Bulgaria

Bulgaria (България, Bălgariya, pronounced ), officially the Republic of Bulgaria (Република България, Republika Bălgariya, pronounced ), a state in, borders five other countries; to the north (mostly along the ),  and the  to the west, and  and  to the south. It is bordered by the to the east.

Bulgaria comprises the regions of, , and  and has a civilized history spanning more than 6600 years. It is the sovereign successor of a powerful an, the First Bulgarian Empire, which at times covered most of the Balkans and spread its culture and literature among the of Eastern Europe. Centuries later, during the decline of the Second Bulgarian Empire, the country fell under five centuries of rule. Bulgaria was re-established as a in 1878, also known as the birth of the Third Bulgarian Kingdom. After, Bulgaria became a and part of the.

Today, Bulgaria functions as a, , , a member of the and of. It has a population of approximately 7.7 million, with as its  and largest city.

Geography
Geographically and in terms of climate, Bulgaria features notable diversity, with the landscape ranging from the snow-capped peaks in,  and the  to the mild and sunny weather of the Black Sea coast, from the typically   (ancient ) in the north to the strong  in the valleys of  and the lowlands in the southernmost parts of.



Bulgaria comprises portions of the regions known in as, , and. The mountainous southwest of the country has two alpine ranges — and  — and further east stand the lower but more extensive. mountain includes the highest peak of the Balkan Peninsula, peak at 2,925 meters (9,596 ); the long range of the  runs west-east through the middle of the country, north of the famous. Hilly country and plains lie in the southeast, along the coast in the east, and along Bulgaria's main river, the  in the north. Other major rivers include the and the  in the south. There are around 260 glacial lakes situated in Rila and Pirin, several large lakes on the Black Sea coast and more than 2,200 dam lakes. Mineral springs are in great abundance located mainly in the south-western and central parts of the country along the faults between the mountains.Bulgaria has a, with cool and damp winters, very hot and dry summers, and influence along the Black Sea coast. The barrier effect of the Balkan Mountains influences climate throughout the country: northern Bulgaria gets slightly cooler and receives more rain than the southern regions. Average in Bulgaria is about 630 millimetres per year. The driest areas are and the northern coastal strip, while the higher parts of the mountains Rila and Stara Planina receive the highest levels of precipitation. In summer, temperatures in the south of Bulgaria often exceed 40 degrees Celsius, but remain cooler by the coast. The highest recorded temperature is 46.7c near Plovdiv.

The country possesses relatively rich mineral resources, including vast reserves of and  ; non-ferrous ores such as, ,  and. It has large deposits of ore in the north-east. Smaller deposits exist of, , , and others. Bulgaria has abundant non-metalliferous minerals such as, , ,.

The derives its name from the Balkan or  mountain-range, which runs through the centre of Bulgaria and extends into eastern.





Bulgaria's larger cities include:


 * (1,380,406 inhabitants)
 * (376,918)
 * (346 944)
 * (209,985)
 * (176,118)
 * (163,193)
 * (121,700)
 * (115,861)
 * (106,434)
 * (103,016)

Bulgaria operates a scientific on  in the  off.

Prehistory
Prehistoric cultures of Bulgaria include the neolithic and  (6th to 3rd millennia BC), the   (5th millennium BC, see also ), and the Bronze Age. The serves as a gauge for the prehistory of the wider Balkans region.

Antiquity

 * See this link for the Treasure, which ranks among the most splendid achievements of the Thracian culture.

The Thracians, the earliest known people to inhabit the present-day territory of Bulgaria, have left traceable marks among all the Balkan region despite its tumultuous history of many conquests. The Thracians lived divided into numerous separate tribes until King Teres united most of them around 500 BC in the Odrysian kingdom, which peaked under the kings Sitalkes and Cotys I (383-359 BC). In 188 BC, the Romans invaded Thrace, and the wars with them continued to 45. Thrace was never conquered: The Romans reached a ceasefire with the Thracians which allowed them to keep all their privileges and religious freedoms in exchange of accepting the Roman administration.

"The Great Bulgaria in Roman times had been called Moesia and had a mixed population of Thracians, Greeks and ns, most of whom spoke either Greek or a sub-Latin language known as Romance." This region "had been overrun by the Slavs in the mid 7th century.

Old Great Bulgaria
In 632 the, led by Khan , formed an independent state called , bounded by the  delta to the west, the  to the south, the  to the southeast, and the  to the east. recognized the new state by treaty in 635.

Pressure from the led to the loss of the eastern part of Great Bulgaria in the second half of the seventh century. Some of the Bulgars from that territory later migrated to the northeast to form a new state called (around the confluence of the  and s), which lasted until the thirteenth century.

