Bulgaria Travel Guide - General Bulgaria Data and Statistics

Bulgaria is a south eastern European country, whose capital is Sofia, having Bulgarian as its primary language. It is bordered by Romania to the north, the Black sea to the east, Turkey and greece to the south and Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro to the west.

Bulgaria has a parliamentary democracy government. Current president and prime minister are Georgi Parvanov and Sergey Stanishev respectively.

It has gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878. It was officially recognized in the year 1908. Bulgaria is (along with Romania), one of the newest European Union countries, having joined it at the start of the year 2007.

Bulgaria spans an area of around 110.91 square kilometers, with most of this area being land (accounting for around 99.7%). Major cities in Bulgaria include but are not limited to: Sofia (the capital), Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Rousse, Starazagora, Pleven, Dobrich, Sliven and Shumen. These cities account for around 3 million residents, while the number of Bulgarian citizens is estimated at around 7.35 millions.

Bulgaria didn't join the Euro zone yet, and is still using the 'Lev' or 'Leva' as its official currency. The current exchange rate is around 1.356 Leva for each United States dollar.

Bulgaria is 2 hours ahead of the UTC time zone, but it also observes daylight saving changes and as such is UTC+3 during summer times.

The international calling code for Bulgaria is 359.

Our website is mostly tailored around the top Bulgarian tourist cities, mainly Sofia and Varna. As such, in addition to the data and statistics you've read here, you can go into the details of the hotels in Sofia and the hotels in Varna in order to have an idea about your accommodation during your stay. You can also read more about the world-famous eastern European Golden Sands resort on the Black Sea coast and you can also plan your transportation mediums ahead by checking our car rental guide.