- Declared

| From either a Ottoman Empire March 3, 1878

September 22, 1908
|- | Currency || Lev |- | Time Zone
 - in summer | EET (UTC+2)
EEST (UTC+3) |- | National Anthem | Mila Rodino |- | Internet TLD || .bg |- | Calling Code | +359 |} History
Independent article: History of Bulgaria

In the late 7th century a branch of the Bulgars led by Khan Asparuh migrated into the northern Balkans, where it merged by having a local Slavic populaton and even remnants of the Thracian population to form the foremost Bulgarian state around 681 AD. This was a 1st Slavic united states-state within history. the Bulgarian empire was a important European power in the 9th and the 10th century, while fighting by owning a Byzantine Empire for the control of the Balkans. A Bulgarian state was crushed by an assault per Rus in 969 and completely subdued by the determined Byzantine assault under Basil II in 1018.

It was re-established around 1185 and continued to be an significant power in a European south-sou'-east for deuce additional centuries by scrap to assert its place in the area using the Byzantine Empire, crushing the Crusader states around Greece, also when Hungary. Per prevent of the 14th century the country was overrun per Ottoman Empire.

An autonomous Bulgarian princedom comprising Moesia and the region of Sofia was established in 1878 following the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78. Fallowing uniting with Eastern Rumelia in 1885, the princedom was proclaimed the fully independent kingdom around 1908.

When you took 1912 and 1913 it became involved in the Balkan Wars, a series of conflicts by using its neighbours, within the period of which Bulgarian territory varied in size. In the period of World War I and later World War II, Bulgaria found itself combat on the losing side. Despite that fact, Bulgaria redeemed a resides of its have 50,000 Jews from a Nazi death camps by refusing to comply with the 31 August 1943 resolution, which demanded their deportation to Auschwitz.

Bulgaria fell inside a Soviet sphere of influence after Globe War II & became the People's Republic in 1946. Communistic domination ended around 1990, when Bulgaria once again held multiparty elections.

Bulgaria joined NATO on 29 March, 2004 and is set to join a European Union on 1 January, 2007 after signing the Treaty of Accession on 25 April 2005.

Politics
Independent article: Politics of Bulgaria

Executive
A president of Bulgaria (Georgi Purvanov since 22 January 2002) is directly elected for a Quintet-month term by using the right to of these re-election. A president serves when a head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. A president is the head of the Consultative Council for National Security & piece unable to initiate legislation, a President could go to the bill for farther debate, though parliament potty overturn the president's veto by owning the elementary majority vote.

A Council of Ministers is chaired per Prime Minister (Sergey Stanishev since 17 August 2005), & is a main body of the Executive Branch and presently consists of Twenty ministers. the Prime Minister is nominated per big parliamentary class action & is given the mandate per President to form a cabinet.

A todays governmental coalition is processed of a Bulgarian Socialist Person (BSP), National Movement Simeon II (NMS), & a Movement for Rights & Freedoms (representing principally the Turkish minority).

Legislative
A Bulgarian unicameral parliament, the National Assembly or even Narodno Sabranie, consists of 240 deputies world health organization come elected for Four-month-term stretches by popular vote. A votes come for even person or coalition lists of candidates for both of the twenty-xxviii administrative divisions. The person or even coalition must garner a minimum of 4% of the vote sequentially to enter parliament. Parliament is responsible enactment of laws, approval of the budget, programming of presidential elections, choice & dismissal of the prime minister & other ministers, declaration of war, deployment of troops outside of Bulgaria, & confirmation of international pact and agreements.

A go elections took place in June 2005. A next elections come planned for summertime 2009.

Judiciary
A Bulgarian judicature consists of regional, territorial dominion & appeal courts, also as a Supreme Court of Cassation. Additionally, there is the Supreme Administrative Court & a models of war machine courts. A Presidents of a Supreme Court of Cassation, Supreme Administrative Court & the Public prosecutor General come elected by a qualified majority of 2 thirds from either all the members of the Supreme Judicial Council & come appointed per President of the Republic. A Supreme Juicial Council is within charge of the self-administration & organisation of the Judiciary.

A Constitutional Court is within charge of reviewing a constitutionality of laws & legislative act brought prior to it, besides when a compliance one laws sustaining international pact that the food and drug administration has signed. Parliament elects the Twelve members of the Constitutional Court by a both-thirds majority, the members help a nine-season term.