In the 8th century Hungarians have entered the Carpathian Basin through Transylvania, ruled by Bulgarian leaders at the time. Bulgaria's borders were pushed lower to the southern Carpahian Mountains.

First Bulgarian Empire




Kubrat’s successor, Khan, migrated with some of the Bulgarian tribes to the lower courses of the rivers , and  (known as Ongal), and conquered  and   from the , expanding Great Bulgaria further into the. Historians consider the peace-treaty with Byzantium in 681 and the establishment of the new Bulgar capital of south of the Danube as marking the beginning of the. At the same time one of Asparuh's brothers,, settled with another Bulgar group in.

In 718 the raised the   of, killing some 40,000 to 60,000 Arab soldiers. Contemporaries referred to the Bulgarian Khan as "The Saviour of Europe". For centuries afterward Bulgarians and their allies saw themselves as the angel warriors of Europe.



The influence and territorial expansion of Bulgaria increased further during the rule of , who in 811 won a decisive victory against the Byzantine army led by in the.

In 864 Bulgaria accepted the. The country became a major European power in the ninth and the tenth centuries, while fighting with the Byzantine Empire for the control of the Balkans. This happened under the rule of. During his reign, the originated in  and , adapted from the Glagolitic alphabet invented by the monks.



The Cyrillic alphabet became the basis for further cultural development. Centuries later, this alphabet, along with the language, fostered the intellectual written language (lingua franca) for Eastern Europe, known as Church Slavonic. The greatest territorial extension was reached under, the first Bulgarian ,son of Boris I, covering most of the Balkans. However, his greatest achievement was that at that time Bulgaria developed rich, unique Christian Slavonic culture, which became an example for the other Slavonic peoples in Eastern Europe and ensured the continued existence of the Bulgarian nation regardless of the centrifugal forces that threatened to tear it into pieces throughout its long, rich and war-ridden history.

Following a decline in the mid-tenth century (worn out by wars with, by frequent Serbian rebellions sponsored by Byzantine gold, and by disastrous Magyar and Pecheneg invasions ), Bulgaria collapsed in the face of an assault of the  in 969-971. The Byzantines then began campaigns to conquer Bulgaria. In 971, they seized the capital and captured Emperor. Resistance continued under in the western Bulgarian lands for nearly half a century. The country managed to recover and defeated the Byzantines in several major battle taking the control of the most of the Balkans and in 991 invaded the Serbian state. However, the state was completely destroyed by the led by  (Basil the Bulgar-Slayer) in 1018 after their victory at.

Byzantine Bulgaria


In the first decade after the establishment of Byzantine rule, no evidence remains of any major attempt at resistance or any uprising of the Bulgarian population or nobility. Given the existence of such irreconcilable opponents to Byzantium as, , Dragash and others, such apparent passivity seems difficult to explain. Some historians explain this fact by concessions that granted the Bulgarian nobility in order to gain their obedience. In the first place, guaranteed the indivisibility of Bulgaria in its former geographic borders and did not abolish officially the local rule of the Bulgarian nobility that now became part of  as s or. Second, special charters (royal decrees) of recognised the  of the  and set up its boundaries, s, property and other privileges.

The people of Bulgaria challenged Byzantine rule several times in the 11th and then again later in the early 12th century. The biggest occurred under the leadership of , (proclaimed Emperor of Bulgaria in  in 1040). In the mid to late 11th century, the Normans, fresh from their recent conquests in southern Italy and Sicily landed in the Balkans and began advancing against the Byzantine Empire. It took the Byzantines until 1185 before the Normans were driven out but until then they posed a constant threat to Byzantine Bulgaria. In 1091 another invasion came in the form of the s. However, these too were crushed at and again in c. 1120 by the Byzantine Empire. After that, the Hungarians made an attempt to increase their influence beyond the Danube river; John Comnenus' campaigns along the Danube eventually drove back the Hungarians as well by c.1140. It would be another 45 years before Bulgaria would attain independence. Until that time, Bulgarian nobles ruled the province in the name of the Byzantine Empire until a rebellion by the last vassal lord led to the establishment of the.

Second Bulgarian Empire
From 1185 the once again established Bulgaria as an important  in Europe for two more centuries. With its capital based in and under the, this empire fought for dominance in the region against the Byzantine Empire, the  and , reaching its zenith under  (1218–1241). Аs a result of the (beginning in the later 13th century), of internal conflicts and of the constant attacks from the Byzantines and the Hungarians, the power of the country declined until the end of the 13th century. From 1300 under Emperor Bulgaria regained its strength, but by the end of the fourteenth century the country had disintegrated into several feudal principalities and was eventually conquered by the. A - crusade under the rule of to free the Balkans was crushed in 1444 in the.

