Bulgaria and the Bulgarians: a brief illustrated history (with 345 colour photos)

The Republic of Bulgaria is a country in Southeastern Europe occupying the central and eastern parts of the Balkan Peninsula. To the north, Bulgaria borders the Republic of Romania, to the east - the Black Sea, to the south - the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Greece, and to the west - Republic of North Macedonia and the Republic of Serbia.

Bulgaria has a total area of 110,993 square kilometers. The longest distance from north to south is about 330 kilometers and from east to west - 520 kilometers.

The population of Bulgaria as at 31 December 2016 is 7,101,859 people. It is comprised of 85% ethnic Bulgarians, 9% Turks, about 5% Roma and less than 1% other ethnicities such as Jews, Armenians, Greek and Russians.

Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria. It is the largest city in the country with a population of 1,264,064 people. The second largest city in the country is Plovdiv (504,707 people), followed by Varna (395,165) - the main seaport of the country.

The official language is Bulgarian.

In terms of religion, 84% of the population is Christian, around 76% being Eastern Orthodox Christians. The second largest religious community with almost 10% is Muslim. There is a Jewish community in the country as well.

Bulgaria.is a parliamentary republic with a single-chamber House (National Assembly) composed of 240 MPs (National Representatives) with a 4-year mandate. Head of State is the President of the Republic with a 5-year term in office. Central body of the executive power is the Council of Ministers.

National Currency: LEV (international code - BGN), 1 LEV = 100 stotinki. The banknotes have a value of 2, 5,10, 50 and 100 lev, and the coins - 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 stotinki, and 1 and 2 lev. Since 1999 the LEV has been pegged to the German mark and later to the euro with EUR 1 = 1.95583 BGN.

National Holiday - 3 March.

As of 1 January 2007, the Republic of Bulgaria is a fully-fledged member of the European Union.