View source for Bulgaria

{{Short description|Country in Southeast Europe}}
{{About|the country}}
{{Pp-sock|small=yes}}
{{Pp-move}}
{{Pp-semi-indef}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Republic of Bulgaria
| native_name            = {{native name|bg|Република България}} <br/> {{small|{{transliteration|bg|Republika Bŭlgariya}}}}
| common_name            = Bulgaria
| image_flag             = Flag of Bulgaria.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of Bulgaria.svg
| coa_size               = 100
| national_motto         = <wbr/>{{nowrap|{{Nobold|Съединението прави силата|italic=no}}}}<br />''Sŭedinenieto pravi silata''<br />("[[Unity makes strength]]")
| national_anthem        = {{Nobold|Мила Родино|italic=no|nolink=yes}}<br />"[[Mila Rodino]]"<br />("Dear Motherland")<br /><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:Mila Rodino.ogg]]</div>
| image_map              = EU-Bulgaria.svg
| map_width              = 250px
| map_caption            = {{map caption|location_color=dark green|region=Europe|region_color=dark grey|subregion=the [[European Union]]|subregion_color=green|legend=EU-Bulgaria.svg}}
| capital                = [[Sofia]]
| coordinates            = {{Coord|42|41|51|N|23|19|21|E|type:city(1,200,000)_region:BG-22|name=Largo|display=inline}}
| largest_city           = capital
| official_languages     = [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria |url=https://www.parliament.bg/en/const |publisher=National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria |access-date=30 August 2020 |archive-date=19 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819054232/https://www.parliament.bg/en/const |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| languages_type         = [[Official script]]
| languages              = [[Bulgarian alphabet|Cyrillic]]
| languages_sub          = no
| ethnic_groups          = {{unbulleted list|85.7% [[Bulgarians]]|8.5% [[Bulgarian Turks|Turks]]|4.5% [[Romani people in Bulgaria|Roma]]|1.3% others}}
| ethnic_groups_year     = 2021 census{{refn|group=note|name=one|excluding the categories "Cannot determine	", "Don't want to answer", and "Unknown" See [[#Demographics|Demographics]].}}
| ethnic_groups_ref      = <ref name=2021Census-ethnocultural-characteristics>{{cite web |url=https://nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/Census2021_ethnos.pdf |title=Преброяване 2021: Етнокултурна характеристика на населението |trans-title=2021 Census: Ethnocultural characteristics of the population |publisher=[[National Statistical Institute (Bulgaria)|National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124195716/https://nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/Census2021_ethnos.pdf |archive-date=24 November 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| religion               = {{ublist |item_style=white-space; |
{{Tree list}}
* 64.7% [[Christianity]]
** 62.7% [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church|Bulgarian Orthodoxy]]
** 2.0% other [[Christians|Christian]]
{{Tree list/end}}
|15.9% [[Irreligion|no religion]] |9.8% [[Islam in Bulgaria|Islam]] |0.1% [[Religion in Bulgaria|other]] |9.5% unanswered}}
| religion_year          = 2021 census
| religion_ref           = <ref name=2021Census-ethnocultural-characteristics />
| demonym                = {{Unbulleted list
|[[Bulgarians|Bulgarian]]}}
| government_type        = [[Unitary parliamentary republic]]
| leader_title1          = [[President of Bulgaria|President]]
| leader_name1           = [[Rumen Radev]]
| leader_title2          = [[Vice President of Bulgaria|Vice President]]
| leader_name2           = [[Iliana Iotova]]
| leader_title3          = [[Prime Minister of Bulgaria|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name3           = [[Rosen Zhelyazkov]]
| leader_title4          = [[Chairperson of the National Assembly of Bulgaria|Chairperson of the National Assembly]]
| leader_name4           = [[Raya Nazaryan]]
| legislature            = [[National Assembly (Bulgaria)|National Assembly]]
| sovereignty_type       = [[History of Bulgaria|Establishment history]]
| established_event1     = [[First Bulgarian Empire|1st Bulgarian Empire]]
| established_date1      = 681–1018
| established_event2     = [[Second Bulgarian Empire|2nd Bulgarian Empire]]
| established_date2      = 1185–1396
| established_event3     = [[Principality of Bulgaria]]
| established_date3      = 3 March 1878
| established_event4     = [[Bulgarian Declaration of Independence|Independence]] from the [[Ottoman Empire]]
| established_date4      = 5 October 1908
| established_event5     = [[1946 Bulgarian republic referendum|Monarchy abolished]]
| established_date5      = 15 September 1946
| established_event6     = [[History of Bulgaria since 1989|Current state form]]
| established_date6      = 15 November 1990
| area_rank              = 103rd
| area_km2               = 110,993.6<ref name="Penin">{{cite book |last=Penin |first=Rumen |script-title=bg:Природна география на България |trans-title=Natural Geography of Bulgaria |publisher=Bulvest 2000 |page=18 |year=2007 |isbn=978-954-18-0546-6 |language=bg}}</ref>
| area_sq_mi             = 42,811
| percent_water          = 2.16<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html#bu |title=Field listing: Area |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=9 October 2018 |archive-date=31 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140131115000/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html#bu |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| population_census_year = 2021<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/Census2021_population.pdf |title=НАСЕЛЕНИЕ КЪМ 7 СЕПТЕМВРИ 2021 ГОДИНА |publisher=[[National Statistical Institute (Bulgaria)|National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria]] (NSI) |website=www.nsi.bg |language=bulgarian |access-date=9 November 2024}}</ref>
| population_census      = {{DecreaseNeutral}} 6,519,789
| population_estimate    = {{DecreaseNeutral}} 6,437,360
| population_estimate_rank = 109th
| population_estimate_year = December 2024<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nsi.bg/en/content/21307/%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%81%D1%8A%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5/population-and-demographic-processes-2023 |title=Population and Demographic Processes in 2023 |publisher=[[National Statistical Institute (Bulgaria)|National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria]] (NSI) |website=www.nsi.bg |date=29 April 2024 |access-date=9 November 2024}}</ref>
| population_density_km2 = {{#expr: 6445481/110994 round 0}}
| population_density_sq_mi = {{#expr: 6445481/42855 round 0}}
| population_density_rank = 154th
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $264.699&nbsp;billion<ref name="IMF.ORG">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/October/weo-report?c=918,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2022&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=Download World Economic Outlook database: October 2024 – Bulgaria |website=imf.org |access-date=2025-05-24}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 73rd
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2025
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $41,901<ref name="IMFWEO.BG">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/October/weo-report?c=918,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2022&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (Bulgaria) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=www.imf.org |date=22 October 2024 |access-date=9 November 2024}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 55th
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $117.007&nbsp;billion<ref name="IMFWEO.BG" />
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 68th
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2025
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $18,522<ref name="IMFWEO.BG" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 59th
| Gini                   = 37.2
| Gini_ref               = <ref name=eurogini>{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tessi190/default/table?lang=en |title=Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income – EU-SILC survey |publisher=[[Eurostat]] |website=ec.europa.eu |access-date=9 June 2024 |archive-date=20 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320064533/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tessi190&plugin=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| Gini_year              = 2023
| Gini_change            = decrease
| HDI                    = 0.845
| HDI_rank               = 55th
| HDI_year               = 2023<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year. -->
| HDI_change             = increase
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="UNHDR">{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506051232/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2025 |access-date=6 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]}}</ref>
| currency               = [[Bulgarian lev|Lev]]
| currency_code          = BGN
| time_zone              = [[Eastern European Time|EET]]
| utc_offset             = +2
| time_zone_DST          = [[Eastern European Summer Time|EEST]]
| utc_offset_DST         = +3
| calling_code           = [[+359]]
| cctld                  = {{hlist|[[.bg]]|[[.бг]]}}
}}

'''Bulgaria''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Bulgaria.ogg|b|ʌ|l|ˈ|ɡ|ɛər|i|ə|,_|b|ʊ|l|-}}; {{langx|bg|България|translit=Bŭlgariya|engvar=gb}} {{IPA|bg|bɐɫˈɡarijɐ||LL-Q7918 (bul)-Kiril kovachev-България.wav}}}} officially the '''Republic of Bulgaria''',{{efn|{{langx|bg|Република България|links=no|Republika Bŭlgariya|engvar=gb}}, {{IPA|bg|rɛˈpublikɐ bɐɫˈɡarijɐ|IPA}}}} is a country in [[Southeast Europe]]. It is situated on the eastern portion of the [[Balkans]] directly south of the [[Danube]] river and west of the [[Black Sea]]. Bulgaria is bordered by [[Greece]] and [[Turkey]] to the south, [[Serbia]] and [[North Macedonia]] to the west, and [[Romania]] to the north. It covers a territory of {{convert|110994|km2}} and is the tenth largest within the [[European Union]] and the [[List of European countries by area|sixteenth-largest country]] in Europe by area. [[Sofia]] is the nation's capital and [[List of cities and towns in Bulgaria|largest city]]; other major cities include [[Burgas]], [[Plovdiv]], and [[Varna, Bulgaria|Varna]].

One of the earliest societies in the lands of modern-day Bulgaria was the [[Karanovo culture]] (6,500 BC). In the 6th to 3rd century BC, the region was a battleground for ancient [[Thracians]], [[Persians]], [[Celts]], and [[Ancient Macedonians|Macedonians]]; stability came when the [[Roman Empire]] 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 [[early Slavs]]. The [[Bulgars]], led by [[Asparuh of Bulgaria|Asparuh]], attacked from the lands of [[Old Great Bulgaria]] and permanently invaded the Balkans in the late 7th century. They established the [[First Bulgarian Empire]], victoriously recognised by treaty in 681 AD by the [[Byzantine Empire]]. It dominated most of the Balkans and significantly influenced [[Slavs|Slavic]] cultures by developing the [[Cyrillic script]]. Under the rule of the [[Krum's dynasty]], 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 [[Basil II]] conquered and dismantled it. A [[Uprising of Asen and Peter|successful Bulgarian revolt]] in 1185 established a [[Second Bulgarian Empire]], which reached its apex under [[Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria|Ivan Asen II]] (1218–1241). After numerous exhausting wars and feudal strife, the empire disintegrated and in 1396 fell under [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] rule for nearly five centuries.

The [[Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78]] 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 [[irredentist]] sentiments that led to several conflicts with its neighbours and alliances with [[Germany]] in both world wars. In 1946, Bulgaria came under the Soviet-led [[Eastern Bloc]] and became [[People's Republic of Bulgaria|a socialist state]]. The ruling [[Bulgarian Communist Party|Communist Party]] gave up its monopoly on power after the [[revolutions of 1989]] and allowed [[Multi-party system|multiparty]] elections. Bulgaria then transitioned into a [[democracy]].

Since adopting [[Constitution of Bulgaria|a democratic constitution]] in 1991, Bulgaria has been a [[parliamentary republic]] composed of 28 [[Provinces of Bulgaria|provinces]], with a high degree of [[Government of Bulgaria|political, administrative, and economic centralisation]]. Its [[World Bank high-income economy|high-income economy]] is part of the [[European Single Market]] and is largely based on services, followed by [[Industry of Bulgaria|manufacturing]] and [[Mining in Bulgaria|mining]]—and [[Agriculture in Bulgaria|agriculture]]. Bulgaria has been influenced by its role as a transit country for [[Energy in Bulgaria|natural gas and oil pipelines]], as well as its strategic [[Bulgarian Black Sea Coast|location on the Black Sea]]. Its [[Foreign relations of Bulgaria|foreign relations]] have been shaped by its geographical location and its modern membership; Bulgaria is a member state of the [[2007 enlargement of the European Union|European Union]], in which it is a new member of the [[Schengen Area]] and is set to join the [[Eurozone]] on January 1, 2026, and also of [[Enlargement of NATO#Vilnius Group|NATO]], in which it is a member of various regional suborganizations such as the [[Bucharest Nine]].

== Etymology ==
The name ''Bulgaria'' is derived from the ''[[Bulgars]]'', a tribe of [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] origin that founded the First Bulgarian Empire. Their name is not completely understood and is difficult to trace it back earlier than the 4th century AD;{{sfn|Golden|1992|pages=103–104}} however, it is possibly derived from the [[Proto-Turkic]] word ''bulģha'' ("to mix", "shake", "stir") and its derivative ''bulgak'' ("revolt", "disorder").<ref>{{cite book |last=Bowersock |first=Glen W. |title=Late Antiquity: a Guide to the Postclassical World |publisher=Harvard University Press |page=354 |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-674-51173-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c788wWR_bLwC&pg=PA354 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221948/https://books.google.com/books?id=c788wWR_bLwC&pg=PA354 |url-status=live }}</ref> The meaning may be further extended to "rebel", "incite" or "produce a state of disorder", and so, in the derivative, the "disturbers".{{sfn|Chen|2012|page=97}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Petersen |first=Leif Inge Ree |title=Siege Warfare and Military Organization in the Successor States (400–800 AD): Byzantium, the West and Islam |publisher=Brill |year=2013 |page=369 |isbn=978-9004254466 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BRGaAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA369 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221949/https://books.google.com/books?id=BRGaAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA369 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Golden|1992|page=104}} Tribal groups in [[Inner Asia]] with phonologically close names were frequently described in similar terms, as the [[Jie people|Buluoji]], a component of the "[[Five Barbarians|Five Barbarian]]" groups, which during the 4th century were portrayed as both: a "mixed race" and "troublemakers".{{sfn|Chen|2012|pages=92–95, 97}}

== History ==
{{Main|History of Bulgaria}}

=== Prehistory and Antiquity ===
{{Further|Prehistoric Europe|Old Europe (archaeology)|Neolithic Europe|Chalcolithic Europe|Bronze Age Europe|Iron Age Europe|Odrysian kingdom|Thracians|Greek colonisation|Slavs}}
[[File:Sofia - Odrysian Wreath from Golyamata Mogila.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=Thracian golden wreath exhibited in the National Historical Museum|Odrysian golden [[wreath]] in the [[National Historical Museum (Bulgaria)|National History Museum]]]]