Ottoman rule


The five centuries of Ottoman rule featured great violence and oppression. The Ottomans decimated the Bulgarian population, which lost most of its cultural relics. Large towns and the areas where Ottoman power predominated remained severely depopulated until the nineteenth century.

The Kingdom of Bulgaria


Following the (when Russian soldiers together with a n expeditionary force and volunteer Bulgarian troops defeated the Ottoman armies), the  of, , set up an autonomous Bulgarian principality. The Western immediately rejected the treaty: they feared that a large Slavic country in the  would serve Russian interests. This led to the which provided for an autonomous Bulgarian principality comprising  and the region of. The first Bulgarian prince was. Most of was included in the autonomous region of, whereas the rest of Thrace and all of  was returned under the sovereignty of the. After the and  with  in 1885, the principality was proclaimed a fully independent kingdom on , 1908, during the reign of.

Ferdinand, a prince from the ducal family of, became the Bulgarian Prince after abdicated in 1886 following a coup d'état staged by pro-Russian army-officers. (Although the counter-coup d'état coordinated by succeeded, Prince Alexander decided not to remain the Bulgarian ruler without the approval of .) The struggle for liberation of the Bulgarians in the, Vilayet and Macedonia continued throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries culminating with the  organised by the  in 1903.



The Balkan Wars and World War I
In 1912 and 1913 Bulgaria became involved in the, first entering into conflict alongside Greece, Serbia and Montenegro against the Ottoman Empire. The (1912-1913) proved a success for the Bulgarian army, but a conflict for the division of Macedonia arose amongst the victorious the allies. The (1913) pitted Bulgaria against Greece and Serbia, joined by Romania and Turkey. After its defeat in the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria lost considerable territory conquered in the first war, as well as and parts of the

During, Bulgaria found itself fighting on the losing side as a result of its alliance with the. The defeat led to new territorial losses (the to,  to  and the re-conquered  to ). The Balkan Wars and World War I led to the influx of over 250,000 Bulgarian refugees from, and  and. These numbers increased in the 1930s following Serbian state-sponsored aggression against its native Bulgarian population.

The interwar years
In September 1918 Tsar Ferdinand abdicated in favour of his son in order to head off  revolutionary tendencies. Under the (November 1919), Bulgaria ceded its Aegean coastline to Greece, recognized the existence of, ceded nearly all of its Macedonian territory to that new state, and had to give Dobruja back to the Romanians. The country had to reduce its army to 20,000 men, and to pay reparations exceeding $400 million. Bulgarians generally refer to the results of the treaty as the "Second National Catastrophe".

Elections in March 1920 gave the a large majority, and  formed Bulgaria's first peasant government. He faced huge social problems, but succeeded in carrying out many social reforms, although opposition from the middle and upper classes, the landlords and the officers of the army remained powerful. In March 1923 Stamboliyski signed an agreement with Yugoslavia recognising the new border and agreeing to suppress VMRO, which favoured a war to regain Macedonia for Bulgaria. This triggered a nationalist reaction, and on after which Stamboliykski was assassinated. A right wing government under took power, backed by the army and the VMRO, who waged a  against the Agrarians and the Communists. In 1926 the Tsar persuaded Tsankov to resign, a more moderate government under took office and an amnesty was proclaimed, although the Communists remained banned. Popular alliance including the re-organised Agrarians won elections in 1931 under the name Popular Bloc.

In May 1934 took place, removing the Popular Bloc from power and establishing an authoritarian military régime headed by. A year later the Tsar managed to remove the military régime from power, restoring a form of parliamentary rule without the re-establishment of the political parties and under his strict control. The Tsar's regime proclaimed neutrality but gradually Bulgaria gravitated into alliance with and.

World War II
After regaining control over in 1940, Bulgaria became allied with the, although no Bulgarian soldiers participated in the  against the. During World War II allowed Bulgaria to occupy parts of  and of, including territories long coveted by the Bulgarians. Bulgaria became one of three countries (with Finland and Denmark) that saved its entire Jewish population (around 50,000) from the camps by refusing to comply with a   resolution. But the Bulgarian authorities sent Jews in territories newly acquired from Greece and Yugoslavia to death-camps at Germany's request. In September 1944 the Soviet army entered Bulgaria, which enabled the Bulgarian Communists to later seize power and establish a Communist state. In 1944, Bulgaria's forces were turned against its former German ally (a 450,000 strong army in 1944, reduced to 130,000 in 1945). More than 20,000 Bulgarian soldiers and officers were killed in the war.

People's Republic of Bulgaria
After World War II Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. It became a in 1946 and one of the 's staunchest allies. In the late 1970s it began normalizing relations with Greece, and in the 1990s with Turkey. The People's Republic ended in 1989 as many s in, as well as the Soviet Union itself, began to collapse. Opposition forces removed the Bulgarian Communist leader from power on.

