar to that of other Balkan countries and demonstrates strong Turkish and Greek influences.
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.
Bulgaria was the world's second-largest wine exporter until 1989, but has since lost that position. The 2016 harvest yielded 128 million litres of wine, of which 62 million was exported mainly to Romania, Poland and Russia.
Mavrud, Rubin,
Shiroka melnishka,
Dimiat and
Cherven Misket are the typical grapes used in
Bulgarian wine.
Rakia is a traditional fruit
brandy
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...
that was consumed in Bulgaria as early as the 14th century.
Sports
Bulgaria appeared at the
first modern Olympic games in 1896, when it was represented by
Swiss gymnast Charles Champaud. Since then, Bulgarian athletes have won 55 gold, 90 silver, and 85 bronze medals, ranking 25th in the
all-time medal table.
Weightlifting and
wrestling
Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
are signature sports of Bulgaria. As of 2025, Bulgaria ranks 2nd in the all-time medal table of the
European Weightlifting Championships, 3rd in the all-time medal table of the
World Weightlifting Championships, 4th in the all-time medal table for
Weightlifting at the Summer Olympics, 3rd in the all-time medal table of the
European Wrestling Championships, 6th in the all-time medal table of the
World Wrestling Championships and 9th in the all-time medal table for
wrestling at the Summer Olympics. Coach
Ivan Abadzhiev developed innovative training practices that allowed Bulgaria to dominate weightlifting in the 1980s.
Bulgarian athletes have also excelled in
boxing
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
,
gymnastics
Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...
,
volleyball and
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
.
Stefka Kostadinova's world record in
women's high jump, achieved at the
1987 World Championships, remained unbroken until 2024, making it one of the longest-standing world records in history.
Grigor Dimitrov was the first Bulgarian tennis player in the Top 3
ATP rankings.
Football is the most popular sport in the country. The
Bulgarian national football team
The Bulgaria national football team () represents Bulgaria in men's international Association football, football, and is administered by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA.
Bulgaria's best achievements are reaching the ...
's best performance was a 4th-place finish at the
1994 FIFA World Cup, when the squad was spearheaded by the top goalscorer for the tournament-
Hristo Stoichkov.
Stoichkov is the most successful Bulgarian player of all time; he was awarded the
Golden Boot and the
Ballon d'Or and was considered one of the best players in the world while playing for
FC Barcelona in the 1990s.
CSKA Sofia and
Levski Sofia are the most successful clubs domestically and
long-standing rivals.
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. Placed 39th in 2018, it is Bulgaria's highest-ranked club in
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
.
See also
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Outline of Bulgaria
*
Labour law in Bulgaria
Explanatory notes
References
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External links
Bulgariaat ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''.
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Bulgaria Profilefrom
Balkan Insight
President of The Republic of Bulgaria
{{coord, 43, N, 25, E, region:BG, display=title
Balkan countries
Countries and territories where Bulgarian is an official language
Countries in Europe
Member states of NATO
Member states of the European Union
Member states of the Three Seas Initiative
Member states of the Union for the Mediterranean
Member states of the United Nations
Republics
681 establishments
States and territories established in the 680s
States and territories established in 1878
States and territories established in 1990