[[Neanderthal]] remains dating to around 150,000 years ago, or the [[Middle Paleolithic]], are some of the earliest traces of human activity in the lands of modern Bulgaria.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tillier |first1=Anne-Marie |last2=Sirakov |first2=Nikolay |last3=Guadelli |first3=Aleta |last4=Fernandez |first4=Philippe |last5=Sirakova |first5=Svoboda |title=Evidence of Neanderthals in the Balkans: The infant radius from Kozarnika Cave (Bulgaria) |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=111 |date=October 2017 |issue=111 |pages=54–62 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.06.002 |pmid=28874274 |bibcode=2017JHumE.111...54T |issn=0047-2484}}</ref> Remains from ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' found there are dated {{Circa|47,000 [[years BP]]}}. This result represents the earliest arrival of modern humans in Europe.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Fewlass, H, Talamo, S, Wacker, S, et. al |title=A 14C chronology for the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition at Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |volume=4 |date=2020 |issue=6 |pages=794–801 |doi=10.1038/s41559-020-1136-3 |pmid=32393865 |bibcode=2020NatEE...4..794F |hdl=11585/770560 |s2cid=218593433 |hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Hublin, J, Sirakov, N, Aldeias, V, et. al |title=Initial Upper Palaeolithic ''Homo sapiens'' from Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria |journal=Nature |volume=581 |pages=299–302 |date=2020 |issue=7808 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2259-z |pmid=32433609 |bibcode=2020Natur.581..299H |hdl=11585/770553 |s2cid=218592678 |url=https://kar.kent.ac.uk/81524/1/Hublin%20et%20al%20_authors%20accepted.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://kar.kent.ac.uk/81524/1/Hublin%20et%20al%20_authors%20accepted.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Karanovo culture]] arose {{Circa|6,500 BC}} and was one of several [[Neolithic]] societies in the region that thrived on [[agriculture]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gimbutas |first=Marija A. |title=The Gods and Goddesses of Old Europe: 7000 to 3500 BC Myths, Legends and Cult Images |publisher=University of California Press |pages=29–32 |year=1974 |isbn=978-0-520-01995-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SLACTsmH4aYC&pg=PA29 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221949/https://books.google.com/books?id=SLACTsmH4aYC&pg=PA29 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Copper Age]] [[Varna culture]] (fifth millennium BC) is credited with inventing [[Goldsmith|gold metallurgy]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/371376 |title=Development of metallurgy in Eurasia |journal=Antiquity |volume=83 |issue=322 |last1=Roberts |first1=Benjamin W. |last2=Thornton |first2=Christopher P. |year=2009 |publisher=Department of Prehistory and Europe, [[British Museum]] |page=1015 |access-date=28 July 2018 |quote=In contrast, the earliest exploitation and working of gold occurs in the Balkans during the mid-fifth millennium BC, several centuries after the earliest known copper smelting. This is demonstrated most spectacularly in the various objects adorning the burials at Varna, Bulgaria (Renfrew 1986; Highamet al. 2007). In contrast, the earliest gold objects found in Southwest Asia date only to the beginning of the fourth millennium BC as at Nahal Qanah in Israel (Golden 2009), suggesting that gold exploitation may have been a Southeast European invention, albeit a short-lived one. |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00099312 |s2cid=163062746 |archive-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220115181121/https://www.academia.edu/371376 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=de Laet |first=Sigfried J. |title=History of Humanity: From the Third Millennium to the Seventh Century BC |publisher=UNESCO / Routledge |page=99 |year=1996 |isbn=978-92-3-102811-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BnY0KYbJC6wC&pg=PA99 |quote=The first major gold-working centre was situated at the mouth of the Danube, on the shores of the Black Sea in Bulgaria |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221950/https://books.google.com/books?id=BnY0KYbJC6wC&pg=PA99 |url-status=live }}</ref> The associated [[Varna Necropolis]] treasure contains the oldest golden jewellery in the world with an approximate age of over 6,000 years.<ref>{{cite book |last=Grande |first=Lance |title=Gems and Gemstones: Timeless Natural Beauty of the Mineral World |publisher=University of Chicago Press |page=292 |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-226-30511-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RnE9Fa4pbn0C&pg=PA292 |quote=The oldest known gold jewelry in the world is from an archaeological site in Varna Necropolis, Bulgaria, and is over 6,000 years old (radiocarbon dated between 4,600 BC and 4,200 BC). |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221951/https://books.google.com/books?id=RnE9Fa4pbn0C&pg=PA292 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Anthony |editor-first=David W. |editor-last2=Chi |editor-first2=Jennifer |title=The Lost World of Old Europe: The Danube Valley, 5000–3500 BC |publisher=Institute for the Study of the Ancient World |pages=39, 201 |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-691-14388-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFEARIQ6zYoC&pg=PA39 |quote=grave 43 at the Varna cemetery, the richest single grave from Old Europe, dated about 4600–4500 BC. |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221951/https://books.google.com/books?id=gFEARIQ6zYoC&pg=PA39 |url-status=live }}</ref> The treasure has been valuable for understanding social hierarchy and stratification in the earliest European societies.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/harsova/en/dobro3.htm |title=The Gumelnita Culture |publisher=Government of France |access-date=4 December 2011 |quote=The Necropolis at Varna is an important site in understanding this culture. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013045509/http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/harsova/en/dobro3.htm |archive-date=13 October 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="CENTCOM" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Schoenberger |first=Erica |title=Nature, Choice and Social Power |publisher=Routledge |page=81 |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-415-83386-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TO5TBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA81 |quote=The graves at Varna range from poor to richly endowed, suggesting a rather high degree of social differentiation. Their discovery has led to a re-evaluation of the form of social organization characteristic of the Varna culture and of the onset of social stratification in Neolithic cultures. |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221951/https://books.google.com/books?id=TO5TBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA81 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Thracians]], one of the three primary ancestral groups of modern [[Bulgarians]], appeared on the [[Balkan Peninsula]] some time before the 12th century BC.{{Sfn|Crampton|1987|page=1}}<ref name="EBBulgars">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bulgar |title=Bulgar |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=26 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626201549/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bulgar |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Boardman |first1=John |last2=Edwards |first2=I.E.S. |last3=Sollberger |first3=E. |title=The Cambridge Ancient History – part 1: The Prehistory of the Balkans, the Middle East and the Aegean World, Tenth to Eighth Centuries BC |volume=3 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=53 |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-521-22496-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vXljf8JqmkoC&pg=PA53 |quote=Yet we cannot identify the Thracians at that remote period, because we do not know for certain whether the Thracian and Illyrian tribes had separated by then. It is safer to speak of Proto-Thracians from whom there developed in the Iron Age |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221952/https://books.google.com/books?id=vXljf8JqmkoC&pg=PA53 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Thracians excelled in [[metallurgy]] and gave the [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] the [[Orpheus|Orphean]] and [[Dionysus|Dionysian]] cults, but remained tribal and stateless.<ref name="EBBalkans">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Balkans#ref476014 |title=Balkans |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |first=John B. |last=Allcock |access-date=16 August 2018 |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517055138/https://www.britannica.com/place/Balkans#ref476014 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Persian [[Achaemenid Empire]] conquered parts of present-day Bulgaria (in particular eastern Bulgaria) in the 6th century BC and retained control over the region until [[Second Persian invasion of Greece|479 BC]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kidner |first1=Frank |title=Making Europe: The Story of the West |publisher=Cengage Learning |page=57 |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-111-84131-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_E_CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221952/https://books.google.com/books?id=1_E_CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Roisman|2011|pages=135–138, 343–345}} The invasion became a catalyst for Thracian unity, and the bulk of their tribes united under king [[Teres I|Teres]] to form the [[Odrysian kingdom]] in the 470s BC.<ref name="EBBalkans" />{{sfn|Roisman|2011|pages=135–138, 343–345}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Nagle |first=D. Brendan |title=Readings in Greek History: Sources and Interpretations |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=230 |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-19-997845-8 |quote=However, one of the Thracian tribes, the Odrysians, succeeded in unifying the Thracians and creating a powerful state}}</ref> It was weakened and vassalised by [[Philip II of Macedon]] in 341 BC,<ref>{{cite book |last=Ashley |first=James R. |title=The Macedonian Empire: The Era of Warfare Under Philip II and Alexander the Great, 359–323 B.C |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |pages=139–140 |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-7864-1918-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nTmXOFX-wioC&pg=PA139 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221952/https://books.google.com/books?id=nTmXOFX-wioC&pg=PA139 |url-status=live }}</ref> attacked [[Tylis|by Celts]] in the 3rd century,<ref>{{cite book |last=O Hogain |first=Daithi |title=The Celts: A History |date=2002 |publisher=The Boydell Press |pages=69–71 |isbn=978-0-85115-923-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-yd1huHoXJwC&pg=PA69 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221953/https://books.google.com/books?id=-yd1huHoXJwC&pg=PA69 |url-status=live }}</ref> and finally [[Thracia|became a province]] of the [[Roman Empire]] in AD 45.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Gagarin |editor1-first=Michael |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome |volume=1 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=55 |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-517072-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lNV6-HsUppsC&pg=PA55 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221952/https://books.google.com/books?id=lNV6-HsUppsC&pg=PA55 |url-status=live }}</ref>

By the end of the 1st century AD, Roman governance was established over the entire Balkan Peninsula and [[Christianity]] began spreading in the region around the 4th century.<ref name="EBBalkans" /> The [[Gothic Bible]]—the first [[Germanic languages|Germanic language]] book—was created by [[Goths|Gothic]] bishop [[Ulfilas]] in what is today northern Bulgaria around 381.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ulfilas |title=Ulfilas |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=18 August 2018 |archive-date=18 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818185035/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ulfilas |url-status=live }}</ref> The region came under [[Byzantine]] control after the [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire|fall of Rome]] in 476. The Byzantines were engaged in prolonged warfare against Persia and could not defend their Balkan territories from barbarian incursions.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-beginnings-of-modern-Bulgaria |title=The Beginnings of Modern Bulgaria |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |first=John D. |last=Bell |access-date=9 October 2018 |archive-date=17 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917200352/https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-beginnings-of-modern-Bulgaria |url-status=live }}</ref> This enabled the [[Early Slavs|Slavs]] to enter the Balkan Peninsula as marauders, primarily through an area between the Danube River and the Balkan Mountains known as [[Moesia]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singleton |first1=Fred |last2=Fred |first2=Singleton |title=A Short History of the Yugoslav Peoples |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=13–14 |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-521-27485-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qTLSZ3ucaZMC&pg=PA13 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221953/https://books.google.com/books?id=qTLSZ3ucaZMC&pg=PA13 |url-status=live }}</ref> Gradually, the interior of the peninsula became a country of the [[Sclaveni|South Slavs]], who lived under a [[democracy]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fouracre |first1=Paul |last2=McKitterick |first2=Rosamond |last3=Reuter |first3=Timothy |last4=Abulafia |first4=David |last5=Luscombe |first5=David Edward |last6=Allmand |first6=C.T. |last7=Riley-Smith |first7=Jonathan |last8=Jones |first8=Michael |title=The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 1, c. 500 – c. 700 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=524 |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-521-36291-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JcmwuoTsKO0C&pg=PA524 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221953/https://books.google.com/books?id=JcmwuoTsKO0C&pg=PA524 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Curta |first1=Florin |title=The Making of the Slavs: History and Archaeology of the Lower Danube Region, c. 500–700 |date=2001 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-42888-0 |pages=311–334 |url=https://www.limesromanus.org/sites/all/files/The%20Making%20of%20the%20Slavs.pdf |access-date=20 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326235159/http://www.limesromanus.org/sites/all/files/The%20Making%20of%20the%20Slavs.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2016 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> The Slavs assimilated the partially [[Hellenistic period#Balkans|Hellenised]], [[Thraco-Romans|Romanised]], and [[Thracian Goths|Gothicised]] Thracians in the rural areas.{{Sfn|MacDermott|1998|page=19}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Detrez |first=Raymond |title=Historical Dictionary of Bulgaria |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=5 |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4422-4179-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Parry |editor1-first=Ken |title=The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |page=48 |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4443-3361-9 |quote=The conquest of the Balkans and the rise of the Bulgarian Empire was not a disaster for the indigenous population and its material and spiritual culture. The settlers and the local Romanised or semi-Romanised Thraco-Illyrian Christians influenced each other's way of life and socio-economic organization, as well as each other's cultures, language and religious outlook.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wolfram |first1=Herwig |title=History of the Goths |publisher=University of California Press |page=8 |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-520-06983-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xsQxcJvaLjAC&pg=PA8 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221953/https://books.google.com/books?id=xsQxcJvaLjAC&pg=PA8 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== First Bulgarian Empire ===
{{Main|First Bulgarian Empire}}
[[File:Car Simeon Bulharsky - Alfons Mucha.jpg|thumb|alt=a painting depicting Bulgarian Emperor Simeon I|Emperor [[Simeon I of Bulgaria|Simeon I]]: The Morning Star of Slavonic Literature, ''[[The Slav Epic]] cycle by [[Alfons Mucha]]''|left]]Not long after the Slavic incursion, [[Moesia]] was once again invaded, this time by the [[Bulgars]] under [[Khan (title)|Khan]] [[Asparukh]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Zlatarski |first=Vasil |title=Istorija 1A – b1 – 1 |script-title=bg:История на Първото българско Царство. I. Епоха на хуно–българското надмощие (679–852) |trans-title=History of the First Bulgarian Empire. Period of Hunnic-Bulgarian domination (679–852) |publisher=Marin Drinov Publishing House |language=bg |page=188 |year=1938 |url=http://macedonia.kroraina.com/vz1a/vz1a_b1_1.html |access-date=23 May 2012 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512222714/http://macedonia.kroraina.com/vz1a/vz1a_b1_1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Their horde was a remnant of [[Old Great Bulgaria]], an extinct tribal confederacy situated north of the Black Sea in what is now Ukraine and southern Russia. Asparukh attacked Byzantine territories in Moesia and conquered the Slavic tribes there in 680.<ref name="EBBulgars" /> A peace treaty with the [[Byzantine Empire]] was signed in 681, marking the foundation of the [[First Bulgarian Empire]]. The minority Bulgars formed a close-knit ruling caste.<ref name="fine">{{cite book |last1=Fine |first1=John Van Antwerp |title=The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century |publisher=University of Michigan Press |pages=68–70 |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-472-08149-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0NBxG9Id58C&pg=PR4 |access-date=22 September 2020 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221954/https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0NBxG9Id58C&pg=PR4 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Succeeding rulers strengthened the Bulgarian state throughout the 8th and 9th centuries. [[Krum]] introduced a written code of law<ref>{{cite book |last=Vlasto |first=Alexis P. |title=The Entry of the Slavs Into Christendom: An Introduction to the Medieval History of the Slavs |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=157 |year=1970 |isbn=978-0-521-07459-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpVOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA157 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221956/https://books.google.com/books?id=fpVOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA157 |url-status=live }}</ref> and checked a major Byzantine incursion at the [[Battle of Pliska]], in which Byzantine emperor [[Nicephorus I]] was killed.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Krum |title=Krum |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512222652/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Krum |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Boris I of Bulgaria|Boris I]] abolished paganism in favour of [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox Christianity]] in 864. The [[Christianization of Bulgaria|conversion]] was followed by a Byzantine recognition of the [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church|Bulgarian church]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-first-Bulgarian-empire#ref42725 |title=The Spread of Christianity |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |first=John D. |last=Bell |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=24 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724173142/http://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-first-Bulgarian-empire#ref42725 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the adoption of the [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic alphabet]], developed in the capital, [[Preslav]].{{Sfn|Crampton|2007|pages=12–13}} The common language, religion and script strengthened central authority and gradually fused the Slavs and Bulgars into a unified people speaking a single [[Slavic languages|Slavic language]].<ref name="EB">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-first-Bulgarian-empire#ref42726 |title=Reign of Simeon I |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |first=John D. |last=Bell |access-date=28 July 2018 |quote=Bulgaria's conversion had a political dimension, for it contributed both to the growth of central authority and to the merging of Bulgars and Slavs into a unified Bulgarian people. |archive-date=24 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724173142/http://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-first-Bulgarian-empire#ref42726 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Sfn|Crampton|2007|pages=12–13}} A [[Golden Age of Bulgaria|golden age]] began during the 34-year rule of [[Simeon the Great]], who oversaw the largest territorial expansion of the state.{{Sfn|The First Golden Age}} The literature produced in Old Bulgarian soon spread north from Bulgaria and became the [[lingua franca]] of the Balkans and Eastern Europe.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal |last=Lunt |first=Horace G. |date=January 1987 |title=On the relationship of old Church Slavonic to the written language of early Rus |journal=Russian Linguistics |volume=11 |pages=133–162 |doi=10.1007/BF00242073 |s2cid=166319427 |number=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Schenker |first=Alexander |title=The Dawn of Slavic |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1995 |pages=185–186, 189–190}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lunt |first=Horace |url=https://archive.org/details/oldchurchslavoni00lunt |title=Old Church Slavonic Grammar |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |year=2001 |isbn=9783110162844 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/oldchurchslavoni00lunt/page/n19 3]–4 |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wien |first=Lysaght |title=Old Church Slavonic (Old Bulgarian)-Middle Greek-Modern English dictionary |publisher=Verlag Bruder Hollinek |year=1983}}</ref><ref name="fortson">Benjamin W. Fortson. ''Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction'', p.&nbsp;374.</ref> The political, cultural, and spiritual power of the Bulgarian Empire during the [[Krum's dynasty]] turned Bulgaria into one of the [[List of medieval great powers|three superpowers]] in Europe at that time, alongside the Byzantine Empire and the [[Carolingian Empire]] of the [[Franks]], which would later become the [[Holy Roman Empire]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ziemann |first=Daniel |url=https://hgsoe.ios-regensburg.de/fileadmin/doc/texte/Band1/Ziemann_Das_Erste_Bulgarische_Reich.pdf |title=Eine frühmittelalterliche Großmacht zwischen Byzanz und Abendland. (German: An early medieval great power between Byzantium and the Occident) |publisher=Published by the Institute for East and Southeast European Studies of the Leibniz Association, Regensburg 2016 |edition=Online handbook on the history of South-East Europe. Volume I Rule and politics in Southeastern Europe until 1800. |location=}}</ref>

After Simeon's death, Bulgaria was weakened by wars with [[Magyars]] and [[Pechenegs]] and the spread of [[Bogomilism]].<ref name="EB" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Browning |first=Robert |title=Byzantium and Bulgaria |year=1975 |publisher=Temple Smith |pages=[https://archive.org/details/byzantiumbulgari0000brow/page/194 194–195] |isbn=978-0-520-02670-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/byzantiumbulgari0000brow/page/194}}</ref> Simeon's successor [[Peter I of Bulgaria|Peter I]] negotiated a favourable [[Byzantine–Bulgarian Treaty of 927|peace treaty]]. The Byzantines agreed to recognise him as Emperor of Bulgaria and the [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]] as an independent Patriarchate, as well as to pay an annual tribute.<ref>{{harvnb|Angelov et al|1981|p=370}}</ref><ref name="fine161">{{harvnb|Fine|1991|p=161}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Whittow|1996|p=292}}</ref> The peace was reinforced with a marriage between Peter and Romanos's granddaughter [[Irene Lekapene]].<ref name="fine161" /><ref>{{harvnb|Bozhilov|Gyuzelev|1999|p=274}}</ref> This agreement ushered in a period of 40 years of peaceful relations between the two powers. During the first years of his reign, Peter I faced revolts by two of his three brothers, John in 928 and [[Mihail of Bulgaria|Michael]] in 930, but both were quelled.<ref>{{harvnb|Fine|1991|p=162}}</ref> During most of the reign of Emperor Peter I, the empire enjoyed a period of political consolidation, economic expansion, and cultural activity.<ref name="stephenson25">{{harvnb|Stephenson|2004|p=25}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Whittow|1996|pp=292–293}}</ref>

[[Veliki Preslav|Preslav]] was seized by the Byzantine army in 971 after consecutive [[Kievan Rus'|Rus']] and Byzantine invasions.<ref name="EB" /> The empire briefly recovered from the attacks under [[Samuel of Bulgaria|Samuil]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-tsar-of-western-Bulgaria |title=Samuel |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=20 January 2012 |archive-date=29 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080129220046/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9065243/Samuel |url-status=live }}</ref> but this ended when Byzantine emperor [[Basil II]] defeated the Bulgarian army at [[battle of Kleidion|Klyuch]] in 1014. Samuil died shortly after the battle,<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Scylitzae |editor-first=Ioannis |title=Synopsis Historiarum |series=Corpus Fontium Byzantiae Historiae, vol. 5 |publisher=De Gruyter |page=457 |year=1973 |isbn=978-3-11-002285-8}}</ref> and by 1018 the Byzantines [[Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria|had conquered the First Bulgarian Empire]].{{Sfn|Crampton|1987|page=4}} After the conquest, Basil II prevented revolts by retaining the rule of local nobility, integrating them in [[Byzantine bureaucracy and aristocracy]], and relieving their lands of the obligation to pay taxes in gold, allowing [[tax in kind]] instead.<ref name="Averil" /><ref name="Ostrog">{{cite book |last=Ostrogorsky |first=Georgije |title=History of the Byzantine State |publisher=Rutgers University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofbyzanti00ostr/page/311 311] |year=1969 |isbn=978-0-8135-1198-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbyzanti00ostr/page/311}}</ref> The [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church|Bulgarian Patriarchate]] was reduced to an [[Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid (ancient)|archbishopric]], but retained its [[autocephaly|autocephalous status]] and its [[diocese]]s.<ref name="Ostrog" /><ref name="Averil">{{cite book |last=Cameron |first=Averil |title=The Byzantines |url=https://archive.org/details/byzantinesthepeo00came |url-access=limited |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |page=[https://archive.org/details/byzantinesthepeo00came/page/n186 170] |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-4051-9833-2}}</ref>