The Republic of Bulgaria
In February 1990 the Communist Party voluntarily gave up its monopoly on power, and in June 1990 the first free elections since 1931 took place, won by the moderate wing of the Communist Party, renamed the (BSP). In July 1991 the country adopted a new constitution which provided for a relatively weak elected President and for a Prime Minister accountable to the legislature.

The anti-Communist took office, and between 1992 and 1994 carried through the privatization of land and industry, but faced massive unemployment and economic difficulties. The reaction against economic reform allowed BSP to take office again in 1995, but by 1996 the BSP government had also encountered difficulties, and in the presidential elections of that year the UDF's was elected. In 1997 the BSP government collapsed and the UDF came to power. Unemployment, however, remained high and the electorate became increasingly dissatisfied with both parties.

On, , the son of Tsar Boris III and the former Head of state (as  Tsar of Bulgaria from 1943 to 1946), won a narrow victory in the democratic elections held. The king's party — ("NMSII") — won 120 out of 240 seats in Parliament and overturned the two pre-existing political parties. Simeon's popularity declined during his four-year rule as Prime Minister, and the BSP won the elections in 2005, but could not form a single-party government and had to seek a coalition.

Since 1989 Bulgaria has held multi-party and privatized its economy, but economic difficulties and a tide of corruption have led over 800,000 Bulgarians, most of them qualified professionals, to emigrate. Economic conditions nevertheless continue to improve.

Politics


Bulgaria joined on,  and signed the  on. It became a full member of the on. The country had joined the in 1955, and became a founding member of  in 1995. As a Consultative Party to the, Bulgaria takes part in the governing of the territories situated south of 60° south latitude.

, the since , won re-election on   and began his second term in office in January 2007. (Bulgarian voters directly elect their presidents for a five-year term with the right to one re-election.) The president serves as the and commander in chief of the armed forces. He is also the head of the Consultative Council for National Security and, while unable to initiate other than Constitutional amendments, the President can return a bill for further debate, although the parliament can override the President's veto by vote of a majority of all MPs.

Since   as Prime Minister has chaired the, the principal body of the executive branch, which  consists of 20 ministers. The Prime Minister — usually nominated by the largest parliamentary group — receives the mandate of the President to form a cabinet.

The governmental coalition comprises the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP),  (NMSII) and the  (representing mainly the  minority).

The Bulgarian, the National Assembly or  (Народно събрание), consists of 240 deputies, each elected for four-year terms by popular vote. The votes go to parties or to coalition lists of candidates for each of the 28 administrative divisions. A party or must win a minimum of 4% of the vote in order to enter parliament. Parliament is responsible for enactment of laws, approval of the budget, scheduling of presidential elections, selection and dismissal of the and other ministers, declaration of war, deployment of troops outside of Bulgaria, and ratification of international treaties and agreements.

The elections took place in June 2005. The scheduled  elections should take place in summer 2009.

The Bulgarian judicial system consists of regional, district and appeal courts, as well as a Supreme Court of Cassation. In addition, Bulgaria has a Supreme Administrative Court and a system of military courts. The Presidents of the Supreme Court of Cassation and of the Supreme Administrative Court, as well as the Prosecutor General, are elected by a qualified majority of two-thirds from all the members of the Supreme Judicial Council and are appointed by the President of the Republic. The Supreme Judicial Council is in charge of the self-administration and organization of the Judiciary.

The Constitutional Court supervises the review of the constitutionality of laws and statutes brought before it, as well as the compliance of these laws with international treaties that the Government has signed. Parliament elects the twelve members of the Constitutional Court by a two-thirds majority: the members serve for a nine-year term.

The territory of the Republic of Bulgaria subdivides into provinces and municipalities. In all, Bulgaria has 28 provinces, each headed by a provincial governor appointed by the government. In addition, the country includes 263 municipalities.

Military


The consists of three services: the, the  and the. The armed forces have as their patron saint Sveti Georgi, and his feast day, , is also celebrated nationally as Valour and Army Day. Despite active participation in all major an wars since the end of the nineteenth century, Bulgarian forces have never lost a flag. Bulgaria first became a major military power in Europe under and, in a series of wars with the  for control of the , in the late ninth century. By the use of approximately 12,000 heavy in tactics representing those of feudal s, Simeon I's forces were able to reach as far as the Byzantine capital,, in AD 896. A formal peace treaty lasted until 912 when both sides were engaged in a war which ended with several major defeats of the Byzantines including one of the bloodiest battles in the at Anchialus in AD 917. Bulgaria again became a significant military power under the rule of the, in the and. During the rule of Tsar (1197-1207), Bulgaria became the first European country to defeat the Crusader knights. Since gaining total independence from the in 1878, Bulgaria has been a small European country, frequently included in plans and wars of the. In 1913, Bulgarian forces introduced aviation bombardment, in the siege of. Following a series of reductions beginning in 1989, the active troops of Bulgaria's army number as many as 68,450, today. Reserve forces include 303,000 soldiers and officers. "PLAN 2004," an effort to modernize Bulgaria's armed forces, aims to better meet the military needs of and the.

