Bulgaria

Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in <a href="/facts/Southeast_Europe/zxgEvCdQ">Southeast Europe</a>. It is situated on the eastern portion of the <a href="/facts/Balkans/5Hy8ly0d">Balkans</a> directly south of the <a href="/facts/Danube/8lMeM9xg">Danube</a> river and west of the <a href="/facts/Black_Sea/M0rLKvge">Black Sea</a>. Bulgaria is bordered by <a href="/facts/Greece/lqHw8bTB">Greece</a> and <a href="/facts/Turkey/KIYAWAs0">Turkey</a> to the south, <a href="/facts/Serbia/U0LVzPdI">Serbia</a> and <a href="/facts/North_Macedonia/YpfcC5DA">North Macedonia</a> to the west, and <a href="/facts/Romania/yolzk5cN">Romania</a> to the north. It covers a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi) and is the tenth largest within the <a href="/facts/European_Union/6GYcR8qM">European Union</a> and the <a href="/facts/List_of_European_countries_by_area/6jTfv2P5">sixteenth-largest country</a> in Europe by area. <a href="/facts/Sofia/2DVkVamk">Sofia</a> is the nation's capital and <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_and_towns_in_Bulgaria/odSPC4Xc">largest city</a>; other major cities include <a href="/facts/Burgas/eF0pM30E">Burgas</a>, <a href="/facts/Plovdiv/28MKHt8X">Plovdiv</a>, and <a href="/facts/Varna%2c_Bulgaria/uDqsApHF">Varna</a>.
One of the earliest societies in the lands of modern-day Bulgaria was the <a href="/facts/Karanovo_culture/2xgQWk89">Karanovo culture</a> (6,500 BC). In the 6th to 3rd century BC, the region was a battleground for ancient <a href="/facts/Thracians/JrSuD03j">Thracians</a>, <a href="/facts/Persians/4GhM3jl2">Persians</a>, <a href="/facts/Celts/eMCVYAFz">Celts</a> and <a href="/facts/Ancient_Macedonians/9jEwboFN">Macedonians</a>; stability came when the <a href="/facts/Roman_Empire/l4E1aUuV">Roman Empire</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Early_Slavs/SzKC53Jf">early Slavs</a>. The <a href="/facts/Bulgars/VftrpvNf">Bulgars</a>, led by <a href="/facts/Asparuh_of_Bulgaria/7cA3KWXN">Asparuh</a>, attacked from the lands of <a href="/facts/Old_Great_Bulgaria/xUhTfxcq">Old Great Bulgaria</a> and permanently invaded the Balkans in the late 7th century. They established the <a href="/facts/First_Bulgarian_Empire/3RCq0kUp">First Bulgarian Empire</a>, victoriously recognised by treaty in 681 AD by the <a href="/facts/Byzantine_Empire/njEELXWF">Byzantine Empire</a>. It dominated most of the Balkans and significantly influenced <a href="/facts/Slavs/mphU6hzm">Slavic</a> cultures by developing the <a href="/facts/Cyrillic_script/0btN3oWC">Cyrillic script</a>. Under the rule of the <a href="/facts/Krum%2527s_dynasty/ktHaea6A">Krum's dynasty</a>, 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 <a href="/facts/Basil_II/BGb8A7EA">Basil II</a> conquered and dismantled it. A <a href="/facts/Uprising_of_Asen_and_Peter/dLr621xM">successful Bulgarian revolt</a> in 1185 established a <a href="/facts/Second_Bulgarian_Empire/zAWspoUj">Second Bulgarian Empire</a>, which reached its apex under <a href="/facts/Ivan_Asen_II_of_Bulgaria/dPLM0o54">Ivan Asen II</a> (1218–1241). After numerous exhausting wars and feudal strife, the empire disintegrated and in 1396 fell under <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottoman</a> rule for nearly five centuries.
The <a href="/facts/Russo-Turkish_War_of_1877%25E2%2580%259378/KqxV0Co1">Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Irredentist/f2pPV9WG">irredentist</a> sentiments that led to several conflicts with its neighbours and alliances with <a href="/facts/Germany/paluuWBX">Germany</a> in both world wars. In 1946, Bulgaria came under the Soviet-led <a href="/facts/Eastern_Bloc/12f32hA7">Eastern Bloc</a> and became a <a href="/facts/People%2527s_Republic_of_Bulgaria/yCW1fYUn">socialist state</a>. The ruling <a href="/facts/Bulgarian_Communist_Party/AfpfzvPN">Communist Party</a> gave up its monopoly on power after the <a href="/facts/Revolutions_of_1989/gLWM6JLk">revolutions of 1989</a> and allowed <a href="/facts/Multi-party_system/QaTh5oox">multiparty</a> elections. Bulgaria then transitioned into a <a href="/facts/Democracy/3tLdVS1C">democracy</a>.
Since adopting <a href="/facts/Constitution_of_Bulgaria/hxjaeHWP">a democratic constitution</a> in 1991, Bulgaria has been a <a href="/facts/Parliamentary_republic/W8AubFBo">parliamentary republic</a> composed of 28 provinces, with a high degree of <a href="/facts/Government_of_Bulgaria/7G1wCxH9">political, administrative, and economic centralisation</a>. Its <a href="/facts/World_Bank_high-income_economy/KTrB8swr">high-income economy</a> is part of the <a href="/facts/European_Single_Market/wJDK3gK8">European Single Market</a> and is largely based on services, followed by <a href="/facts/Industry_of_Bulgaria/G46lxbbK">manufacturing</a> and <a href="/facts/Mining_in_Bulgaria/MIJ23Gp4">mining</a>—and <a href="/facts/Agriculture_in_Bulgaria/MAqE5TBy">agriculture</a>. Bulgaria has been influenced by its role as a transit country for <a href="/facts/Energy_in_Bulgaria/P4Vz074P">natural gas and oil pipelines</a>, as well as its strategic <a href="/facts/Bulgarian_Black_Sea_Coast/A6dFCKU2">location on the Black Sea</a>. Its <a href="/facts/Foreign_relations_of_Bulgaria/nLPaGWxR">foreign relations</a> have been shaped by its geographical location and its modern membership in the <a href="/facts/2007_enlargement_of_the_European_Union/1WGyqSqC">European Union</a> and <a href="/facts/Enlargement_of_NATO/vlKGBMvB">NATO</a>.

Bulgaria open-in-new

Bulgaria