=== Second Bulgarian Empire ===
{{Main|Second Bulgarian Empire}}

[[File:Bulgaria-Iván_Asen2-es.svg|alt=A map of the Bulgarian Empire in the mid 13th century|right|thumb|A map showing the greatest territorial extension of the Second Bulgarian Empire during the reign of Ivan Asen II (1218–1241)]]
Byzantine domestic policies changed after Basil's death and a series of unsuccessful rebellions broke out, [[Bulgarian uprising against the Byzantine Empire (1040–1041)|the largest]] being led by [[Peter Delyan]]. The empire's authority declined after a catastrophic military [[Battle of Manzikert|defeat at Manzikert]] against [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuk]] invaders, and was further disturbed by the [[Crusades]]. This prevented Byzantine attempts at [[Hellenisation]] and created fertile ground for further revolt. In 1185, [[Asen dynasty]] nobles [[Ivan Asen I]] and [[Peter IV of Bulgaria|Peter IV]] organised a [[Uprising of Asen and Peter|major uprising]] and succeeded in re-establishing the Bulgarian state.<ref>Dimitrov, Philip, Bell, John D., Carter, Francis William, Danforth, Loring. "Bulgaria". ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 3 Apr. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria. Accessed 5 April 2025</ref> Ivan Asen and Peter laid the foundations of the Second Bulgarian Empire with its capital at [[Veliko Tarnovo|Tarnovo]].<ref name="EBSecondEmpire">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-second-Bulgarian-empire |title=Bulgaria – Second Bulgarian Empire |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |first=John D. |last=Bell |access-date=27 July 2018 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512223818/https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-second-Bulgarian-empire |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Ivan Asen I". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jan. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ivan-Asen-I. Accessed 5 April 2025</ref>

[[Kaloyan]], the third of the Asen monarchs, extended his dominion to [[Belgrade]] and [[Ohrid]]. He acknowledged the spiritual supremacy of [[the pope]] and received a royal crown from a [[papal legate]].<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911 |last=Bourchier |first=James |author-link=James David Bourchier |wstitle=Bulgaria/History |display=History of Bulgaria |volume=4 |pages=779–784}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bulgaria - The Second Golden Age |url=https://countrystudies.us/bulgaria/7.htm |access-date=2025-04-05 |website=countrystudies.us}}</ref> The empire reached its zenith under [[Ivan Asen II]] (1218–1241), when its borders expanded as far as the coast of [[Albania]], Serbia and [[Epirus]], while commerce and culture flourished.<ref name=EB1911 /><ref name="EBSecondEmpire" /> Ivan Asen's rule was also marked by a shift away from Rome in religious matters.{{Sfn|Crampton|1987|page=6}}

The Asen dynasty became extinct in 1257. Internal conflicts and incessant Byzantine and Hungarian attacks followed, enabling the [[Golden Horde|Mongols]] to [[Mongol invasion of Bulgaria and Serbia|establish suzerainty]] over the weakened Bulgarian state.<ref name="EB1911" />{{Sfn|Crampton|1987|page=6}} In 1277, swineherd [[Ivaylo of Bulgaria|Ivaylo]] led a [[Uprising of Ivaylo|great peasant revolt]] that expelled the Mongols from Bulgaria and briefly made him emperor.<ref name="Martin 2017">{{cite book |last=Martin |first=Michael |title=City of the Sun: Development and Popular Resistance in the Pre-Modern West |publisher=Algora Publishing |page=344 |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-62894-279-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gN8lDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA344 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221956/https://books.google.com/books?id=gN8lDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA344 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="EBSecondEmpire" /> He was overthrown in 1280 by [[boyars|the feudal landlords]],<ref name="Martin 2017" /> whose factional conflicts caused the Second Bulgarian Empire to disintegrate into small feudal dominions by the 14th century.<ref name="EBSecondEmpire" /> These fragmented [[rump state]]s—two tsardoms at [[Tsardom of Vidin|Vidin]] and [[Second Bulgarian Empire#Ivan Alexander and fall of Bulgaria|Tarnovo]] and the [[Despotate of Dobruja|Despotate of Dobrudzha]]—became easy prey for a new threat arriving from the Southeast: the [[Ottoman Turks]].<ref name="EB1911" /> In the 14th century, Bulgaria entered a period of cultural revival, sometimes called the "[[Second Golden Age of Bulgaria|Second Golden Age]]" of the empire.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kǎnev |first=Petǎr |year=2002 |title=Religion in Bulgaria after 1989 |url=http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/getdocument.aspx?logid=5&id=B7ABEB3F-8650-4798-8CC2-649B6E6C24F2 |url-status=dead |journal=South-East Europe Review |issue=1 |page=81 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729232906/http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/getdocument.aspx?logid=5 |archive-date=29 July 2012 |access-date=18 February 2007}}</ref> Bulgarian architecture, arts, and literature spread beyond the borders of Bulgaria into [[Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)|Serbia]], [[Wallachia]], [[Moldavia]], and the [[Rus' Principalities]] and affected Slavic culture.<ref name="f436">{{harvnb|Fine|1987|p=436}}</ref><ref name="k337">{{harvnb|Kazhdan|1991|p=337}}</ref>

=== Ottoman rule ===
{{Main|Ottoman Bulgaria}}
[[File:Battle of Nicopolis.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The Battle of Nicopolis in 1396 marked the end of medieval Bulgarian statehood.]]

The Ottomans were employed as mercenaries by the Byzantines in the 1340s, but later became invaders in their own right.<ref name="Ottoman rule" /> Sultan [[Murad I]] took [[Adrianople]] from the Byzantines in 1362; [[Sofia]] fell in 1382, followed by [[Shumen]] in 1388.<ref name="Ottoman rule" /> The Ottomans completed their conquest of Bulgarian lands in 1393 when Tarnovo was sacked after a three-month siege and the [[Battle of Nicopolis]] which brought about the fall of the [[Tsardom of Vidin|Vidin Tsardom]] in 1396. [[Sozopol]] was the last Bulgarian settlement to fall, in 1453.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/132804/ |first=Maria |last=Guineva |title=Old Town Sozopol – Bulgaria's 'Rescued' Miracle and Its Modern Day Saviors |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=10 October 2011 |access-date=16 November 2018 |archive-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318173915/https://www.novinite.com/articles/132804/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Bulgarian nobility was subsequently eliminated and the peasantry was [[Serfdom|enserfed]] to Ottoman masters,<ref name="Ottoman rule">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-second-Bulgarian-empire#ref42728 |title=Bulgaria – Ottoman rule |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |first=John D. |last=Bell |access-date=21 December 2011 |quote=The Bulgarian nobility was destroyed—its members either perished, fled, or accepted Islam and Turkicization—and the peasantry was enserfed to Turkish masters. |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512223818/https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-second-Bulgarian-empire#ref42728 |url-status=live }}</ref> while much of the educated clergy fled to other countries.<ref name="Jireček">{{cite book |last=Jireček |first=K.J. |author-link=Konstantin Josef Jireček |title=Geschichte der Bulgaren |trans-title=History of the Bulgarians |publisher=Nachdr. d. Ausg. Prag |page=88 |year=1876 |language=de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VBhThVLpc4MC&pg=PA88 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221956/https://books.google.com/books?id=VBhThVLpc4MC&pg=PA88 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Bulgarians were subjected to heavy taxes (including [[Devshirme]], or ''blood tax''), their culture was suppressed,<ref name="Jireček" /> and they experienced partial [[Islamisation]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Minkov |first=Anton |title=Conversion to Islam in the Balkans: Kisve Bahası – Petitions and Ottoman Social Life, 1670–1730 |publisher=Brill |page=193 |year=2004 |isbn=978-9004135765 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zQsB_AghBKkC&pg=PA193 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221958/https://books.google.com/books?id=zQsB_AghBKkC&pg=PA193 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ottoman authorities established a religious administrative community called the [[Rum Millet]], which governed all Orthodox Christians regardless of their ethnicity.<ref>{{cite book |last=Detrez |first=Raymond |title=Europe and the Historical Legacies in the Balkans |publisher=Peter Lang Publishers |page=36 |year=2008 |isbn=978-9052013749 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=htMUx8qlWCMC&pg=PA36 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221958/https://books.google.com/books?id=htMUx8qlWCMC&pg=PA36 |url-status=live }}</ref> Most of the local population then gradually lost its distinct national consciousness, identifying only by its faith.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fishman |first=Joshua A. |title=Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity: Disciplinary and Regional Perspectives |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=276 |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-537492-6 |url={{Google books|7oAUeUVtc58C |page=276 |plainurl=yes}} |quote=There were almost no remnants of a Bulgarian ethnic identity; the population defined itself as Christians, according to the Ottoman system of millets, that is, communities of religious beliefs. The first attempts to define a Bulgarian ethnicity started at the beginning of the 19th century. |access-date=30 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Roudometof |first1=Victor |last2=Robertson |first2=Roland |title=Nationalism, Globalization, and Orthodoxy: The Social Origins of Ethnic Conflict in the Balkans |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |pages=68–71 |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-313-31949-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I9p_m7oXQ00C&pg=PA68 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115222514/https://books.google.com/books?id=I9p_m7oXQ00C&pg=PA68 |url-status=live }}</ref> The clergy remaining in some isolated monasteries kept their ethnic identity alive, enabling its survival in remote rural areas,{{Sfn|Crampton|1987|page=8}} and in the militant [[Catholic Church in Bulgaria|Catholic community]] in the northwest of the country.<ref>{{cite book |last=Carvalho |first=Joaquim |title=Religion and Power in Europe: Conflict and Convergence |publisher=Edizioni Plus |page=261 |year=2007 |isbn=978-8884924643 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jR98-Ata0CkC&pg=PA261 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115222537/https://books.google.com/books?id=jR98-Ata0CkC&pg=PA261 |url-status=live }}</ref>

As Ottoman power began to wane, [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg Austria]] and Russia saw Bulgarian Christians as potential allies. The [[Habsburg monarchy|Austrians]] first backed an [[First Tarnovo Uprising|uprising in Tarnovo in 1598]], then [[Second Tarnovo Uprising|a second one in 1686]], the [[Chiprovtsi Uprising]] in 1688 and finally [[Karposh's rebellion]] in 1689.<ref name="Decline">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-second-Bulgarian-empire#ref42731 |title=Bulgaria – Ottoman administration |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |first=John D. |last=Bell |access-date=20 October 2012 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512223818/https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-second-Bulgarian-empire#ref42731 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Russian Empire]] also asserted itself as a protector of Christians in Ottoman lands with the [[Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca]] in 1774.<ref name="Decline" />

[[File:The defeat of Shipka Peak, Bulgarian War of Independence.JPG|thumb|alt=The Defence of the Eagle's Nest, painting by Alexey Popov from 1893, depicting the Defence of Shipka Pass|The Russo-Bulgarian defence of Shipka Pass in 1877]]

The Western European [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] in the 18th century influenced the initiation of a [[national awakening of Bulgaria]].<ref name="Ottoman rule" /> It restored national consciousness and provided an ideological basis for the liberation struggle, resulting in the [[April Uprising of 1876]]. Up to 30,000 Bulgarians were killed as Ottoman authorities put down the rebellion. The massacres prompted the [[Great Powers#History|Great Powers]] to take action.{{Sfn|The Final Move to Independence}} They convened the [[Constantinople Conference]] in 1876, but their decisions were rejected by the Ottomans. This allowed the Russian Empire to seek a military solution without risking confrontation with other Great Powers, as had happened in the [[Crimean War]].{{Sfn|The Final Move to Independence}} In 1877, [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|Russia declared war]] on the Ottomans and defeated them with the help of [[Opalchentsi|Bulgarian rebels]], particularly during the crucial [[Battle of Shipka Pass]] which secured Russian control over the main road to [[Constantinople]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://novinite.com/view_news.php?id=125840 |title=Reminiscence from Days of Liberation |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=3 March 2011 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=16 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616084709/http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=125840 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Shipka-Pass |title=Shipka Pass |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=18 August 2018 |archive-date=10 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510021603/https://www.britannica.com/place/Shipka-Pass |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Third Bulgarian state ===
{{Main|History of Bulgaria (1878–1946)|People's Republic of Bulgaria|History of Bulgaria since 1989}}
[[File:Bulgaria-SanStefano -(1878)-byTodorBozhinov.png|upright=1.2|left|alt=Map of Bulgaria according to the Treaty of San Stefano|thumb|Borders of Bulgaria according to the preliminary Treaty of San Stefano]]

The [[Treaty of San Stefano]] was signed on 3 March 1878 by [[Russian Empire|Russia]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]]. It was to set up an autonomous Bulgarian principality spanning [[Moesia]], [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]] and [[Thrace]], roughly on the territories of the [[Second Bulgarian Empire]],{{Sfn|San Stefano, Berlin and Independence}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Blamires |first=Cyprian |title=World Fascism: A Historical Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=107 |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-57607-940-9 |url={{Google books|jR98-nvD2rZSVau4C |page=107 |plainurl=yes}} |quote=The "Greater Bulgaria" re-established in March 1878 on the lines of the medieval Bulgarian empire after liberation from Turkish rule did not last long.}}{{dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and this day is now [[Public holidays in Bulgaria|a public holiday]] called [[Liberation Day (Bulgaria)|National Liberation Day]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://bnr.bg/en/post/100803129/on-march-3-bulgaria-celebrates-national-liberation-day |title=On March 3 Bulgaria celebrates National Liberation Day |date=3 March 2017 |website=Radio Bulgaria |access-date=24 February 2019 |archive-date=21 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021235416/http://bnr.bg/en/post/100803129/on-march-3-bulgaria-celebrates-national-liberation-day |url-status=live }}</ref> The other [[Great Powers#History|Great Powers]] immediately rejected the treaty out of fear that such a large country in the [[Balkans]] might threaten their interests. It was superseded by the [[Treaty of Berlin, 1878|Treaty of Berlin]], signed on 13 July. It provided for a much smaller state, the [[Principality of Bulgaria]], only comprising Moesia and the region of [[Sofia]], and leaving large populations of ethnic Bulgarians outside the new country.{{Sfn|San Stefano, Berlin and Independence}}<ref name=BBCProfile>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1061402.stm |title=Timeline: Bulgaria – A chronology of key events |work=BBC News |date=6 May 2010 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=7 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150307084019/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1061402.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> This significantly contributed to Bulgaria's militaristic foreign affairs approach during the first half of the 20th century.{{Sfn|Historical Setting}}

The Bulgarian principality won [[Serbo-Bulgarian War|a war against Serbia]] and incorporated the semi-autonomous Ottoman territory of [[Eastern Rumelia]] in 1885, proclaiming itself an independent state on 5 October 1908.{{Sfn|Crampton|2007|page=174}} In the years following independence, Bulgaria increasingly militarised and was often referred to as "the Balkan [[Prussia]]".<ref>{{cite book |last=Pinon |first=Rene |title=L'Europe et la Jeune Turquie: Les Aspects Nouveaux de la Question d'Orient |trans-title=Europe and Young Turkey: The new aspects of the Eastern Question |publisher=Perrin et cie |page=411 |year=1913 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xL9DAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA411 |quote=On a dit souvent de la Bulgarie qu'elle est la Prusse des Balkans |language=fr |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115222516/https://books.google.com/books?id=xL9DAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA411 |url-status=live }}</ref> It became involved in three consecutive conflicts between 1912 and 1918—two [[Balkan Wars]] and [[World War I]]. After a disastrous defeat in the [[Second Balkan War]], Bulgaria again found itself fighting on the losing side as a result of its alliance with the [[Central Powers]] in World War I. Despite fielding more than a quarter of its population in a 1,200,000-strong army<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tucker |first1=Spencer C |last2=Wood |first2=Laura |title=The European Powers in the First World War: An Encyclopedia |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=173 |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-8153-0399-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EHI3PCjDtsUC&pg=PA173 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115222516/https://books.google.com/books?id=EHI3PCjDtsUC&pg=PA173 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cepr.org/meets/wkcn/1/1699/papers/Broadberry_Klein.pdf |title=Aggregate and Per Capita GDP in Europe, 1870–2000: Continental, Regional and National Data with Changing Boundaries |last1=Broadberry |first1=Stephen |last2=Klein |first2=Alexander |date=8 February 2008 |publisher=[[Centre for Economic Policy Research]] |page=18 |access-date=24 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622094503/http://www.cepr.org/meets/wkcn/1/1699/papers/Broadberry_Klein.pdf |archive-date=22 June 2012}}</ref> and achieving several decisive victories at [[Battle of Doiran (1917)|Doiran]] and [[Battle of Monastir (1917)|Monastir]], the country capitulated in 1918. The war resulted in significant territorial losses and a total of 87,500 soldiers killed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/greatwar/resources/casdeath_pop.html |title=WWI Casualty and Death Tables |publisher=PBS |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003230916/https://www.pbs.org/greatwar/resources/casdeath_pop.html |archive-date=3 October 2016 |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref> More than 253,000 refugees from the lost territories [[Immigration|immigrated]] to Bulgaria from 1912 to 1929,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mintchev |first1=Veselin |title=External Migration in Bulgaria |journal=South-East Europe Review |date=October 1999 |issue=3/99 |page=124 |url=http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/getdocument.aspx?logid=5&id=473FBAEF-623D-4ADA-903A-17241B78BDDB |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117012418/http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/getdocument.aspx?logid=5&id=473FBAEF-623D-4ADA-903A-17241B78BDDB |archive-date=17 January 2013 |access-date=6 August 2018}}</ref> placing additional strain on the already ruined national economy.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chenoweth |first=Erica |title=Rethinking Violence: States and Non-State Actors in Conflict |publisher=Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs |page=129 |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-262-01420-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JyD_AmGnu34C&pg=PA129 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115222517/https://books.google.com/books?id=JyD_AmGnu34C&pg=PA129 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:BASA-3K-7-342-28-Boris III of Bulgaria.jpeg|thumb|upright|alt=A portrait of Tsar Boris III|Tsar Boris III]]
The resulting political unrest led to the establishment of a royal [[authoritarianism|authoritarian dictatorship]] by Tsar [[Boris III of Bulgaria|Boris III]] (1918–1943). Bulgaria entered World War II in 1941 as a member of [[Axis powers|the Axis]] but declined to participate in [[Operation Barbarossa]] and [[Rescue of the Bulgarian Jews|saved its Jewish population]] from deportation to [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]].{{Sfn|Bulgaria in World War II: The Passive Alliance}} The sudden death of Boris III in mid-1943 pushed the country into political turmoil as the war turned against Germany, and the communist guerrilla movement gained momentum. The government of [[Bogdan Filov]] subsequently failed to achieve peace with the Allies. Bulgaria did not comply with Soviet demands to expel German forces from its territory, resulting in a declaration of war and an invasion by the USSR in September 1944.{{Sfn|Wartime Crisis}} The communist-dominated [[Fatherland Front (Bulgaria)|Fatherland Front]] took power, ended participation in the Axis and joined the Allied side until the war ended.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pavlowitch |first=Stevan K. |title=Hitler's New Disorder: The Second World War in Yugoslavia |publisher=Columbia University Press |pages=238–240 |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-932663-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R8d2409V9tEC&pg=PA238 |quote=When Bulgaria switched sides in September |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115222517/https://books.google.com/books?id=R8d2409V9tEC&pg=PA238 |url-status=live }}</ref> Bulgaria suffered little war damage and the Soviet Union demanded no reparations. But all wartime territorial gains, with the notable exception of [[Treaty of Craiova|Southern Dobrudzha]], were lost.{{Sfn|The Soviet Occupation}}