Bulgarian military personnel have participated in international missions in, , , and. Starting in 2008, Bulgaria will completely abolish compulsory military service. Bulgaria's naval and air forces became fully professional in 2006, with the land forces scheduled to follow suit in 2008. Bulgaria's special forces have conducted missions with the, , , and the of Russia.

In April 2006 Bulgaria and the signed a defense-cooperation agreement providing for the development of the Bulgarian air bases at  (near ) and  (near ), the  training range (near ), and a logistics centre in  as. Bulgaria's navy comprises mainly Soviet-era ships, and two submarines. With only 354 km of coastline, assault by sea is not considered a major risk for Bulgaria. In the course of recent modernization efforts, one new frigate was purchased from, and the navy is finalizing a deal with French company for the acquisition of four Gowind corvettes. Bulgaria's air forces also use a large amount of Soviet equipment. Plans to acquire transport and s are underway, in addition to a major overhaul on old Soviet weapon systems. Military spending accounts for nearly 2.6% of Bulgaria's.

Provinces and municipalities
Between 1987 and 1999, Bulgaria consisted of nine provinces (oblasti, singular ); since 1999, it has consisted of twenty-eight. All take their names from their respective capital cities:

The provinces subdivide into 287.

Economy
A member of the European Union since 2007, Bulgaria has a rapidly growing, technologically developed economy. The country boasts the second-highest in Southeastern Europe in terms of GDP per capita. Inflation is well under control; unemployment stands lower than the average for the European Union and is steadily declining. Due to this positive economic profile, Bulgaria is expected to join the Eurozone in 2011, after having spent 3 years in ERM II, the entry for which is currently scheduled for early 2008. In comparison, the majority of EU member states, which are currently struggling with the Eurozone criteria, are expected to join the single currency union later than 2011.

Bulgaria's economy contracted dramatically after 1989 with the dissolution of the (COMECON), with which the Bulgarian economy had integrated closely. The standard of living fell by about 40%, but it regained pre-1990 levels in June 2004. sanctions against and  took a heavy toll on the Bulgarian economy. The first signs of recovery emerged in 1994 when the grew and  fell. During the government of 's cabinet in 1996, the economy collapsed due to lack of international economic support and an unstable banking system. Since 1997, the country has been on the path to recovery, with GDP growing at a 4% – 5% rate, increasing FDI, macroeconomic stability and membership.

The former NMSII government elected in 2001 pledged to maintain the fundamental economic policy-objectives adopted by its predecessor in 1997, specifically: retaining the Currency Board, practising sound financial policies, accelerating, and pursuing structural reforms. Economic forecasts for 2005 and 2006 predicted continued growth in the economy. Economists predicted annual year-on-year GDP growth for 2005 and 2006 of 5.3% and 6.0% respectively. Industrial output for 2005 was forecast to rise by 11.9% from the previous year, and for 2006 by 15.2%. Unemployment for 2005 was projected at 11.5%, 9% for 2006 and 7.25% for 2007. As of 2006 the GDP structure is: agriculture 8.0%; industry 26,1%; services 65.9%.

Agriculture
Agricultural output has decreased overall since 1989 but production has grown in. Arable farming predominates over stock-breeding. The prevalence of mechanisation is higher than most other Eastern European countries but there is lack of modern equipment. Alongside s and other equipment, there are over 150,000 s and 10,000 s.

Industry


Industry plays a key role in the Bulgarian economy. Although Bulgaria lacks large reserves of oil and gas, it produces much electricity, serving as the most important exporter in the region due to the  with a total capacity of 2000 MW. Construction has on a second plant, the  with a capacity of 2,000 MW. There is a $1,400,000,000 project for construction of an additional 670 MW for the 500 MW Thermal Power Plant (see ).

Ferrous has major importance. The production of and  concentrates in  and. There is also a third metallurgical base in. In production of steel and steel products per capita the country is first in the.

The largest refineries for and  operate in  (the biggest refinery between Italy and the Ural mountains),  and ; for  in  and ; for  in. In production of many metals per capita, Bulgaria ranks first in and among the first in  and in the world.