Regional and local government
A territory of the Republic of Bulgaria is divided into regions & municipalities. Altogether Bulgarithe has Xxviii regions, to each one headed by a regional governor appointed per government. Additionally, there are 263 municipalties.

Regions
Independent article: Regions of Bulgaria

Since 1999 Bulgaria consists of 28 regions (oblasti, singular - oblast), fallowing getting been subdivided into Niner provinces since 1987. the lot come known as fallowing a regional capital, by having a national capital itself forming a separate vicinity:

Geography
Independent article: Geography of Bulgaria

Bulgaria is comprised of the authoritative regions of Thrace, Moesia, and Macedonia. A southwest of a united states is mountainous, containing the greatest point of the Balkan Peninsula, peak Musala at 2,925 m, and a range of the Balkan mountains runs west-east through the middle of the country, northwards of the noted Rose Valley. Hill united states & plains come noticed in a southeast, along the Black Sea coast in the east, and along Bulgaria's independent flow of any stream, a Danube in the north. More major streams, lakes, and wells throughout include a Struma and the Maritsa river in the south.

A Bulgarian climate is temperate, with cold, moist winters & hot, dry summers.

A Balkan peninsula derives its name from either a Balkan or even Stara Planina mountain range which runs through the center of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia.

Look at likewise: List of cities in Bulgaria Rivers of Bulgaria Reservoirs and dams in Bulgaria

Economy
Independent article: Economy of Bulgaria

Bulgaria's economy contracted dramatically when 1989 with a loss of the market of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) member states, to which the Bulgarian economy got been closely attached. A standard of living fell by about 40%, however it regained pre-1990 levels inside June 2004. Additionally, UN sanctions against Yugoslavia and Iraq took a heavily toll on the Bulgarian economy. A number 1 signs of recovery emerged inside 1994 when the GDP grew and inflation fell. In the period of 1996, however, a economy collapsed due to want of international economic support and an unstable banking industry. Since 1997 the united states has been on the path to recovery, by owning GDP growing at a Four-5% rate, increasing FDI, macroeconomic stability & EU membership placed for 2007.

A previous government, elected around 2001, pledged to maintawithin the fundamental frequency economic policy objectives adopted by its predecessor in 1997, i.e., retaining a Currency Board, practicing healthy fiscal policies, accelerating privatisation, and pursuing structural reforms. Economic prognosis for 2005 and 2006 predict continued growth in the Bulgarian economy. A annual month-in-month GDP incubation for 2005 & 2006 is potential to number 5,3% & 6,0%, severally. Industrial output for 2005 is prognosis to rise by 11,9% seasin-in-month, & for 2006 - by 15,2% season-on-season. Unemployment for 2005 is projected at 11,5% & for 2006 - at under 10%.

In April 25, 2005 Bulgaria signed the Treaty of Accession with the European Union and is set to jowithin a axis in 2007.

Demographics
Independent article: Demographics of Bulgaria

Based on data from a 2001 census, Bulgaria's population is in the main ethnic Bulgarian (83.9%), with deuce sizable minorities in the form of Turks (9.4%) & Roma (4.7%). Of the unexpended Ii.Zero%, 0.9% come distributed among a bit of xl little minorities, a virtually all many of which are then a Armenians, Russians, Vlachs, Crimean Tatars, Karakachans, Macedonian Slavs and Jews; the population world health organization keep around non declared their ethnicity come I.1% of the sum people. 84.8% of the Bulgarian people speak Bulgarian, a member of the Slavic languages, as mother-language. Bulgarian is the merely official language, however more languages come spoken, corresponding closely to ethnic breakdown.

Virtually all Bulgarians (82.6%) come at least nominally the member of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the national Eastern Orthodox church. More religious denominations include Islam (12.2%), Roman Catholicism (0.6%), various Protestant denominations (0.5%), using more denominations, atheists & undeclared enumeration ca. Little joe.1%.

Minorities in Bulgaria
Independent article: Minorities of Bulgaria Based on data from a 2001 census, Bulgaria's population is in the main ethnic Bulgarian (83.9%), with ii sizable minorities in the form of Turks (9.4%) & Roma (4.7%). Of the left over Ii.Cypher%, 0.9% come distributed among occasionally 40 little minorities, a virtually all many of which are then a Armenians, Russians, Vlachs, Crimean Tatars, Karakachans, Macedonian Slavs and Jews; the humans world health organization stand non declared their ethnicity come I.1% of the amount people.