[[File:Georgi Dimitrov.jpg|thumb|150px|left|[[Georgi Dimitrov]], leader of the [[Bulgarian Communist Party]] from 1946 to 1949]]
The [[1944 Bulgarian coup d'état|left-wing coup d'état]] of 9 September 1944 led to the abolition of the monarchy and [[People's Court (Bulgaria)|the executions]] of some 1,000–3,000 dissidents, war criminals, and members of the former royal elite.<ref>{{cite book |last=Valentino |first=Benjamin A. |title=Final Solutions: Mass Killing and Genocide in the Twentieth Century |url=https://archive.org/details/finalsolutionsma00vale |url-access=limited |publisher=Cornell University Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/finalsolutionsma00vale/page/91 91]–151 |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-8014-3965-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Stankova |first=Marietta |title=Bulgaria in British Foreign Policy, 1943–1949 |publisher=Anthem Press |page=99 |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-78308-430-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y7G2BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA99 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115222517/https://books.google.com/books?id=y7G2BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA99 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Neuburger |first=Mary C. |title=Balkan Smoke: Tobacco and the Making of Modern Bulgaria |publisher=Cornell University Press |page=162 |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-8014-5084-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E7JDJzogCHMC&pg=PA162 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115222517/https://books.google.com/books?id=E7JDJzogCHMC&pg=PA162 |url-status=live }}</ref> But it was not until 1946 that a [[One-party state|one-party]] [[people's republic]] was instituted following a referendum.{{Sfn|Crampton|2005|page=271}} It fell into the Soviet sphere of influence under the leadership of [[Georgi Dimitrov]] (1946–1949), who established a repressive, rapidly industrialising [[Stalinist]] state.{{Sfn|The Soviet Occupation}} By the mid-1950s, standards of living rose significantly and political repression eased.{{Sfn|Domestic Policy and Its Results|ps=Quote: "real wages increased 75 percent, consumption of meat, fruit, and vegetables increased markedly, medical facilities and doctors became available to more of the population"}}{{Sfn|After Stalin}} The Soviet-style [[planned economy]] saw some experimental market-oriented policies emerging under [[Todor Zhivkov]] (1954–1989).{{Sfn|The Economy}} Compared to wartime levels, national [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] increased five-fold and per capita GDP quadrupled by the 1980s,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cepr.org/meets/wkcn/1/1699/papers/Broadberry_Klein.pdf |title=Aggregate and per capita GDP in Europe, 1870–2000 |author1=Stephen Broadberry |author2=Alexander Klein |date=27 October 2011 |access-date=12 July 2013 |pages=23, 27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530083710/http://www.cepr.org/meets/wkcn/1/1699/papers/Broadberry_Klein.pdf |archive-date=30 May 2013}}</ref> although severe debt spikes took place in 1960, 1977 and 1980.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Vachkov |first1=Daniel |last2=Ivanov |first2=Martin |title=Българският външен дълг 1944–1989: Банкрутът на комунистическата икономика |trans-title=Bulgarian Foreign Debt 1944–1989 |publisher=Siela |pages=103, 153, 191 |year=2008 |isbn=978-9542803072}}</ref> Zhivkov's daughter [[Lyudmila Zhivkova|Lyudmila]] bolstered national pride by promoting Bulgarian heritage, culture and arts worldwide.{{Sfn|The Political Atmosphere in the 1970s}} Facing declining birth rates among the ethnic Bulgarian majority, Zhivkov's government in 1984 forced the minority ethnic [[Bulgarian Turks|Turks]] to adopt Slavic names in an attempt to erase their identity and assimilate them.{{Sfn|Bulgaria in the 1980s}} These policies resulted in the emigration of some 300,000 ethnic Turks to Turkey.<ref>{{cite news |first=Celestine |last=Bohlen |title=Vote Gives Key Role to Ethnic Turks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/17/world/bulgaria-vote-gives-key-role-to-ethnic-turks.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=17 October 1991 |access-date=20 December 2011 |quote=in 1980s&nbsp;... the Communist leader, Todor Zhivkov, began a campaign of cultural assimilation that forced ethnic Turks to adopt Slavic names, closed their mosques and prayer houses and suppressed any attempts at protest. One result was the mass exodus of more than 300,000 ethnic Turks to neighboring [[Turkey]] in 1989 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511235325/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/17/world/bulgaria-vote-gives-key-role-to-ethnic-turks.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-muslims/cracks-show-in-bulgarias-muslim-ethnic-model-idUSTRE55001C20090601 |title=Cracks show in Bulgaria's Muslim ethnic model |work=Reuters |first=Anna |last=Mudeva |date=31 May 2009 |access-date=30 October 2011 |archive-date=19 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019002528/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-muslims/cracks-show-in-bulgarias-muslim-ethnic-model-idUSTRE55001C20090601 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Communist Party was forced to give up its political monopoly on 10 November 1989 under the influence of the [[Revolutions of 1989]]. Zhivkov resigned and Bulgaria embarked on a transition to a [[parliamentary system|parliamentary democracy]].{{Sfn|Government and Politics}} The first free elections in June 1990 were won by the Communist Party, now rebranded as the [[Bulgarian Socialist Party]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=117822 |title=Bulgarian Politicians Discuss First Democratic Elections 20y After |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=5 July 2010 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=10 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210115345/http://novinite.com/view_news.php?id=117822 |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[Constitution of Bulgaria|new constitution]] that provided for a relatively weak elected president and for a prime minister accountable to the legislature was adopted in July 1991.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.parliament.bg/en/const/ |title=National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria – Constitution |website=www.parliament.bg |access-date=16 January 2019 |archive-date=26 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526070900/https://www.parliament.bg/en/const |url-status=live }}</ref> The new system initially failed to improve living standards or create economic growth—the average quality of life and economic performance remained lower than under communism well into the early 2000s.<ref>{{cite news |first=Vasil |last=Prodanov |script-title=bg:Разрушителният български преход |trans-title=The destructive Bulgarian transition |url=http://bg.mondediplo.com/article181.html |newspaper=[[Le Monde diplomatique]] |language=bg |date=1 October 2007 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=6 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206224143/http://bg.mondediplo.com/article181.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After 2001, economic, political and geopolitical conditions improved greatly,{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=16}} and Bulgaria achieved high Human Development status in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR05_complete.pdf |title=Human Development Index Report |publisher=United Nations |year=2005 |page=224 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310193948/http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR05_complete.pdf |archive-date=10 March 2011 |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref> It became a member of [[NATO]] in 2004<ref name="nato" /> and participated in the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]]. After several years of reforms, it joined the [[European Union]] and the [[European Single Market|single market]] in 2007, despite EU concerns over government corruption.<ref name="Ind" /> Bulgaria hosted the 2018 [[Presidency of the Council of the European Union]] at the [[National Palace of Culture]] in [[Sofia]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bta.bg/en/c/DF/id/1627764 |title=Bulgaria Absolutely Ready to Take Over EU Presidency, Minister Says |publisher=Bulgarian Telegraph Agency |date=2 August 2017 |access-date=21 July 2018 |archive-date=21 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721103133/http://www.bta.bg/en/c/DF/id/1627764 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of Bulgaria}}
[[File:Bulgaria-geographic map-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.3| Topographic map of Bulgaria]]

Bulgaria is a middle-sized country situated in Southeast Europe, in the east of the Balkans. Its territory covers an area of {{convert|110994|km2|0}}, while land borders with its five neighbouring countries run a total length of {{convert|1808|km|0}}, and its coastline is {{convert|354|km|0}} long.{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=4}} Bulgaria's geographic coordinates are [[43rd parallel north|43° N]] [[25th meridian east|25° E]].<ref name="CIA World Factbook">{{Cite CIA World Factbook |country=Bulgaria |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> The most notable [[topographical]] features of the country are the [[Danubian Plain (Bulgaria)|Danubian Plain]], the [[Balkan Mountains]], the [[Upper Thracian Plain]], and the [[Rila]]-[[Rhodope Mountains|Rhodope]] [[massif]].{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=4}} The southern edge of the Danubian Plain slopes upward into the foothills of the Balkans, while the [[Danube]] defines the border with Romania. The [[Thracia]]n Plain is roughly triangular, beginning southeast of [[Sofia]] and broadening as it reaches the [[Bulgarian Black Sea Coast|Black Sea coast]].{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=4}}

The Balkan mountains run laterally through the middle of the country from west to east. The mountainous southwest has two distinct [[Glacial landform|alpine type]] ranges—[[Rila]] and [[Pirin]], which border the lower but more extensive [[Rhodope Mountains]] to the east, and various medium altitude mountains to west, northwest and south, like [[Vitosha]], [[Osogovo]] and [[Belasitsa]].{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=4}} [[Musala]], at {{convert|2925|m|ft|0}}, is the highest point in both Bulgaria and the Balkans. The Black Sea coast is the country's lowest point.<ref name="CIA World Factbook" /> Plains occupy about one third of the territory, while plateaux and hills occupy 41%.{{Sfn|Topography}} Most rivers are short and with low water levels. The longest river located solely in Bulgarian territory, the [[Iskar (river)|Iskar]], has a length of {{convert|368|km|0}}. The [[Struma River|Struma]] and the [[Maritsa]] are two major rivers in the south.{{Sfn|NSI Brochure|2018|pages=2–3}}{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=4}}

=== Climate ===
[[File:Bulgaria Köppen.svg|alt=Köppen climate types of Bulgaria|left|thumb|upright=1.3|Köppen climate types of Bulgaria]]
Bulgaria has a varied and changeable climate, which results from being positioned at the meeting point of the [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]], [[Oceanic climate|Oceanic]] and [[Continental climate|Continental]] air masses combined with the barrier effect of its mountains.{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=4}} Northern Bulgaria averages {{convert|1|C-change|1}} cooler, and registers {{convert|200|mm|1}} more precipitation, than the regions south of the Balkan mountains. Temperature amplitudes vary significantly in different areas. The lowest recorded temperature is {{cvt|-38.3|°C|°F|1}}, while the highest is {{cvt|45.2|°C|°F|1}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/bulnc2.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/bulnc2.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=Bulgaria Second National Communication |publisher=[[United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change]] |access-date=9 October 2018}}</ref> [[Precipitation (meteorology)|Precipitation]] averages about {{convert|630|mm|in|1}} per year, and varies from {{convert|500|mm|1}} in [[Dobrudja]] to more than {{convert|2500|mm|1}} in the mountains. Continental air masses bring significant amounts of snowfall during winter.{{Sfn|Climate}}

Considering its relatively small area, Bulgaria has variable and complex climate. The country occupies the southernmost part of the [[continental climate|continental climatic zone]], with small areas in the south falling within the [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean climatic zone]].<ref>{{harvnb|Donchev|Karakashev|2004|p=52}}</ref> The continental zone is predominant, because continental air masses flow easily into the unobstructed [[Danubian Plain (Bulgaria)|Danubian Plain]]. The continental influence, stronger during the winter, produces abundant snowfall; the Mediterranean influence increases during the second half of summer and produces hot and dry weather. Bulgaria is subdivided into five climatic zones: continental zone (Danubian Plain, Pre-Balkan and the higher valleys of the Transitional geomorphological region); transitional zone (Upper Thracian Plain, most of the Struma and Mesta valleys, the lower Sub-Balkan valleys); continental-Mediterranean zone (the southernmost areas of the Struma and Mesta valleys, the eastern Rhodope Mountains, Sakar and Strandzha); Black Sea zone along the coastline with an average length of 30–40&nbsp;km inland; and alpine zone in the mountains above 1000&nbsp;m altitude (central Balkan Mountains, Rila, Pirin, Vitosha, western Rhodope Mountains, etc.).<ref>{{harvnb|Donchev|Karakashev|2004|pp=59–61}}</ref>

=== Biodiversity and conservation ===
[[File:Lacerta viridis Зелен гущер.jpg|alt=An image of a European green lizard|right|thumb|A [[European green lizard]] in Ropotamo nature reserve, one of Bulgaria's ten biosphere reserves.]]
The interaction of climatic, hydrological, geological and topographical conditions has produced a relatively wide variety of plant and animal species.<ref name="biodiversity">{{cite web |url=http://www.flora.biodiversity.bg/bg_flora_fr.htm |title=Характеристика на флората и растителността на България |publisher=Bulgarian-Swiss Program For Biodiversity |access-date=21 March 2013 |archive-date=27 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130427002409/http://www.flora.biodiversity.bg/bg_flora_fr.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Bulgaria's [[biodiversity]], one of the richest in Europe,<ref name="diversity of flora and fauna">{{cite web |url=http://unesco-bg.org/file_store/2._bogatstvobr_25.1.10.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://unesco-bg.org/file_store/2._bogatstvobr_25.1.10.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |script-title=bg:Видово разнообразие на България |trans-title=Species biodiversity in Bulgaria |publisher=UNESCO report |language=bg |date=2013 |access-date=30 July 2018}}</ref> [[List of protected areas of Bulgaria|is conserved]] in three national parks, 11 nature parks, 10 [[biosphere reserve]]s and 565 protected areas.{{Sfn|NSI Brochure|2018|page=29}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gorabg-magazine.info/bg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&showall=1 |title=Бъдещето на природните паркове в България и техните администрации |trans-title=The future of Bulgaria's natural parks and their administrations |publisher=Gora Magazine |first=Toma |last=Belev |date=June 2010 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=2 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102101145/http://www.gorabg-magazine.info/bg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&showall=1 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/europe-north-america/ |title=Europe & North America: 297 biosphere reserves in 36 countries |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=4 April 2016 |archive-date=5 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150805094626/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/europe-north-america |url-status=live }}</ref> Ninety-three of the 233 [[mammal]] species of Europe are found in Bulgaria, along with 49% of [[butterfly]] and 30% of [[vascular plant]] species.<ref name="IUCN">{{cite web |url=https://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/bulgaria_s_biodiversity_at_risk_fact_sheet_may_2013.pdf |title=Bulgaria's biodiversity at risk |publisher=[[IUCN Red List]] |date=2013 |access-date=12 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504023321/https://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/bulgaria_s_biodiversity_at_risk_fact_sheet_may_2013.pdf |archive-date=4 May 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Overall, 41,493 plant and animal species are present.<ref name="IUCN" /> Larger mammals with sizeable populations include [[deer]] (106,323 individuals), [[wild boar]] (88,948), [[golden jackal]] (47,293) and [[red fox]] (32,326). [[Partridge]]s number some 328,000 individuals, making them the most widespread [[Game (hunting)|gamebird]].{{Sfn|NSI Brochure|2018|page=3}} A third of all nesting birds in Bulgaria can be found in [[Rila National Park]], which also hosts Arctic and alpine species at high altitudes.<ref name="EB Bio">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria#ref42692 |title=Bulgaria: Plant and animal life |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |first=John D. |last=Bell |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=28 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230828192550/https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria#ref42692 |url-status=live }}</ref> Flora includes more than 3,800 vascular plant species of which 170 are [[Endemism|endemic]] and 150 are considered endangered.<ref name="biodiversity" /> A checklist of larger [[fungi]] in Bulgaria by the Institute of Botany identifies more than 1,500 species.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mycotaxon.com/resources/checklists/denchev-v111-checklist.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://mycotaxon.com/resources/checklists/denchev-v111-checklist.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=Checklist of the larger basidiomycetes ın Bulgaria |publisher=Institute of Botany, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences |first=Cvetomir |last=Denchev |access-date=12 September 2018}}</ref> In Bulgaria [[forest cover]] is around 36% of the total land area, equivalent to 3,893,000 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, up from 3,327,000 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 3,116,000 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 777,000 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 18% was reported to be [[primary forest]] (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 18% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 88% of the forest area was reported to be under [[State ownership|public ownership]] and 12% [[Private property|private ownership]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/a6e225da-4a31-4e06-818d-ca3aeadfd635/content |title=Terms and Definitions FRA 2025 Forest Resources Assessment, Working Paper 194 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |year=2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020, Bulgaria |url=https://fra-data.fao.org/assessments/fra/2020/BGR/home/overview |website=Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.un.org/en/iso/bg.html |title=Bulgaria – Environmental Summary, UNData, United Nations |publisher=United Nations |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=22 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222045515/http://data.un.org/en/iso/bg.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 1998, the Bulgarian government adopted the National Biological Diversity Conservation Strategy, a comprehensive programme seeking the preservation of local ecosystems, protection of endangered species and conservation of genetic resources.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://enrin.grida.no/biodiv/biodiv/national/bulgaria/index.htm |title=Biodiversity in Bulgaria |publisher=GRID-Arendal |access-date=21 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430050257/http://enrin.grida.no/biodiv/biodiv/national/bulgaria/index.htm |archive-date=30 April 2016}}</ref> Bulgaria has some of the largest [[Natura 2000]] areas in Europe covering 33.8% of its territory.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eea.europa.eu/soer/countries/bg/soertopic_view?topic=biodiversity |title=Report on European Environment Agency about the Nature protection and biodiversity in Europe |publisher=European Environment Agency |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322001515/http://www.eea.europa.eu/soer/countries/bg/soertopic_view?topic=biodiversity |archive-date=22 March 2014 |access-date=16 October 2018}}</ref> It also achieved its [[Kyoto Protocol]] objective of reducing [[carbon dioxide emissions]] by 30% from 1990 to 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=106682 |title=Bulgaria Achieves Kyoto Protocol Targets – IWR Report |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=11 August 2009 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=16 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716082406/http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=106682 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Bulgaria ranks 37th in the 2024 [[Environmental Performance Index]], but scores low on air quality.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://epi.envirocenter.yale.edu/epi-country-report/BGR |title=Bulgaria |publisher=[[Environmental Performance Index]]/[[Yale University]] |access-date=12 September 2018 |archive-date=22 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422215154/https://epi.envirocenter.yale.edu/epi-country-report/BGR |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Particulates|Particulate]] levels are the highest in Europe,<ref>{{cite news |first=Danny |last=Hakim |title=Bulgaria's Air Is Dirtiest in Europe, Study Finds, Followed by Poland |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/business/international/bulgarias-air-is-dirtiest-in-europe-study-finds-followed-by-poland.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/business/international/bulgarias-air-is-dirtiest-in-europe-study-finds-followed-by-poland.html |archive-date=1 January 2022 |url-access=limited |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=15 October 2013 |access-date=15 October 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> especially in urban areas affected by automobile traffic and coal-based power stations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=89367 |title=High Air Pollution to Close Downtown Sofia |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=14 January 2008 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=11 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111130614/http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=89367 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=117439 |title=Bulgaria's Sofia, Plovdiv Suffer Worst Air Pollution in Europe |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=23 June 2010 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511094347/http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=117439 |url-status=live }}</ref> One of these, the [[lignite]]-fired [[Maritsa Iztok Complex|Maritsa Iztok-2]] station, is causing the highest damage to health and the environment in the European Union.<ref name=EEA>{{cite web |url=http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/industrial-facilities-causing-the-highest-damage#tab-daviz-tabular |title=Industrial facilities causing the highest damage costs to health and the environment |date=24 November 2014 |publisher=European Environment Agency |access-date=25 November 2014 |archive-date=12 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212152824/https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/industrial-facilities-causing-the-highest-damage#tab-daviz-tabular |url-status=live }}</ref> Pesticide use in agriculture and antiquated industrial sewage systems produce extensive soil and water pollution.<ref name="ESI">{{cite web |url=http://www.esiweb.org/index.php?lang=en&id=379 |title=Bulgaria's quest to meet the environmental acquis |publisher=European Stability Initiative |date=10 December 2008 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=17 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717121204/http://www.esiweb.org/index.php?lang=en&id=379 |url-status=live }}</ref> Water quality began to improve in 1998 and has maintained a trend of moderate improvement. Over 75% of surface rivers meet European standards for good quality.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eea.europa.eu/soer/countries/bg/soertopic_view?topic=freshwater |title=Report on European Environment Agency about the quality of freshwaters in Europe |publisher=European Environment Agency |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416022753/http://www.eea.europa.eu/soer/countries/bg/soertopic_view?topic=freshwater |archive-date=16 April 2014 |access-date=21 March 2014}}</ref>