About 14% of the total industrial production relates to machine-building and 24% of the people work in this field. Its importance decreased since 1989 but has started growing again.

and electric equipment-production have developed to a high degree. The largest centres include, and surrounding area, , , ,  and many others. These plants produce s, s, s, s, and scientific equipment.

Many factories producing equipment do not work at full capacity. Plants produce s, s , s , es , s , motorcars (automotive assembly plant in ). serves as the main centre for agricultural machinery. Shipbuilding is concentrated in, and. Arms production is mainly developed in central Bulgaria.

Foreigners seeking additional homes have boosted the Bulgarian property-market. Buyers come from right across Europe, but mostly from the, encouraged by relatively cheap property and finding the country more accessible through cheap air travel.

Science, technology and telecommunications
Bulgaria offers excellent conditions for high-tech and telecommunication industries and services with its strategic location, highly-qualified workforce, macroeconomic stability, growing and well-educated specialists due to country's traditionally strong al system, with one of the highest rankings of youth mathematicians and informaticians in the world. For these reasons some multinational companies chose to build their regional offices and headquarters in Bulgaria — even before Bulgaria joined the EU. , the most notable is, which built its Global Service Centre for , the and  in Sofia.

has arguably grown faster than any other industry in the country. Three GSM mobile operators —, and  —  provide almost 100% coverage. They have hundreds of service centres throughout the country, constantly growing in number and quality. More than 6,245,000 Bulgarians own mobile s. Mobikom is the only NMT 450 mobile phone operator. Internet is available in each town and lately in most villages with a fast connectivity and ; connection in bigger cities is offered by. There are around 185,000 Internet hosts.

The country has some precedents for its current science industry. The inventor of the earliest known electronic computer,, had Bulgarian ancestry. Bulgaria supplied many scientific and research instruments for the space-programmes, was the first European country to develop serial computer production, and has experience in pharmaceutical research and development. The is the leading scientific institution in the country with most of the researchers working for its numerous branches.

Bulgaria hosts two major : the, the biggest in , and the with three s; as well as several "public astronomical observatories" with s, focused on nal and  activities.

Transport
Bulgaria occupies a unique and strategically important geographic location. Since ancient times, the country has served as a major crossroads between, and. Five of the ten run through its territory. The total length of the roads is 102,016 km of which 93,855 km are paved and 416 km are motorways. Several motorways are planned, under construction or partially built:, , , , and. Other motorways are planned but their final track is yet to be decided. They include a link between the capital and, a link between the Struma and Trakiya motorways south of , a link between  and , and the. Many roads have been recently reconstructed. The length of railways is 6,500 km of which more than 60% are electrified. There is a €360,000,000 project for the modernization and electrification of the - railway.

Air transportation has developed relatively comprehensively. Bulgaria has six official international airports at, , , , and. Massive investment plans exist for the first three. There are important domestic airports in, , , , , , and. After the fall of communism in 1989, most of them are not used as the importance of domestic flights declined. There are many military airports and agricultural airfields. 128 of the 213 in Bulgaria are paved. The ports of and  are by far the most important and have the largest turnover. Other than Burgas,, and  are big fishing ports. The largest ports on the Danube River are and  which serves the capital. There is well organised public transport in the cities and in many smaller towns. There are buses, trolleys (in about 20 cities) and trams (in Sofia). The in the capital is to have three lines with total length of about 48 km and 52 stations, but only a section is currently completed.

Demographics


According to the 2001 , Bulgaria's population consists mainly of (83.9%), with two sizable minorities,  (9.4%) and  (4.7%). Of the remaining 2.0%, 0.9% comprises some 40 smaller minorities, most prominently in numbers the, , , , ,  and. 1.1% of the population did not declare their ethnicity in the latest census in 2001.

84.8% of the population speak as their mother-tongue. Bulgarian, a member of the, remains the only official language, but speakers of other languages (such as and ) correspond closely to ethnic proportions.

The country has a population estimated at between 400,000 and 800,000.

Most Bulgarians (82.6%) belong, at least nominally, to the, the national. Other religious denominations include (12.2%), various  denominations (0.8%),  (0.5%), with other denominations, atheists and undeclared amounting approximately to 4.1%.

In the recent years Bulgaria has had one of the slowest population growth-rates in the world. Negative population growth has occurred since the early 1990s, due to economic collapse and high emigration. In 1988 the population comprised 8,859,000 people, and in 2001 7,950,000. Bulgaria suffers a heavy demographic crisis. Bulgaria has a fertility-rate of 1.4 children per woman as of 2007, with a predicted rate of 1.7 by the end of 2050. The fertility-rate will needed to reach 2.2 to restore natural growth in population.