Culture
Independent article: Culture of Bulgaria

List of famous Bulgarians Bulgarian customs Music of Bulgaria Bulgarian dances Bulgarian cuisine

Religion

Virtually all citizens of Bulgaria come at least nominally members of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church founded in 870 AD (autocephalous since 927). A Bulgarian Orthodox Church is a independent national church of Bulgaria prefer the more national branches of Eastern Orthodoxy and is considered an inseparable element of Bulgarian national consciousness. a church has been abolished, or even like reduced to a subordinate position inside the Greek Orthodox Church, twice during a periods of Byzantine (1018-1185) and Ottoman (1396-1878) domination but has been revived each instance as a symbol of Bulgarian statehood. Inside 2001, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church got a sum of 6,552,000 members inside Bulgaria (82.6% of the people). All a same several immature population raised in the period of the 45 years of communist rule are not religious potentially though it formally can be members of the church.

Despite the dominant position of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church inside Bulgarian ethnic life, a total of Bulgarian citizens belong to more religious denominations, virtually all notably Islam, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Islam came to Bulgaria at the prevent of the 14th century after the conquest of the united states per Ottomans. It bit by bit gained dominance throughout a Fifteenth & Sixteenth centuries by introduction of Turkish colonists & (normally emphatic) conversion of Bulgarians and at a period of the Liberation (1878) not to a lesser degree 40% of the people of the united states was Muslim. A percentage has been greatly reduced since so, mostly due to expatriation. Within 2001, there were 967,000 Muslims in Bulgaria (12.2% of the people).

In a Sixteenth & a 17th century missionaries from either Rome converted the Bulgarian Paulicians in the districts of Plovdiv and Svishtov to Roman Catholicism. Their descendent form today a bulk of Bulgarian Catholics whose total stood at 44,000 within 2001. Protestantism was introduced around Bulgaria by missionaries from either a United States in 1857. Mission continued throughout a 2nd half of a Nineteenth & the number one half of the 20th century. Inside 2001, there were a select few 42,000 Protestants in Bulgaria.

Bulgarian Orthodox Church Roman Catholicism in Bulgaria Protestantism in Bulgaria Islam in Bulgaria Judaism

National parks
Bulgaria has concluded Tenner major national parks & numerous reservation areas.

[http://www.centralbalkannationalpark.org/en/ Central Balkan National Park] Golden Sands National Park [http://www.pirin-np.com/English/pirin-np_E.htm Pirin National Park] [http://www.rhodope.net/ Rhodope National Park] [http://www.rilanationalpark.org/en/ Rila National Park] Roussenski Lom National Park Sinite Kamani National Park Shoumen Plateau National Park [http://www.staraplanina.org/index.php Stara Planina (Balkan Mountains)] [http://www.discoverstrandja.com/index.htm Strandja National Park] [http://www.picturesofbulgaria.com/article/vitosha_national_park.html Vitosha National Park] Vratchansky Balkan National Park

Additional Resources
[http://www.bulgariannationalparks.org/en/ Bulgarian National Parks] [http://www.greenbalkans.org/index_en.html Green Balkans]

Miscellaneous topics
Communications in Bulgaria Foreign relations of Bulgaria Military of Bulgaria Public holidays in Bulgaria Reporters without borders world-wide press freedom stock 2004: stratified 36 away from 167 countries Tourism in Bulgaria Transportation in Bulgaria

Very much of a lesson within these articles comes from either the CIA World Factbook 200& a 2003 U.S. Department of State web site.

Further Reading

The Concise History of Bulgaria RJ Crampton ''Beyond Hitler's Grasp: A Heroic Rescue of Bulgaria's Jews Michael Bar-Zohar Blue Answer: Bulgaria James Pettifer Crown of Thorns : A Reign of King Boris Ternary of Bulgaria, 1918-1943 Stephane Groueff A Fragility of Goodness: How come Bulgaria's Jews Survived a Holocaust Tzvetan Todorov Lonely Planet Globe Choice: Bulgaria Paul Greenway Music of Bulgaria Timothy Rice A Rough in Answer To Bulgaria Jonathan Bousfield Voices from either a Gulag: Life & Dying within Communistic Bulgaria'' Tzvetan Todorov