== Politics ==
{{Main|Politics of Bulgaria}}
[[File:Party House, Sofia (by Pudelek).JPG|thumb|left|alt=The National Assembly building in Sofia|[[Largo, Sofia|Independence Square]] in [[Sofia]]: The headquarters of the Presidency (right), the National Assembly (centre) and the Council of Ministers (left).]]
Bulgaria is a [[parliamentary democracy]] where the [[Prime Minister of Bulgaria|prime minister]] is the [[head of government]] and the most powerful executive position.{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=16}} The political system has three branches—legislative, executive and judicial, with [[universal suffrage]] for [[citizen]]s at least 18 years old. The [[Constitution of Bulgaria|Constitution]] also provides possibilities of direct democracy, namely petitions and national [[referendum]]s.<ref name="DD-Navi">{{cite web |url=http://direct-democracy-navigator.org/countries/bulgaria/legal_designs |title=Overview of direct democratic instruments in Bulgaria |publisher=Navigator to Direct Democracy |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116183501/http://direct-democracy-navigator.org/countries/bulgaria/legal_designs |archive-date=16 January 2014 |access-date=25 July 2018}}</ref> Elections are supervised by an independent Central Election Commission that includes members from all major political parties. Parties must register with the commission prior to participating in a national election.{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=17}} Normally, the prime minister-elect is the leader of the party receiving the most votes in parliamentary elections, although this is not always the case.{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=16}}

Unlike the prime minister, presidential domestic power is more limited. The directly elected [[President of Bulgaria|president]] serves as [[head of state]] and [[commander-in-chief]] of the armed forces, and has the authority to return a bill for further debate, although the parliament can override the [[presidential veto]] by a simple majority vote.{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=16}} Political parties gather in the [[National Assembly (Bulgaria)|National Assembly]], a body of 240 deputies elected to four-year terms by direct popular vote. The National Assembly has the power to enact laws, approve the budget, schedule presidential elections, select and dismiss the prime minister and other ministers, declare war, deploy troops abroad, and ratify international treaties and agreements.{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|pages=16–17}}

{{multiple image
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| image1            = Rumen Radev official portrait (cropped).jpg
| alt1              = Portrait of president Rumen Radev
| width1            = 121
| caption1          = [[Rumen Radev]]<br /><small>[[President of Bulgaria|President]]</small>
| image2            = Rosen Zhelyazkov and Iliana Ivanova (cropped 2).jpg
| alt2              = Portrait of prime minister Rosen Zhelyazkov
| width2            = 125
| caption2          = [[Rosen Zhelyazkov]]<br /><small> [[Prime Minister of Bulgaria|Prime Minister]]</small>
}}

Overall, Bulgaria displays a pattern of unstable governments.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit981123 |title=Fitch: Early Bulgaria Elections Would Create Fiscal Uncertainty |work=Reuters |date=23 November 2016 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512222756/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSFit981123 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Boyko Borisov]], the leader of the centre-right, pro-EU party [[GERB]], served three terms as prime minister between 2009 and 2021.
It won [[2009 Bulgarian parliamentary election|the 2009 general election]] and formed a [[minority government]],<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-06/bulgarian-cabinet-faces-no-confidence-vote-over-atomic-plant |title=Bulgarian Cabinet Faces No-Confidence Vote Over Atomic Plant |magazine=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]] |date=6 April 2012 |access-date=1 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726205035/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-06/bulgarian-cabinet-faces-no-confidence-vote-over-atomic-plant |archive-date=26 July 2013}}</ref> which resigned in February 2013 after [[Protests against the Borisov cabinet|nationwide protests]] over the low living standards, corruption<ref>{{cite news |title=Bulgarian government resigns amid growing protests |url=https://news.yahoo.com/bulgaria-government-resigns-national-protests-073220738.html?.b=index&.cf3=World+News&.cf4=1&.cf5=Reuters&.cf6=/ |work=Yahoo! News |first=Sam |last=Cage |access-date=20 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308142025/http://news.yahoo.com/bulgaria-government-resigns-national-protests-073220738.html?.b=index&.cf3=World+News&.cf4=1&.cf5=Reuters&.cf6=%2F |archive-date=8 March 2013}}</ref> and the perceived failure of the democratic system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/02/201322163943882279.html |title=Protests in Bulgaria and the new practice of democracy |publisher=Al Jazeera |first=Mariya |last=Petkova |date=21 February 2013 |access-date=7 March 2013 |archive-date=22 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622043541/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/02/201322163943882279.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
The subsequent [[Bulgarian parliamentary election, 2013|snap elections in May]] resulted in a narrow win for GERB,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-election-idUSBRE94A09920130512 |title=Rightist GERB holds lead in Bulgaria's election |work=Reuters |first=Tsvetelia |last=Tsolova |date=12 May 2013 |access-date=15 May 2013 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924181140/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/12/us-bulgaria-election-idUSBRE94A09920130512 |url-status=live}}</ref> but the [[Bulgarian Socialist Party]] eventually formed a government led by [[Plamen Oresharski]] after Borisov failed to secure parliamentary support.<ref name="form">{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=150686 |title=PM Hopeful: New Bulgarian Cabinet Will Be 'Expert, Pragmatic' |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=25 May 2013 |access-date=12 March 2014 |archive-date=13 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313002312/http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=150686 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Neil |last=Buckley |title=Bulgaria parliament votes for a 'Mario Monti' to lead government |url=https://www.ft.com/content/fc0873ba-c7b2-11e2-9c52-00144feab7de |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/fc0873ba-c7b2-11e2-9c52-00144feab7de |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=The Financial Times |date=29 May 2013 |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref> The Oresharski government resigned in July 2014 amid continuing [[2013–14 Bulgarian protests against the Oresharski cabinet|large-scale protests]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Bulgarians protest government of 'oligarchs' |url=https://www.dw.com/en/bulgarians-protest-government-of-oligarchs/a-16909751 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |first=Bistra |last=Seiler |date=26 June 2013 |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=10 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610233330/http://www.dw.de/bulgarians-protest-government-of-oligarchs/a-16909751 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/162221/Timeline+of+Oresharski%27s+Cabinet%3A+A+Government+in+Constant+Jeopardy |title=Timeline of Oresharski's Cabinet: A Government in Constant Jeopardy |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=24 July 2014 |access-date=29 July 2014 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512222829/https://www.novinite.com/articles/162221/Timeline+of+Oresharski%27s+Cabinet%3A+A+Government+in+Constant+Jeopardy |url-status=live }}</ref>
The [[2014 Bulgarian parliamentary election|October 2014 elections]] resulted in a third GERB victory.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/articles/163898/Bulgaria%27s+Grand+Parliament+Chessboard+Might+Be+Both+Ailment+and+Cure |title=Bulgaria's Grand Parliament Chessboard Might Be Both Ailment and Cure |publisher=[[Novinite]] |first=Angel |last=Petrov |date=6 October 2014 |access-date=7 October 2014 |archive-date=7 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200907081534/https://www.novinite.com/articles/163898/Bulgaria%27s+Grand+Parliament+Chessboard+Might+Be+Both+Ailment+and+Cure |url-status=live }}</ref> Borisov [[Second Borisov Government|formed a coalition]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-government-idUSKBN0IQ1ID20141106 |title=Bulgaria's Borisov plasters together coalition government |work=Reuters |first=Tsvetelia |last=Tsolova |date=6 November 2014 |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=19 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419163046/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-government-idUSKBN0IQ1ID20141106 |url-status=live }}</ref> with several right-wing parties, but resigned again after the candidate backed by his party failed to win the [[Bulgarian presidential election, 2016|2016 Presidential election]]. The [[Bulgarian parliamentary election, 2017|March 2017 snap election]] was again won by GERB, but with 95 seats in Parliament. They formed a coalition with the far-right [[United Patriots]], who held 27 seats.<ref name="WP1">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/04/25/bulgarias-government-will-include-nationalist-parties-on-the-far-right-heres-why-and-what-this-means/ |title=Bulgaria's government will include far-right nationalist parties for the first time |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |first=Nina |last=Barzachka |date=25 April 2017 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512222921/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/04/25/bulgarias-government-will-include-nationalist-parties-on-the-far-right-heres-why-and-what-this-means/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Borisov's last cabinet saw a dramatic decrease in freedom of the press, and a number of corruption revelations that triggered [[2020–2021 Bulgarian protests|yet another wave of mass protests in 2020]].<ref>Todorov, Svetoslav (10 July 2020). [https://balkaninsight.com/2020/07/10/fresh-protest-wave-gains-momentum-in-bulgaria/ "Fresh Protest Wave Gains Momentum in Bulgaria."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416233504/https://balkaninsight.com/2020/07/10/fresh-protest-wave-gains-momentum-in-bulgaria/ |date=16 April 2022 }} ''BalkanInsight.com''. Retrieved 20 July 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/bulgaria-anti-government-protests-continue-for-a-ninth-day/a-54224137 "Bulgaria: Anti-Government Protests Continue for a Ninth Day"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416233508/https://www.dw.com/en/bulgaria-anti-government-protests-continue-for-a-ninth-day/a-54224137 |date=16 April 2022 }} (18 July 2020). ''DW.com''. Retrieved 20 July 2021.</ref> GERB came out first in the regular [[April 2021 Bulgarian parliamentary election|April 2021]] election, but with its weakest result so far.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dw.com/en/bulgaria-election-pm-borissovs-party-wins-but-falls-short-of-majority/a-57102610 |title=Bulgaria election: PM Borissov's party wins but falls short of majority &#124; DW &#124; 05.04.2021 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]] |access-date=30 May 2021 |archive-date=27 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427234315/https://www.dw.com/en/bulgaria-election-pm-borissovs-party-wins-but-falls-short-of-majority/a-57102610 |url-status=live }}</ref> All other parties refused to form a government,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/bulgaria-faces-fresh-elections-socialists-refuse-form-government-2021-05-01/ |title=Reuters |website=[[Reuters]] |date=May 2021 |access-date=30 May 2021 |archive-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508182040/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/bulgaria-faces-fresh-elections-socialists-refuse-form-government-2021-05-01/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and after a brief deadlock, another election was called [[July 2021 Bulgarian parliamentary election|for July 2021]]. It too failed to break the stalemate, as no political party was able to form a coalition government.<ref name="reuters2021-09">{{Cite web |date=2 September 2021 |title=Bulgaria faces fresh elections as Socialists refuse to form a government |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/bulgaria-faces-fresh-elections-socialists-refuse-form-government-2021-09-02/ |access-date=6 September 2021 |website=Reuters |language=en |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905234845/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/bulgaria-faces-fresh-elections-socialists-refuse-form-government-2021-09-02/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 2023, because of the political deadlock, Bulgaria held its fifth parliamentary [[2023 Bulgarian parliamentary election|election]] since April 2021. GERB was the biggest, winning 69 seats. The bloc led by [[We Continue the Change]] won 64 seats in the 240-seat parliament. In June 2023, Prime Minister [[Nikolai Denkov]] formed a new coalition between We Continue The Change and GERB. According to the coalition agreement, Denkov will lead the government for the first nine months. He will be succeeded by former European Commissioner, [[Mariya Gabriel]], of the GERB party. She was supposed to take over as prime minister in nine months.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bulgaria's parliament elects new government led by PM Denkov |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/bulgarias-parliament-elects-new-government-led-by-pm-denkov-2023-06-06/ |work=Reuters |date=6 June 2023 |language=en |access-date=10 June 2023 |archive-date=10 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610152222/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/bulgarias-parliament-elects-new-government-led-by-pm-denkov-2023-06-06/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Denkov resigned in accordance with the rotation agreement on 5 March 2024, to allow Gabriel to become the new Prime Minister.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 March 2024 |title=Bulgaria's PM resigns, as agreed, amid some coalition confusion |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/bulgarias-pm-resigns-agreed-amid-some-coalition-confusion-2024-03-05/ |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> On 20 March 2024, the planned government rotation and signing of a renewed government failed due to disagreements between the two alliances on the cabinet and breaking down of relations.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Denitsa Koseva |date=20 March 2024 |title=Bulgaria thrown into new political crisis, snap general election likely |url=https://www.intellinews.com/bulgaria-thrown-into-new-political-crisis-snap-general-election-likely-317585/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320095504/https://www.intellinews.com/bulgaria-thrown-into-new-political-crisis-snap-general-election-likely-317585/ |archive-date=20 March 2024 |access-date=20 March 2024 |publisher=BNE Intellinews}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 March 2024 |title=Mariya Gabriel's Proposed Cabinet Sparks Controversy: WCC-DB Disagrees with Composition |url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/224940/Mariya+Gabriel%27s+Proposed+Cabinet+Sparks+Controversy%3A+WCC-DB+Disagrees+with+Composition |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320075225/https://www.novinite.com/articles/224940/Mariya%20Gabriel%27s%20Proposed%20Cabinet%20Sparks%20Controversy%3A%20WCC-DB%20Disagrees%20with%20Composition |archive-date=20 March 2024 |access-date=20 March 2024 |publisher=Novinite}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Krassen Nikolov |date=20 March 2024 |title=Bulgarian cabinet rotation falls, snap election looms |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/bulgarian-cabinet-rotation-falls-snap-election-looms/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240611044222/https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/bulgarian-cabinet-rotation-falls-snap-election-looms/ |archive-date=11 June 2024 |access-date=20 March 2024 |publisher=Euractiv}}</ref> Negotiations ensued across to form a new government,<ref>{{Cite web |author=Desislava Toncheva |date=20 March 2024 |title=Outgoing PM Denkov: We Can Sit at the Negotiation Table and Finish Them in a Reasonable Way |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/638481-outgoing-pm-denkov-we-can-sit-at-the-negotiation-table-and-finish-them-in-a-rea |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320075227/https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/638481-outgoing-pm-denkov-we-can-sit-at-the-negotiation-table-and-finish-them-in-a-rea |archive-date=20 March 2024 |access-date=20 March 2024 |publisher=Bulgarian News Agency}}</ref> but failed to produce any governments that could reach a majority support.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Lyubomir Gigov |date=24 March 2024 |title=Movement for Rights and Freedoms Will Decline Third Cabinet-Forming Mandate, Wants Early Elections Pronto |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/641010-movement-for-rights-and-freedoms-will-decline-third-cabinet-forming-mandate-wan |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324173523/https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/641010-movement-for-rights-and-freedoms-will-decline-third-cabinet-forming-mandate-wan |archive-date=24 March 2024 |access-date=24 March 2024 |publisher=Bulgarian News Agency}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Nikolay Zabov |date=24 March 2024 |title=UPDATED: Gabriel Won't Run for PM, Clears Way for Early Elections |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/640975-gabriel-won-t-run-for-pm-clears-way-for-early-elections |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324173521/https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/640975-gabriel-won-t-run-for-pm-clears-way-for-early-elections |archive-date=24 March 2024 |access-date=24 March 2024 |publisher=Bulgarian News Agency}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Roumen Yanovski |date=26 March 2024 |title=Parliament Ends First Mandate for Government Formation |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/641885-parliament-ends-first-mandate-for-government-formation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326102914/https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/641885-parliament-ends-first-mandate-for-government-formation |archive-date=26 March 2024 |access-date=26 March 2024 |publisher=Bulgarian News Agency}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=25 March 2024 |title=A Failed Government Mandate: What's Next |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/641271-a-failed-government-mandate-what-s-next |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240325161129/https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/641271-a-failed-government-mandate-what-s-next |archive-date=25 March 2024 |access-date=25 March 2024 |publisher=Bulgarian News Agency}}</ref> GERB rejected the chance to form a government. PP–DB made a limited attempt to respect the original rotation agreement. The final chance to form a government, chosen by president [[Rumen Radev]], went to ITN, which was immediately rejected.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Dimitrina Solakova |date=26 March 2024 |title=UPDATED: CC-DB Proposes to GERB-UDF that Second Cabinet-forming Mandate Be National, Common |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/641862-cc-db-propose-to-gerb-udf-that-second-cabinet-forming-mandate-be-national-comm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326102925/https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/641862-cc-db-propose-to-gerb-udf-that-second-cabinet-forming-mandate-be-national-comm |archive-date=26 March 2024 |access-date=26 March 2024 |publisher=Bulgarian News Agency}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=26 March 2024 |title=UPDATED: GERB Turns Down CC-DB Last Offer for Government |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/642058-gerb-turns-down-cc-db-last-offer-for-government |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326122603/https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/642058-gerb-turns-down-cc-db-last-offer-for-government |archive-date=26 March 2024 |access-date=26 March 2024 |publisher=Bulgarian News Agency}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=27 March 2024 |title=Bulgaria's Political Crisis: WCC-DB Returned Second Mandate Unfulfilled – President To Convene The Parties In 10 Days |url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/225140/Bulgaria%27s+Political+Crisis%3A+WCC-DB+Returned+Second+Mandate+Unfulfilled+-+President+To+Convene+The+Parties+In+10+Days |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328153418/https://www.novinite.com/articles/225140/Bulgaria%27s+Political+Crisis%3A+WCC-DB+Returned+Second+Mandate+Unfulfilled+-+President+To+Convene+The+Parties+In+10+Days |archive-date=28 March 2024 |access-date=28 March 2024 |publisher=Novinite}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=28 March 2024 |title=Bulgaria's populists reject mandate to form government, set stage for snap vote |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/bulgarias-populists-reject-mandate-form-government-set-stage-snap-vote-2024-03-28/ |publisher=Reuters}}</ref>