Culture




A country often described as lying at the crossroads linking the and, Bulgaria functioned as the centre of  during much of the Middle Ages, exerting considerable literary and cultural influence over the Eastern Orthodox Slavic world by means of the  and s. Bulgaria also gave the world the , the second most-widely used  in the world, which originated in these two schools in the tenth century AD.

Bulgaria has a reputation for rich folklore, distinctive traditional music, rituals and tales; but the country's contribution to humanity also continued in the nineteenth and twentieth century, when individuals such as - born in USA with Bulgarian origin, regarded as the father of the, a number of noted opera singers , , and successful artists  popularized the culture of Bulgaria abroad.

A number of ancient civilizations, most notably the, , , and , have left their mark on the culture, history and heritage of Bulgaria. The country has nine s:


 * two Thracian tombs (one in and one in )
 * three monuments of medieval Bulgarian culture (the, the and the )
 * two examples of natural beauty: the and the
 * the ancient city of, a unique combination of European cultural interaction, as well as, historically, one of the most important centres of naval trade in the Black Sea
 * the, a 3500-3200 BC burial site, purportedly containing the oldest examples of worked gold in the world

Tourism


In the northern-hemisphere winter,, , and  become well-attended ski-resorts. Summer resorts exist on the Black Sea at, , , , , , and many others. Spa resorts such as, , , , and many others are popular all over the year. Bulgaria is becoming an attractive destination because of the quality of the resorts and prices below those found in Western Europe.

Bulgaria has enjoyed a substantial growth in income from international tourism over the. Beach resorts attract tourists from, , , the and the. The ski resorts are a favourite destination for and  tourists.

Bulgaria now attracts close to 5 million visitors yearly. Tourism in Bulgaria makes a major contribution towards Bulgaria's annual economic growth of 6%-6.5%.

Sports


has become by far the most popular sport in the country. Many Bulgarian fans closely follow the top Bulgarian league, the ; as well as the leagues of other European countries, such as those, , and. The achieved its greatest success with a fourth-place finish at the  in the. has arguably become the best-known Bulgarian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the finest football players in the world, at the peak of his career between 1992 and 1995, while playing for winning the  in 1994. Additionally, he was named in the ranking. (1943-1971), was himself extremely popular at home and abroad having had offers from clubs in Italy and Portugal. He died tragically in a car accident at the peak of his career. He was awarded Bulgarian football player №1 for the twentieth century. (champion of Bulgaria 30 times) and (25 times champion of Bulgaria and 26 times holder of the National Cup as of 2007) are the most successful Bulgarian football clubs. Other popular clubs include, , , and  (the oldest club in Bulgaria,est. 1912). PFC Levski Sofia is the first Bulgarian team to have participated in the modern (after 1989) having achieved this by qualifying for the.

Aside from football, Bulgaria boasts great achievements in a great variety of other sports. and have each held a record of three world-titles in. Other famous gymnasts include, (a highly successful coach as well) and. Bulgarians also dominate in, with around 1,000 gold medals in different competitions, and in ; , , and  figure among the most distinguished weightlifters and , , ,  and  rank as world-class wrestlers. Bulgarians also take great pride in the country's achievements in athletics. , who still holds the women's world record, jumped 209 centimetres at the  in Rome to clinch the coveted title. Presently, Bulgaria is proud of its sprinters, namely and. recently marked a big resurgence. The is one of the strongest teams in Europe, currently ranked fifth in the  ranklist. At the, they won the bronze medal. is also very popular. One of the top chess-masters in the world,, is Bulgarian. At the end of 2005, both men's and women's world chess champions were Bulgarian as well as the junior world champion. and have won the ISU world figure skating championships twice in a row (2006 and 2007) for ice dance.

Religion


Most citizens of Bulgaria have associations — at least nominally — with the. Founded in 870 AD under the Patriarchate of Constantinople (from which it obtained its first, its clergy and theological texts), the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has had status since 927. The Orthodox Church re-established the in Sofia in the 1950s after the promulgation of the  in 1870. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is the independent national church of Bulgaria like the other national branches of and is considered an inseparable element of Bulgarian national consciousness. The church became subordinate within the, twice during the periods of Byzantine (1018 – 1185) and Ottoman (1396 – 1878) domination but has been revived every time as a symbol of Bulgarian statehood without breaking away from the Orthodox dogma. In 2001, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church had 6,552,000 members in Bulgaria (82.6% of the population). However, many people raised during the 45 years of rule are not religious, even though they may formally be members of the church.

Despite the dominant position of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Bulgarian cultural life, a number of Bulgarian citizens belong to other religious denominations, most notably, and.

came to Bulgaria at the end of the fourteenth century after the conquest of the country by the. It gradually gained ground throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries through the introduction of colonists and the conversion of native Bulgarians. At the time of Liberation (1878) no less than 40% of the population professed Islam, but by the end of the Liberation, had led to a major decrease in  populations.