On 29 March, as per Article 98 of the constitution,<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 March 2024 |title=After All Three Government-Forming Mandates Fail, President Has to Find a Caretaker PM but that May Be an Uphill Task |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/643762-after-all-three-government-forming-mandates-fail-president-has-to-find-a-careta |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329015626/https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/643762-after-all-three-government-forming-mandates-fail-president-has-to-find-a-careta |archive-date=29 March 2024 |access-date=28 March 2024 |publisher=Bulgarian News Agency}}</ref> the President appointed the Chairman of the [[Chamber of Audit (Bulgaria)|National Audit Office]], [[Dimitar Glavchev]], as the candidate for caretaker prime minister.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 March 2024 |title=President Picks National Audit Office Head for Caretaker PM-Designate |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/644684-president-picks-national-audit-office-head-for-caretaker-pm-designate |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329204720/https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/644684-president-picks-national-audit-office-head-for-caretaker-pm-designate |archive-date=29 March 2024 |access-date=29 March 2024 |publisher=Bulgarian News Agency}}</ref> He was granted a one-week deadline of until 6 April 2024 to propose the composition of the caretaker government.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Yoana Vodenicharova |date=30 March 2024 |title=President Radev Assigns PM-designate Glavchev to Propose Caretaker Cabinet Lineup |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/644820-president-radev-assigns-pm-designate-glavchev-to-propose-caretaker-cabinet-lineu |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240330173959/https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/644820-president-radev-assigns-pm-designate-glavchev-to-propose-caretaker-cabinet-lineu |archive-date=30 March 2024 |access-date=30 March 2024 |publisher=Bulgarian News Agency}}</ref>

Glavchev presented his proposal for the caretaker government on 5 April 2024,<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 April 2024 |title=UPDATED: PM-Designate Proposes Caretaker Cabinet |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/648057-pm-designate-proposes-caretaker-cabinet |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405110251/https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/648057-pm-designate-proposes-caretaker-cabinet |archive-date=5 April 2024 |access-date=5 April 2024 |publisher=Bulgarian News Agency}}</ref> accepted by the President following negotiations and scheduling the election for 9 June 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 April 2024 |title=UPDATED: PM-Designate, President, Parliamentary Parties Hold Talks on Caretaker Cabinet |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/647997-pm-designate-president-parliamentary-parties-hold-talks-on-caretaker-cabinet |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405111451/https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/647997-pm-designate-president-parliamentary-parties-hold-talks-on-caretaker-cabinet |archive-date=5 April 2024 |access-date=5 April 2024 |publisher=Bulgarian News Agency}}</ref><ref name="9 June 2024 announced">{{Cite web |author=Yoanna Vodenova |date=5 April 2024 |title=UPDATED: European and Snap Parliamentary Elections in Bulgaria to be Held Simultaneously on June 9 |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/648162-european-and-snap-parliamentary-elections-in-bulgaria-to-be-held-simultaneously- |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405110041/https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/648162-european-and-snap-parliamentary-elections-in-bulgaria-to-be-held-simultaneously- |archive-date=5 April 2024 |access-date=5 April 2024 |publisher=Bulgarian News Agency}}</ref> Glavchev and his cabinet were inaugurated on 9 April 2024 by the National Assembly.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 April 2024 |title=Bulgarian parliament formally approves caretaker government to run country until June 9 elections |url=https://apnews.com/article/bulgaria-interim-government-elections-420c9287382ee4bf93c8463842554617 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240411094254/https://apnews.com/article/bulgaria-interim-government-elections-420c9287382ee4bf93c8463842554617 |archive-date=11 April 2024 |access-date=9 April 2024 |website=Associated Press |language=en}}</ref>

The new elected [[51st National Assembly of Bulgaria|51st Parliament]] replaced the [[50th National Assembly of Bulgaria|50th Parliament]] when all elected members were sworn in on 11 November 2024.<ref name="MPoath(NOV2024)">{{Cite web |date=11 November 2024 |title=The Members of the 51th National Assembly officially took the oath of office |url=https://parliament.bg/en/news/ID/6132 |access-date=11 November 2024 |website=National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria (parliament.bg)}}</ref> After 11 voting rounds, [[Natalia Kiselova]] ([[BSP – United Left|BSP–OL]]) was elected as speaker of the National Assembly on 6 December 2024.<ref name="11th vote">{{Cite web |author=Desislava Antova |date=6 December 2024 |title=ОБНОВЕНА: Наталия Киселова е избрана за председател на 51-вото Народно събрание |trans-title=UPDATED: Natalia Kiselova elected as Speaker of the 51st National Assembly |url=https://www.bta.bg/bg/news/bulgaria/794888-nataliya-kiselova-e-izbrana-za-predsedatel-na-51-voto-narodno-sabranie |access-date=6 December 2024 |website=BTA |language=bg}}</ref>  President [[Rumen Radev]] granted the [[October 2024 Bulgarian parliamentary election#First negotiation mandate|first negotiation mandate]] to the largest party GERB-SDS on 15 January 2025,<ref name="ZhelyazkovProgramme">{{Cite web |author=Dimitrina Solakova |date=15 January 2025 |title=Wrap-up: GERB-UDF Mandated to Form Cabinet, Unveil Proposed Lineup |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/815213-gerb-udf-mandated-to-form-cabinet-unveil-proposed-lineup |access-date=15 January 2025 |website=BTA |language=en}}</ref> which formed a minority government alongside [[Bulgarian Socialist Party|BSP]] and [[There is Such a People|ITN]], with support from [[Alliance for Rights and Freedoms|APS (Dogan)]]. The government is led by GERB politician [[Rosen Zhelyazkov]].<ref name="APSsupport">{{Cite web |date=14 January 2025 |title=Хората на Доган ще подкрепят кабинет на ГЕРБ, БСП и ИТН |trans-title=Dogan's people will support a cabinet of GERB, BSP and ITN |url=https://www.mediapool.bg/horata-na-dogan-shte-podkrepyat-kabinet-na-gerb-bsp-i-itn-news367038.html |access-date=14 January 2025 |website=Mediapool |language=bg}}</ref><ref name="APSsupportConfirmed">{{Cite web |author=Yoana Vodenicharova |date=15 January 2025 |title=Movement for Rights and Freedoms' Operations Bureau Confirms Support for Zhelyazkov's Cabinet |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/815272-movement-for-rights-and-freedoms-operations-bureau-confirms-support-for-zhelyaz |access-date=15 January 2025 |website=BTA |language=en}}</ref>

[[Freedom House]] has reported a continuing deterioration of democratic governance after 2009, citing reduced media independence, stalled reforms, abuse of authority at the highest level and increased dependence of local administrations on the central government.<ref name="FH">{{cite web |url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/nations-transit/2018/bulgaria |title=Bulgaria Country Profile |publisher=Freedom House |first=Emilia |last=Zankina |access-date=24 July 2018 |archive-date=24 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724154012/https://freedomhouse.org/report/nations-transit/2018/bulgaria |url-status=dead}}</ref> Bulgaria is still [[Freedom in the World|listed as "Free"]], with a political system designated as a semi-consolidated democracy, albeit with deteriorating scores.<ref name="FH" /> The [[Democracy Index]] defines it as a "Flawed democracy".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.eiu.com/public/topical_report.aspx?campaignid=DemocracyIndex2017 |title=Democracy Index 2017: Free speech under attack |publisher=The Economist Intelligence Unit |access-date=24 July 2018 |archive-date=31 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131181010/https://www.eiu.com/public/topical_report.aspx?campaignid=DemocracyIndex2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2018 survey by the [[Institute for Economics and Peace]] reported that less than 15% of respondents considered elections to be fair.<ref name="GPI">{{cite web |title=Global Peace Index 2019 |url=http://visionofhumanity.org/app/uploads/2019/06/GPI-2019-web003.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827155045/http://visionofhumanity.org/app/uploads/2019/06/GPI-2019-web003.pdf |archive-date=27 August 2019 |access-date=16 December 2019 |publisher=[[Institute for Economics and Peace]] |pages=8, 41, 96}}</ref>

=== Legal system ===
Bulgaria has a [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] legal system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Bulgaria.html |title=The Bulgarian Legal System and Legal Research |publisher=Hauser Global Law School Program |date=August 2006 |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=7 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807163007/http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Bulgaria.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The judiciary is overseen by the Ministry of Justice. The Supreme Administrative Court and the Supreme Court of Cassation are the highest courts of appeal and oversee the application of laws in subordinate courts.{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=17}} The Supreme Judicial Council manages the system and appoints judges. The legal system is regarded by both domestic and international observers as one of Europe's most inefficient due to a pervasive lack of transparency and corruption.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.bg/crime/sadebnata-ni-sistema-parvenets-po-koruptsiya.html |script-title=bg:Съдебната ни система – първенец по корупция |trans-title=Our justice system – a leader in corruption |publisher=News.bg |date=3 June 2010 |access-date=28 July 2018 |language=bg |archive-date=10 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710040742/https://news.bg/crime/sadebnata-ni-sistema-parvenets-po-koruptsiya.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Brunwasser |title=Questions arise again about Bulgaria's legal system |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/world/europe/05iht-bulgaria.3792672.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=5 November 2006 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=2 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802050112/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/world/europe/05iht-bulgaria.3792672.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bnr.bg/sites/en/News_eng/Pages/en0112_B2.aspx |title=Transparency International report: Bulgaria perceived as EU's most corrupt country |publisher=Bulgarian National Radio |date=1 December 2012 |access-date=23 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101112317/http://bnr.bg/sites/en/News_eng/Pages/en0112_B2.aspx |archive-date=1 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-02-17/bulgaria-sets-up-anti-corruption-unit-security-chief-steps-down |title=Bulgaria Sets Up Anti-Corruption Unit; Security Chief Steps Down |publisher=Bloomberg |first=Elizabeth |last=Konstantinova |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |date=17 February 2011 |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=28 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728131318/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-02-17/bulgaria-sets-up-anti-corruption-unit-security-chief-steps-down |url-status=live }}</ref> Law enforcement is carried out by organisations mainly subordinate to the [[Ministry of Interior (Bulgaria)|Ministry of the Interior]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.interpol.int/Member-countries/Europe/Bulgaria |title=Interpol entry on Bulgaria |publisher=Interpol |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=27 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427105427/http://www.interpol.int/Member-countries/Europe/Bulgaria |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[National Police Service (Bulgaria)|General Directorate of National Police]] (GDNP) combats general crime and maintains public order.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mvr.bg/en/AboutUs/StructuralUnits/National+MoI+Services/Police/default.htm |title=National Police Service |publisher=Ministry of the Interior of Bulgaria |access-date=25 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003054128/http://www.mvr.bg/en/AboutUs/StructuralUnits/National+MoI+Services/Police/default.htm |archive-date=3 October 2012}}</ref> GDNP fields 26,578 police officers in its local and national sections.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mvr.bg/docs/default-source/structura/vak_31_05_2018.pdf?sfvrsn=513e949_6 |script-title=bg:Справка за щатната численост и незаетите бройки в структурите на МВР към 31 May 2018 г. |trans-title=Summary of staff and vacancies in structures of the Ministry of the Interior as of 31 May 2018 |publisher=Ministry of the Interior |date=31 May 2018 |access-date=10 July 2018 |language=bg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710164755/https://www.mvr.bg/docs/default-source/structura/vak_31_05_2018.pdf?sfvrsn=513e949_6 |archive-date=10 July 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The bulk of criminal cases are transport-related, followed by theft and drug-related crime; [[List of countries by intentional homicide rate|homicide rates are low]].{{Sfn|NSI Brochure|2018|page=27}} The Ministry of the Interior also heads the Border Police Service and the [[Gendarmerie (Bulgaria)|National Gendarmerie]]—a specialised branch for anti-terrorist activity, crisis management and riot control. Counterintelligence and national security are the responsibility of the State Agency for National Security.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dans.bg/ |title=State Agency for National Security Official Website |publisher=State Agency for National Security |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=19 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111219211633/http://www.dans.bg/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Administrative divisions ===
{{Main|Provinces of Bulgaria|Municipalities of Bulgaria}}
Bulgaria is a [[unitary state]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ccre.org/en/membres/Bulgarie.htm |title=Local Structures in Bulgaria |publisher=Council of European Municipalities and Regions |access-date=11 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604090547/http://www.ccre.org/en/membres/Bulgarie.htm |archive-date=4 June 2012}}</ref> Since the 1880s, the number of territorial management units has varied from seven to 26.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mrrb.government.bg/index.php?controller=articles&id=4216 |script-title=bg:Историческо развитие на административно–териториалното устройство на Република България |trans-title=Historical development of the administrative and territorial division of the Republic of Bulgaria |publisher=Ministry of Regional Development |language=bg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202100126/http://www.mrrb.government.bg/index.php?controller=articles&id=4216 |archive-date=2 February 2014 |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref> Between 1987 and 1999, the administrative structure consisted of nine provinces (''oblasti'', singular ''[[oblast]]''). A new administrative structure was adopted in parallel with the decentralisation of the economic system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mrrb.government.bg/index.php?lang=bg&do=atums&type=71&id=13 |title=Областите в България. Портрети |trans-title=The oblasts in Bulgaria. Portraits |publisher=Ministry of Regional Development |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619040835/http://www.mrrb.government.bg/index.php?lang=bg&do=atums&type=71&id=13 |archive-date=19 June 2012 |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref> It includes 27 provinces and a metropolitan capital province ([[Sofia City Province|Sofia City]]). All areas take their names from their respective capital cities. The provinces are subdivided into 265 [[Municipalities of Bulgaria|municipalities]]. Municipalities are run by mayors, who are elected to four-year terms, and by directly elected municipal councils. Bulgaria is a highly [[centralisation|centralised]] state where the [[Government of Bulgaria|Council of Ministers]] directly appoints regional governors and all provinces and municipalities are heavily dependent on it for funding.{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=17}}

{| style="margin:auto;" cellpadding="10"
|-
| [[File:Bulgaria Aministrative Provinces numbered.png|300px|right]]
|style="font-size:90%;font-weight:bold;"|
{{col-begin|width=auto}}
{{col-break|gap=2em}}
{{ordered list|start=1|[[Blagoevgrad Province|Blagoevgrad]]|[[Burgas Province|Burgas]]|[[Dobrich Province|Dobrich]]|[[Gabrovo Province|Gabrovo]]|[[Haskovo Province|Haskovo]]|[[Kardzhali Province|Kardzhali]]|[[Kyustendil Province|Kyustendil]]|[[Lovech Province|Lovech]]|[[Montana Province|Montana]]}}
{{col-break|gap=2em}}
{{ordered list|start=10|[[Pazardzhik Province|Pazardzhik]]|[[Pernik Province|Pernik]]|[[Pleven Province|Pleven]]|[[Plovdiv Province|Plovdiv]]|[[Razgrad Province|Razgrad]]|[[Ruse Province|Ruse]]|[[Shumen Province|Shumen]]|[[Silistra Province|Silistra]]|[[Sliven Province|Sliven]]}}
{{col-break|gap=2em}}
{{ordered list|start=19|[[Smolyan Province|Smolyan]]|[[Sofia Province]]|[[Stara Zagora Province|Stara Zagora]]|[[Targovishte Province|Targovishte]]|[[Varna Province|Varna]]|[[Veliko Tarnovo Province|Veliko Tarnovo]]|[[Vidin Province|Vidin]]|[[Vratsa Province|Vratsa]]|[[Yambol Province|Yambol]]}}
{{col-end}}
|}

=== Foreign relations ===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Bulgaria}}
[[File:BAF MiG-29s in flight Garchev.png|thumb|alt=Bulgarian MiG-29 fighters in flight|[[Mikoyan MiG-29]] jet fighters of the [[Bulgarian Air Force]]]]
Bulgaria became a member of the [[United Nations]] in 1955. Since 1966, it has been a non-permanent member of the [[United Nations Security Council|Security Council]] three times, most recently from 2002 to 2003.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thegreenpapers.com/ww/UNSecurityCouncil.phtml |title=The United Nations Security Council |publisher=The Green Papers Worldwide |access-date=4 December 2011 |archive-date=8 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108031920/http://www.thegreenpapers.com/ww/UNSecurityCouncil.phtml |url-status=live }}</ref> It was also among the founding nations of the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe|Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] (OSCE) in 1975. Euro-Atlantic integration has been a priority since the fall of communism, although the communist leadership also had aspirations of leaving the [[Warsaw Pact]] and joining the [[European Communities]] by 1987.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dnes.bg/obshtestvo/2008/08/15/bai-toshoviiat-blian-bylgariia-v-es-prez-039-87.55776 |script-title=bg:Бай Тошовият блян – България в ЕС през '87 |trans-title=Todor Zhivkov's dream – Bulgaria in the EC in '87 |publisher=Dnes.bg |date=15 August 2008 |language=bg |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=26 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126214023/http://www.dnes.bg/obshtestvo/2008/08/15/bai-toshoviiat-blian-bylgariia-v-es-prez-039-87.55776 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |script-title=bg:"Дойче веле": Тодор Живков искал България да стане член на ЕС |trans-title="Deutsche Welle": Todor Zhivkov wanted Bulgaria to join the EC |url=https://www.vesti.bg/novini/prez-1988-g.-komunisticheskiiat-lider-veche-iskal-ne-prosto-reforma-na-socializma-a-smiana-na-sistemata-1230064 |newspaper=Vesti |date=3 September 2008 |language=bg |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512223029/https://www.vesti.bg/novini/prez-1988-g.-komunisticheskiiat-lider-veche-iskal-ne-prosto-reforma-na-socializma-a-smiana-na-sistemata-1230064 |url-status=live }}</ref> Bulgaria signed the European Union [[Treaty of Accession 2005|Treaty of Accession]] on 25 April 2005,<ref name="ec">{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/archives/enlargement_process/future_prospects/negotiations/eu10_bulgaria_romania/treaty_2005_en.htm |title=European Commission Enlargement Archives: Treaty of Accession of Bulgaria and Romania |publisher=European Commission |date=25 April 2005 |access-date=20 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219145342/http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/archives/enlargement_process/future_prospects/negotiations/eu10_bulgaria_romania/treaty_2005_en.htm |archive-date=19 February 2011}}</ref> and became a full member of the European Union on 1 January 2007.<ref name="Ind">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-big-question-with-romania-and-bulgaria-joining-the-eu-how-much-bigger-can-it-get-430061.html |title=The Big Question: With Romania and Bulgaria joining the EU, how much bigger can it get? |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |first=Steven |last=Castle |date=29 December 2006 |access-date=14 September 2018 |archive-date=16 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116202327/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-big-question-with-romania-and-bulgaria-joining-the-eu-how-much-bigger-can-it-get-430061.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, it has a tripartite economic and diplomatic collaboration with Romania and Greece,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.mfa.gr/www.mfa.gr/en-US/Policy/Geographic+Regions/South-Eastern+Europe/Balkans/Bilateral+Relations/Bulgaria/ |title=Bulgaria – relations |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece |access-date=31 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205023232/http://www2.mfa.gr/www.mfa.gr/en-US/Policy/Geographic+Regions/South-Eastern+Europe/Balkans/Bilateral+Relations/Bulgaria/ |archive-date=5 February 2012}}</ref> good ties with China<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjb/zzjg/xos/gjlb/3150/ |title=Bulgaria – Bilateral Relations |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726144918/http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjb/zzjg/xos/gjlb/3150/ |archive-date=26 July 2013 |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref> and [[Vietnam]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=121248 |title=Vietnam Thanks Bulgaria for University Graduates |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=28 October 2010 |access-date=31 March 2012 |archive-date=3 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203090603/http://novinite.com/view_news.php?id=121248 |url-status=live }}</ref> and a historical relationship with Russia.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://theconversation.com/russias-borders-old-ties-pull-bulgaria-in-two-directions-33288 |title=Russia's borders: old ties pull Bulgaria in two directions |work=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] |date=22 October 2014 |access-date=13 January 2022 |quote=Modern relations between Bulgaria and Russia began about two centuries ago... |archive-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113205531/https://theconversation.com/russias-borders-old-ties-pull-bulgaria-in-two-directions-33288 |url-status=live }}</ref>[[File:Diplomatic_missions_of_Bulgaria.PNG|thumb|Diplomatic missions of Bulgaria]]

Bulgaria deployed significant numbers of both civilian and military advisors in Soviet-allied countries like [[Nicaraguan Revolution|Nicaragua]]{{Sfn|Arms Sales}} and [[Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya|Libya]] during the [[Cold War]].{{Sfn|Foreign Affairs in the 1960s and 1970s}} The first deployment of foreign troops on Bulgarian soil since World War II occurred in 2001, when the country hosted six [[KC-135 Stratotanker]] aircraft and 200 support personnel for the war effort in Afghanistan.<ref name="CENTCOM">{{cite web |url=http://www.centcom.mil/bulgaria/ |title=Bulgaria Factbook |publisher=United States Central Command |date=December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018052026/http://www.centcom.mil/bulgaria/ |archive-date=18 October 2011 |access-date=4 October 2018}}</ref> International military relations were further expanded with accession to [[NATO]] in March 2004<ref name="nato">{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2004/03-march/e0329a.htm |title=NATO Update: Seven new members join NATO |publisher=NATO |date=29 March 2004 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=15 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315110351/http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2004/03-march/e0329a.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and the US-Bulgarian Defence Cooperation Agreement signed in April 2006. [[Bezmer Air Base|Bezmer]] and [[Graf Ignatievo Air Base|Graf Ignatievo]] air bases, the [[Novo Selo Range|Novo Selo]] training range, and a logistics centre in [[Aytos Logistics Center|Aytos]] subsequently became [[List of joint US-Bulgarian military bases|joint military training facilities]] cooperatively used by the United States and Bulgarian militaries.<ref name="State">{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3236.htm |title=Bulgaria Factbook |publisher=Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State |access-date=4 December 2011 |archive-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318174110/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3236.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2006/04/28/feature-01 |title=US, Bulgaria sign defence co-operation agreement |publisher=[[Southeast European Times]] |date=28 April 2006 |access-date=20 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125201923/http://setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2006/04/28/feature-01 |archive-date=25 January 2011}}</ref> Despite its active international defence collaborations, Bulgaria ranks as among the most peaceful countries globally, tying 6th alongside Iceland regarding domestic and international conflicts, and 26th on average in the [[Global Peace Index]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 Global Peace Index |url=https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf}}</ref>

Following the 2022 [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], Bulgaria decided to assist Ukraine;<ref>{{cite web |title=Bulgaria's Parliament votes additional military aid for Ukraine, possibility of air space for F-16 training |url=https://sofiaglobe.com/2023/12/08/bulgarias-parliament-votes-additional-military-aid-for-ukraine-possibility-of-air-space-for-f-16-training/ |date=8 December 2023 |access-date=9 December 2023 |archive-date=9 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209114527/https://sofiaglobe.com/2023/12/08/bulgarias-parliament-votes-additional-military-aid-for-ukraine-possibility-of-air-space-for-f-16-training/ |url-status=live }}</ref> in 2023, after Gazprom illegally stopped exporting gas to Bulgaria, the country in turn stopped importing Russian oil and gas.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bulgaria Strikes Back After Gazprom Suspended Gas Supplies Last Year |url=https://jamestown.org/program/bulgaria-strikes-back-after-gazprom-suspended-gas-supplies-last-year/ |date=26 October 2023 |access-date=9 December 2023 |archive-date=9 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209114527/https://jamestown.org/program/bulgaria-strikes-back-after-gazprom-suspended-gas-supplies-last-year/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Military ===
{{Main|Bulgarian Armed Forces}}
The [[Bulgarian Armed Forces]] are the military of Bulgaria and are composed of [[Bulgarian land forces|land forces]], [[Bulgarian Navy|navy]] and an [[Bulgarian Air Force|air force]]. The Armed Forces have 36,950 active troops, supplemented by 3,000 [[reservist]]s.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Military Balance 2021 |author1=International Institute for Strategic Studies |author-link1=International Institute for Strategic Studies |date=25 February 2021 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=[[London]] |page=89 |isbn=978-1-03-201227-8}}</ref> The land forces consist of two [[Mechanized infantry|mechanised]] [[brigade]]s and eight independent [[regiment]]s and [[battalion]]s; the air force operates 106 aircraft and [[Anti-aircraft warfare|air defence]] systems across six air bases, and the navy operates various ships, helicopters and coastal defence weapons.<ref name="AF plan">{{cite web |url=http://www.mod.bg/en/doc/misc/20110207_AFDP_ENG.pdf |title=Armed Forces Development Plan |publisher=Ministry of Defence of Bulgaria |date=2010 |access-date=31 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628195116/http://www.mod.bg/en/doc/misc/20110207_AFDP_ENG.pdf |archive-date=28 June 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Military inventory mainly consists of Soviet equipment like [[Mikoyan MiG-29]] and [[Sukhoi Su-25]] jets,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.defence24.com/bulgaria-will-modernize-its-army-fighters-infantry-fighting-vehicles |title=Bulgaria Will Modernize Its Army. "Fighters, infantry fighting vehicles" |publisher=Defence24 |first=Jakub |last=Palowski |date=6 October 2015 |access-date=21 July 2018 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512223117/https://defence24.com/bulgaria-will-modernize-its-army-fighters-infantry-fighting-vehicles |url-status=live }}</ref> [[S-300 missile system|S-300PT]] air defence systems<ref>{{cite web |url=http://aviationweek.com/site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/07/asd_08_06_2015_dossier.pdf |title=S-300 Surface-to-air Missile System |publisher=Aerospace Daily & Defense Report |date=6 August 2015 |access-date=21 July 2018 |archive-date=8 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808002052/https://aviationweek.com/site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/07/asd_08_06_2015_dossier.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[SS-21 Scarab]] short-range [[ballistic missile]]s.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/ss-21-scarab-russias-forgotten-deadly-ballistic-missile-17679?page=0%2C1 |title=SS-21 Scarab: Russia's Forgotten (But Deadly) Ballistic Missile |magazine=The National Interest |first=Sebastien |last=Roblin |date=12 September 2016 |access-date=21 July 2018 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512223126/https://nationalinterest.org/blog/ss-21-scarab-russias-forgotten-deadly-ballistic-missile-17679?page=0%2C1 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Armed Forces are modernising with [[General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon|F-16 Block 70]] fighter jets, new multi-purpose corvettes and other modern NATO-standard equipment. Bulgaria is in the process of buying new US-built [[Stryker]] vehicles, new [[155 mm caliber|155 mm]] [[Self-propelled artillery|self-propelled howitzers]], new [[Early-warning radar|3D early-warning radar]]s, new [[surface-to-air missile]]s and more.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 September 2023 |title=Ракети, радари, бронирани машини. Как България се разбърза да превъоръжи армията заради агресията на Русия |url=https://www.svobodnaevropa.bg/a/32585458.html |access-date=24 September 2023 |website=Свободна Европа |language=bg |archive-date=22 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922151600/https://www.svobodnaevropa.bg/a/32585458.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of Bulgaria}}
[[File:Economic Growth in Bulgaria.gif|thumb|upright=2|alt=Graph showing GDP and unemployment|Economic growth (green) and unemployment (blue) statistics since 2001]]
Bulgaria has an open, [[Economy of Bulgaria|high-income]] range [[market economy]] where the private sector accounts for more than 70% of [[Gross domestic product|GDP]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519 |title=World Bank Country and Lending Groups |year=2018 |publisher=The World Bank Group |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111190936/https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519 |archive-date=11 January 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usaid.gov/pubs/cbj2002/ee/bg/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710020431/http://www.usaid.gov/pubs/cbj2002/ee/bg/ |archive-date=10 July 2011 |title=Bulgaria Overview |year=2002 |publisher=[[USAID]] |access-date=2 November 2011}}</ref> From a largely agricultural country with a predominantly rural population in 1948, by the 1980s Bulgaria had transformed into an industrial economy, with scientific and technological research at the top of its budgetary expenditure priorities.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/Late-communist-rule |title=Bulgaria – Late Communist rule |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |first=John D. |last=Bell |access-date=28 July 2018 |quote=Bulgaria gave the highest priority to scientific and technological advancement and the development of trade skills appropriate to an industrial state. In 1948 approximately 80 percent of the population drew their living from the soil, but by 1988 less than one-fifth of the labour force was engaged in agriculture, with the rest concentrated in industry and the service sector. |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512223141/https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/Late-communist-rule |url-status=live }}</ref> The loss of [[COMECON]] markets in 1990 and the subsequent "[[Shock therapy (economics)|shock therapy]]" of the [[Planned economy|planned system]] caused a steep decline in industrial and agricultural production, ultimately followed by an economic collapse in 1997.<ref name="Economies">{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/een/005/article_4326_en.htm |title=The economies of Bulgaria and Romania |publisher=[[European Commission]] |date=January 2007 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=25 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125014952/http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/een/005/article_4326_en.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=OECD Economic Surveys: Bulgaria |publisher=[[OECD]] |year=1999 |page=24 |isbn=9789264167735 |url=https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/oecd-economic-surveys-bulgaria-1999_eco_surveys-bgr-1999-en#page24 |quote=The previous 1997 Economic Survey of Bulgaria documented how a combination of difficult initial conditions, delays in structural reforms,&nbsp;... culminated in the economic crisis of 1996–97. |access-date=4 October 2018 |archive-date=19 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419163006/https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/oecd-economic-surveys-bulgaria-1999_eco_surveys-bgr-1999-en#page24 |url-status=live }}</ref> The economy largely recovered during a period of rapid growth several years later,<ref name="Economies" /> but the average salary of 2,072 leva ($1,142) per month remains the lowest in the EU.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.investor.bg/a/517-pazar-na-truda/384379-srednata-zaplata-v-balgariya-v-kraya-na-septemvri-stigna-2072-lv |title=Средната заплата в България в края на септември стигна 2072 лв}}</ref>

A [[balanced budget]] was achieved in 2003 and the country began running a [[budget surplus|surplus]] the following year.<ref name="OECD1">{{cite journal |last1=Hawkesworth |first1=Ian |title=Budgeting in Bulgaria |journal=OECD Journal on Budgeting |date=2009 |issue=3/2009 |page=137 |url=https://www.oecd.org/countries/bulgaria/46051594.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.oecd.org/countries/bulgaria/46051594.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=6 August 2018}}</ref> Expenditures amounted to $21.15 billion and revenues were $21.67 billion in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2056.html#bu |title=Field listing: Budget |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=16 July 2018 |archive-date=6 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706234818/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2056.html#bu |url-status=dead}}</ref> Most government spending on institutions is earmarked for security. The ministries of defence, the interior and justice are allocated the largest share of the annual government budget, whereas those responsible for the environment, tourism and energy receive the least funding.<ref name="2018budget">{{cite web |url=https://www.capital.bg/politika_i_ikonomika/bulgaria/2017/10/23/3064620_bjudjet_2018_poveche_za_zaplati_zdrave_i_pensii/ |script-title=bg:Бюджет 2018: Повече за заплати, здраве и пенсии |trans-title=2018 Budget: More for salaries, health and pensions |publisher=Kapital Daily |first=Vera |last=Denizova |date=23 October 2017 |access-date=16 July 2018 |language=bg |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512223215/https://www.capital.bg/politika_i_ikonomika/bulgaria/2017/10/23/3064620_bjudjet_2018_poveche_za_zaplati_zdrave_i_pensii/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Taxes form the bulk of government revenue<ref name="2018budget" /> at 30% of GDP.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2221.html#bu |title=Field listing: Taxes and other revenue |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=16 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716223948/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2221.html#bu |archive-date=16 July 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Bulgaria has some of the lowest corporate income [[Tax rates in Europe|tax rates in the EU]] at a flat 10% rate.<ref>{{cite web |title=These are the 29 countries with the world's lowest levels of tax |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/wef-countries-with-the-lowest-levels-of-tax-on-earth-2016-3 |website=Business Insider |date=15 March 2016 |access-date=16 July 2018 |archive-date=8 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108052815/http://uk.businessinsider.com/wef-countries-with-the-lowest-levels-of-tax-on-earth-2016-3/#29-bulgaria-27--corporate-taxes-in-bulgaria-are-just-10-the-same-as-the-maximum-possible-income-tax-charged-to-individuals-in-the-country-that-numbers-is-one-of-the-five-lowest-in-europe-1 |url-status=live }}</ref> The tax system is two-tier. [[Value added tax]], [[excise duties]], corporate and personal income tax are national, whereas real estate, inheritance, and vehicle taxes are levied by local authorities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.minfin.bg/en/774 |title=Structure of Bulgarian Tax System |publisher=Ministry of Finance of Bulgaria |access-date=16 July 2018 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512223234/https://www.minfin.bg/en/774 |url-status=live }}</ref> Strong economic performance in the early 2000s reduced [[government debt]] from 79.6% in 1998 to 14.1% in 2008.<ref name="OECD1" /> It has since increased to 22.6% of GDP by 2022, but remains the second lowest in the EU.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nsi.bg/bg/content/11476/%D0%B1%D1%80%D1%83%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BD-%D0%B4%D1%8A%D1%80%D0%B6%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD-%D0%B4%D1%8A%D0%BB%D0%B3 |title=Брутен държавен дълг |website=www.nsi.bg |access-date=10 February 2024 |archive-date=6 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206003509/https://www.nsi.bg/bg/content/11476/%D0%B1%D1%80%D1%83%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BD-%D0%B4%D1%8A%D1%80%D0%B6%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD-%D0%B4%D1%8A%D0%BB%D0%B3 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Yugozapaden]] [[First-level NUTS of the European Union|planning area]] is the most developed region with a [[per capita]] gross domestic product ([[Purchasing power parity|PPP]]) of $29,816 in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tgs00005&plugin=1 |title=Regional gross domestic product (PPS per inhabitant), by NUTS 2 regions |publisher=Eurostat |access-date=12 March 2017 |archive-date=29 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329141653/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tgs00005&plugin=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> It includes the capital city and the surrounding [[Sofia Province]], which alone generate 42% of national gross domestic product despite hosting only 22% of the population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nsi.bg/bg/content/2215/%D0%B1%D0%B2%D0%BF-%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BD%D0%BE-%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%BE |script-title=bg:БВП – регионално ниво |trans-title=GDP – regional level |publisher=National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria |access-date=22 July 2018 |language=bg |archive-date=20 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720051916/http://www.nsi.bg/bg/content/2215/%D0%B1%D0%B2%D0%BF-%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BD%D0%BE-%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%BE |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|NSI Census data|2017}} GDP per capita (in [[Purchasing power standard|PPS]]) and the cost of living in 2019 stood at 53 and 52.8% of the EU average (100%), respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tec00114 |title=GDP per capita in PPS |publisher=Eurostat |website=ec.europa.eu/eurostat |access-date=19 June 2020 |archive-date=9 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109171045/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tec00114 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tec00120 |title=Comparative price levels |publisher=Eurostat |website=ec.europa.eu/eurostat |access-date=19 June 2020 |archive-date=18 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218154953/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tec00120&plugin=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> National PPP GDP was estimated at $143.1&nbsp;billion in 2016, with a per capita value of $20,116.<ref name="imf2">{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=53&pr.y=5&sy=2011&ey=2016&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=918&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a= |title=Bulgaria |publisher=International Monetary Fund |access-date=12 March 2017 |archive-date=23 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423114058/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=53&pr.y=5&sy=2011&ey=2016&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=918&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a= |url-status=live }}</ref> Economic growth statistics take into account illegal transactions from the [[informal economy]], which is the largest in the EU as a percentage of economic output.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.occrp.org/en/27-ccwatch/cc-watch-briefs/2616-eu-countries-to-begin-counting-drugs-prostitution-in-economic-growth |title=EU: Countries to Begin Counting Drugs, Prostitution in Economic Growth |publisher=Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project |date=9 September 2014 |access-date=16 July 2018 |archive-date=17 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117102436/https://www.occrp.org/en/27-ccwatch/cc-watch-briefs/2616-eu-countries-to-begin-counting-drugs-prostitution-in-economic-growth |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/themes/06_shadow_economy.pdf |title=Shadow Economy |publisher=Eurostat |date=2012 |access-date=20 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114234654/http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/themes/06_shadow_economy.pdf |archive-date=14 November 2012}}</ref> The [[Bulgarian National Bank]] issues the national currency, [[Bulgarian lev|lev]], which is pegged to the euro at a rate of 1.95583 levа per euro.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bnb.bg/Statistics/StExternalSector/StExchangeRates/StERFixed/index.htm |script-title=bg:Курсове на българския лев към еврото и към валутите на държавите, приели еврото |trans-title=Exchange rates of the lev to the euro and Eurozone currencies replaced by the euro |publisher=Bulgarian National Bank |access-date=16 October 2018 |language=bg |archive-date=5 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605060830/http://www.bnb.bg/Statistics/StExternalSector/StExchangeRates/StERFixed/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