In the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, missionaries from Rome converted Bulgarian in the districts of  and  to. Today, their descendants form the bulk of Bulgarian Catholics whose number stands at 44,000 in 2001.

Missionaries from the United States introduced into Bulgarian territory in 1857. Missionary work continued throughout the second half of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century. In 2001, there were some 42,000 in Bulgaria.

According to the most recent Eurostat "Eurobarometer" poll, in 2005, only 40% of Bulgarian citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 40% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force", 13% that "they do not believe there is a God, spirit, nor life force", and 6% did not answer.

Pre 1939

 * Hall, Richard C. Bulgaria's Road to the First World War. Columbia University Press, 1996.
 * MacDermott, Mercia. A History of Bulgaria, 1393-1885 (1962) online edition
 * Perry, Duncan M. Stefan Stambolov and the Emergence of Modern Bulgaria, 1870-1895 (1993) online edition
 * Runciman, Steven. A History of the First Bulgarian Empire (1930) online edition
 * (Васил Н. Златарски, История на българската държава през средните векове, Част II, II изд., Наука и изкуство, София 1970.)

World War II

 * . Beyond Hitler's Grasp: The Heroic Rescue of Bulgaria's Jews
 * . Crown of Thorns: The Reign of King Boris III of Bulgaria, 1918–1943
 * The Fragility of Goodness: Why Bulgaria's Jews Survived the Holocaust

Communist era

 * Todorov, Tzvetan. Voices from the Gulag: Life and Death in Communist Bulgaria
 * Dimitrova, Alexenia. The Iron Fist - Inside the Bulgarian secret archives


 * Bell, John D., ed. Bulgaria in Transition: Politics, Economics, Society, and Culture after Communism (1998) online edition

Guide-books

 * Paul Greenway, Lonely Planet World Guide: Bulgaria
 * Pettifer, James. Blue Guide: Bulgaria
 * Timothy Rice, Music of Bulgaria
 * Jonathan Bousfield. The Rough Guide To Bulgaria

Official

 * Council of Ministers
 * Diplomatic missions Portal of Bulgaria abroad
 * European Youth Parliament - Bulgaria
 * The Presidential official site
 * Narodno Sabranie - The National Assembly
 * Ministry of Education
 * Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry
 * Ministry of Culture
 * Ministry of Defense
 * Ministry of State Policy for Disasters and Accidents
 * Ministry of Economy and Energy
 * Ministry of Environment and Water
 * Ministry of European Affairs
 * Ministry of Finance
 * Ministry of Foreign Affairs
 * Ministry of Health
 * Ministry of Interior
 * Ministry of Justice
 * Ministry of Labor & Social Policy
 * Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works
 * Ministry of Public Administration
 * Ministry of Transport
 * Ministry of Energy and Energy Resources - apparently cancelled. more official information at this link
 * State Agency for Tourism
 * State Agency for Youth and Sport
 * State Agency for Information Technology and Communications
 * National Radio
 * Antarctic Place-names Commission of Bulgaria

English-language Bulgarian media

 * Bulgarian News Agency
 * Radio Bulgaria – the world service of the Bulgarian National Radio
 * Dnevnik News
 * The Bulgarian Post
 * Focus English News
 * Sofia News Agency
 * Southeast European Times
 * Standart (daily)
 * The Sofia Echo (weekly)
 * The Frontier Times — Bulgaria's English Language Newspaper (monthly)
 * Bulgaria Info Online Magazine — Free online monthly magazine all about BG
 * Business Spotlight- bimonthly magazine aiming to improve business-skills and communication-abilities.

Other

 * Virtual panoramas from Bulgaria - 360-degree photos
 * Bulgarians Abroad - website for the Bulgarian community abroad
 * Bulgaria at Wikitravel - travel-guide and tourist-information on Bulgaria
 * Bulgarian Folklore (Balkanfolk)
 * Bulgarian Folklore (Eurofolk)
 * Free images from bulgaria with high resolution under CC 2.5
 * Bulgarian cities, villages and resorts - Statistical information: population, area size, geo coordinates, distances, postal and phone codes
 * Treasures of the National Library of Bulgaria displayed via
 * [http://warehousesofneglect.civiblog.org/blog Human-rights research, analysis and photographs of Bulgaria's institutions for children and young adults with mental disabilities
 * [http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/bulgarias-children.shtml Documentary by Kate Blewett, depicting the horror of life at Mogilino, a social-care home for children in Bulgaria (TrueVision, 2007)
 * [http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/bulgarias-children.shtml Documentary by Kate Blewett, depicting the horror of life at Mogilino, a social-care home for children in Bulgaria (TrueVision, 2007)

Vurgaria