After several consecutive years of high growth, repercussions of the [[2008 financial crisis]] resulted in a 3.6% contraction of GDP in 2009 and increased unemployment.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=BG |title=Bulgaria: GDP growth (annual %) |publisher=The World Bank |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512223312/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=BG |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS?end=2017&locations=BG&start=1991&view=chart |title=Bulgaria: Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate) |year=2018 |publisher=The World Bank |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=10 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510101411/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS?end=2017&locations=BG&start=1991&view=chart |url-status=live }}</ref> Positive growth was restored in 2010 but intercompany debt exceeded $59 billion, meaning that 60% of all Bulgarian companies were mutually indebted.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Economy/Pages/1706compandebts.aspx |title=Inter-company debt – one of Bulgarian economy's serious problems |publisher=Bulgarian National Radio |first=Tanya |last=Harizanova |date=17 June 2010 |access-date=10 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101112308/http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Economy/Pages/1706compandebts.aspx |archive-date=1 November 2012}}</ref> By 2012, it had increased to $97 billion, or 227% of GDP.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dnes.dir.bg/ikonomika/firmi-bozhidar-danev-balgarskata-stopanska-kamara-zadalzhenia-12811577 |script-title=bg:Бизнесът очерта уникална диспропорция в България |trans-title=Business points to a major disproportion in Bulgaria |publisher=Dir.bg |language=bg |date=14 January 2013 |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512223329/https://dnes.dir.bg/ikonomika/firmi-bozhidar-danev-balgarskata-stopanska-kamara-zadalzhenia-12811577 |url-status=live }}</ref> The government implemented strict austerity measures with IMF and EU encouragement to some positive fiscal results, but the social consequences of these measures, such as increased [[economic inequality|income inequality]] and accelerated outward migration, have been "catastrophic" according to the [[International Trade Union Confederation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=144010 |title=ITUC Frontlines Report 2012: Section on Bulgaria |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=10 October 2012 |access-date=10 October 2012 |archive-date=20 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020042322/http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=144010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Siphoning of public funds to the families and relatives of politicians from incumbent parties has resulted in fiscal and welfare losses to society.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/118351/Bulgaria%2C+Romania+Rapped+for+Public+Procurement+Fraud |title=Bulgaria, Romania Rapped for Public Procurement Fraud |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=21 July 2010 |access-date=16 July 2018 |archive-date=16 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716194814/https://www.novinite.com/articles/118351/Bulgaria%2C+Romania+Rapped+for+Public+Procurement+Fraud |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Center for the Study of Democracy |title=Anti-corruption Reforms in Bulgaria: Key Results and Risks |publisher=Center for the Study of Democracy |page=44 |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EgHHCbYKZXoC&pg=PA44 |isbn=9789544771461 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115223045/https://books.google.com/books?id=EgHHCbYKZXoC&pg=PA44 |url-status=live }}</ref> Bulgaria ranks 71st in the [[Corruption Perceptions Index]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2017 |title=Corruption Perceptions Index: Transparency International |year=2017 |publisher=[[Transparency International]] |access-date=16 July 2018 |archive-date=21 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221190927/https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and experiences the worst levels of [[corruption]] in the European Union, a phenomenon that remains a source of profound public discontent.<ref name="cloud">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/28/bulgaria-corruption-eu-presidency-far-right-minority-parties-concerns |title=Cloud of corruption hangs over Bulgaria as it takes up EU presidency |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Jennifer |last=Rankin |date=28 December 2017 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=25 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525205308/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/28/bulgaria-corruption-eu-presidency-far-right-minority-parties-concerns |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/bulgaria/11290458/Bulgarian-corruption-at-15-year-high.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/bulgaria/11290458/Bulgarian-corruption-at-15-year-high.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Bulgarian corruption at 15-year high |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=12 December 2014 |access-date=9 July 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Along with organised crime, corruption has resulted in a rejection of the country's [[Schengen Area]] application and withdrawal of foreign investment,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-security/bulgarian-border-officers-suspended-over-airport-security-lapse-idUSKBN1H00L2 |title=Bulgarian border officers suspended over airport security lapse |work=Reuters |date=24 March 2018 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=16 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416234027/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-security/bulgarian-border-officers-suspended-over-airport-security-lapse-idUSKBN1H00L2 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-bulgaria/bulgaria-savors-eu-embrace-despite-critics-idUSKBN1F02V8 |title=Bulgaria savors EU embrace despite critics |work=Reuters |first=Alastair |last=Macdonald |date=11 January 2018 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=30 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430052505/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-bulgaria/bulgaria-savors-eu-embrace-despite-critics-idUSKBN1F02V8 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="reuters_USKBN1F61EQ">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-government/bulgarias-government-faces-no-confidence-vote-over-corruption-idUSKBN1F61EQ |title=Bulgaria's government faces no-confidence vote over corruption |work=Reuters |first=Angel |last=Krasimirov |date=17 January 2018 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512223406/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-government/bulgarias-government-faces-no-confidence-vote-over-corruption-idUSKBN1F61EQ |url-status=live }}</ref> though the country officially became a full member of the zone in January 2025.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tanno |first1=Sophie |title=Romania and Bulgaria fully join Europe's borderless travel zone |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/01/europe/romania-bulgaria-schengen-zone-intl/index.html |access-date=28 January 2025 |work=CNN |date=1 January 2025 |language=en}}</ref> Government officials reportedly engage in embezzlement, influence trading, government procurement violations and bribery with impunity.<ref name="SG1">{{cite web |url=https://sofiaglobe.com/2018/04/21/us-state-dept-criticises-bulgaria-on-prisons-judiciary-corruption-people-trafficking-and-violence-against-minorities/ |title=US State Dept criticises Bulgaria on prisons, judiciary, corruption, people-trafficking and violence against minorities |publisher=The Sofia Globe |date=21 April 2018 |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=6 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106135613/https://sofiaglobe.com/2018/04/21/us-state-dept-criticises-bulgaria-on-prisons-judiciary-corruption-people-trafficking-and-violence-against-minorities/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Government procurement in particular is a critical area in corruption risk. An estimated 10 billion leva ($5.99 billion) of state budget and [[Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund|European cohesion]] funds are spent on public tenders each year;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.24chasa.bg/novini/article/5316312 |script-title=bg:10 млрд. лв. годишно се харчат с обществени поръчки |trans-title=10 bln. leva are spent on public procurement every year |newspaper=24 Chasa |date=21 February 2016 |access-date=30 July 2018 |language=bg |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512223417/https://www.24chasa.bg/novini/article/5316312 |url-status=live }}</ref> nearly 14 billion ($8.38 billion) were spent on public contracts in 2017 alone.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.capital.bg/politika_i_ikonomika/bulgaria/2017/12/29/3104548_rekord_pri_obshtestvenite_poruchki_otkriti_sa_turgove/ |script-title=bg:Рекорд при обществените поръчки: открити са търгове за почти 14 млрд. лв. |trans-title=A record in public procurement: tenders worth nearly 14 billion lv unveiled |publisher=Kapital Daily |first=Ivaylo |last=Stanchev |date=29 December 2017 |access-date=16 July 2018 |language=bg |archive-date=10 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510101518/https://www.capital.bg/politika_i_ikonomika/bulgaria/2017/12/29/3104548_rekord_pri_obshtestvenite_poruchki_otkriti_sa_turgove/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A large share of these contracts are awarded to a few politically connected<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stefanov |first1=Ruslan |title=The Bulgarian Public Procurement Market: Corruption Risks and Dynamics in the Construction Sector |journal=Government Favouritism in Europe: The Anticorruption Report 3 |date=2015 |issue=3/2015 |page=35 |url=http://www.romaniacurata.ro/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/ACRVolume3_Ch3_Bulgaria.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.romaniacurata.ro/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/ACRVolume3_Ch3_Bulgaria.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=6 August 2018 |doi=10.2307/j.ctvdf0g12.6}}</ref> companies amid widespread irregularities, procedure violations and tailor-made award criteria.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/policy/how/improving-investment/public-procurement/study/country_profile/bg.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/policy/how/improving-investment/public-procurement/study/country_profile/bg.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=Public procurement in Bulgaria |publisher=European Commission |date=2015 |access-date=16 July 2018}}</ref> Despite repeated criticism from the [[European Commission]],<ref name="reuters_USKBN1F61EQ" /> EU institutions refrain from taking measures against Bulgaria because it supports Brussels on a number of issues, unlike [[Poland]] or [[Hungary]].<ref name="cloud" />

=== Structure and sectors ===
The labour force is 3.36&nbsp;million people,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/218.html#BU |title=Field listing: Labor force |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=15 December 2019 |archive-date=7 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200307175501/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/218.html#BU |url-status=dead}}</ref> of whom 6.8% are employed in agriculture, 26.6% in industry and 66.6% in the services sector.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/219.html#BU |title=Field listing: Labor force by occupation |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=15 December 2019 |archive-date=20 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420181021/https://www.cia.gov/Library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/219.html#BU |url-status=dead}}</ref> Extraction of metals and minerals, production of [[chemical industry|chemicals]], [[machinery industry|machine building]], steel, biotechnology, tobacco, food processing and [[refined petroleum fuel|petroleum refining]] are among the major industrial activities.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/Economy#ref42702 |title=Bulgaria – Manufacturing |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |first=John D. |last=Bell |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=10 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510100730/https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/Economy#ref42702 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/216.html#BU |title=Field listing: Industries |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=15 December 2019 |archive-date=18 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218182242/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/216.html#BU |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/news/bulgaria-selling-steel |title=Bulgaria: Selling off steel |date=31 August 2011 |publisher=Oxford Business Group |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=19 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419162309/https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/news/bulgaria-selling-steel |url-status=live }}</ref> Mining alone employs 24,000 people and generates about 5% of the country's GDP; the number of employed in all mining-related industries is 120,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/170584/Mining+Industry+Accounts+for+5+of+Bulgaria%27s+GDP+%E2%80%93+Energy+Minister |title=Mining Industry Accounts for 5% of Bulgaria's GDP – Energy Minister |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=29 August 2015 |access-date=20 July 2018 |archive-date=19 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419163046/https://www.novinite.com/articles/170584/Mining+Industry+Accounts+for+5+of+Bulgaria%27s+GDP+%E2%80%93+Energy+Minister |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Ore exports">{{cite news |title=Bulgaria's ore exports rise 10% in H1 2011 – industry group |url=http://thesofiaecho.com/2011/08/18/1141389_bulgarias-ore-exports-rise-10per-cent-in-h1-2011-industry-group |date=18 August 2011 |newspaper=The Sofia Echo |access-date=20 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316132149/http://thesofiaecho.com/2011/08/18/1141389_bulgarias-ore-exports-rise-10per-cent-in-h1-2011-industry-group |archive-date=16 March 2012}}</ref> Bulgaria is Europe's fifth-largest coal producer.<ref name="Ore exports" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.eia.gov/beta/international/data/browser/#/?pa=0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000g&c=1438j008006gg6168g80a4k000e8ag00gg0004gc00ho00go&ct=0&tl_id=1-A&vs=INTL.7-1-ALB-TST.A&ord=CR&cy=2015&vo=0&v=H&start=2014&end=2016 |title=Total Primary Coal Production (Thousand Short Tons) |publisher=U.S. Energy Information Administration |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=27 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427031435/https://www.eia.gov/beta/international/data/browser/#/?pa=0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000g&c=1438j008006gg6168g80a4k000e8ag00gg0004gc00ho00go&ct=0&tl_id=1-A&vs=INTL.7-1-ALB-TST.A&ord=CR&cy=2015&vo=0&v=H&start=2014&end=2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Local deposits of coal, iron, copper and lead are vital for the manufacturing and energy sectors.{{Sfn|Resource Base}} The main destinations of Bulgarian exports outside the EU are Turkey, China and Serbia, while Russia, Turkey and China are by far the largest import partners. Most of the exports are manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel products and food.<ref>{{cite web |title=Trade In Goods of Bulgaria With Third Countries In the Period January – October 2019 (Preliminary Data) |publisher=National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria |pages=7, 8 |url=https://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/FTS_Extrastat_2019-10_en_HDT5DBO.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/FTS_Extrastat_2019-10_en_HDT5DBO.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |date=November 2019 |access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref> Two-thirds of food and agricultural exports go to [[OECD]] countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oecd.org/agriculture/agricultural-policies/40354124.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.oecd.org/agriculture/agricultural-policies/40354124.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=Agricultural Policies in non-OECD countries: Monitoring and Evaluation |publisher=[[OECD]] |date=2007 |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref>

Although cereal and vegetable output dropped by 40% between 1990 and 2008,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/regional/seur/Review/Bulgaria.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080328063300/http://www.fao.org/regional/seur/Review/Bulgaria.htm |title=Bulgaria – Natural conditions, farming traditions and agricultural structures |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |archive-date=28 March 2008 |access-date=2 November 2011}}</ref> output in grains has since increased, and the 2016–2017 season registered the biggest grain output in a decade.<ref name="UNdata">{{cite web |url=http://data.un.org/en/iso/bg.html |title=Bulgaria – Economic Summary, UNData, United Nations |publisher=United Nations |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=22 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222045515/http://data.un.org/en/iso/bg.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bta.bg/en/c/DF/id/1628901 |title=Experts: Bumper Year for Wheat Producers in Dobrich Region |publisher=Bulgarian Telegraph Agency |date=4 August 2017 |access-date=20 July 2018 |archive-date=21 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121031617/http://www.bta.bg/en/c/DF/id/1628901 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Maize]], [[barley]], [[oats]] and [[rice]] are also grown. Quality [[Turkish tobacco|Oriental tobacco]] is a significant industrial crop.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/Economy#ref42701 |title=Bulgaria – Agriculture |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |first=John D. |last=Bell |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=10 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510100730/https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/Economy#ref42701 |url-status=live }}</ref> Bulgaria is also the largest producer globally of [[lavender oil|lavender]] and [[rose oil]], both widely used in fragrances.<ref name="CENTCOM" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bnr.bg/en/post/100837137/bulgarian-rose-oil-keeps-its-top-place-on-world-market |title=Bulgarian rose oil keeps its top place on world market |publisher=Bulgarian National Radio |first=Miglena |last=Ivanova |date=31 May 2017 |access-date=20 July 2018 |archive-date=16 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416234209/https://bnr.bg/en/post/100837137/bulgarian-rose-oil-keeps-its-top-place-on-world-market |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/185754/Bulgaria+is+Again+the+World%27s+First+Producer+of+Lavender+Oil |title=Bulgaria is Again the World's First Producer of Lavender Oil |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=30 November 2017 |access-date=20 July 2018 |archive-date=30 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430052505/https://www.novinite.com/articles/185754/Bulgaria+is+Again+the+World%27s+First+Producer+of+Lavender+Oil |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/bulgaria-tops-lavender-oil-production-outpacing-france |title=Bulgaria tops lavender oil production, outpacing France |publisher=Fox News |date=16 July 2014 |access-date=12 September 2018 |archive-date=12 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912165804/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07/16/bulgaria-tops-lavender-oil-production-outpacing-france.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Within the services sector, [[Tourism in Bulgaria|tourism]] is a significant contributor to economic growth. [[Sofia]], [[Plovdiv]], [[Veliko Tarnovo]], coastal resorts [[Albena]], [[Golden Sands]] and [[Sunny Beach]] and winter resorts [[Bansko]], [[Pamporovo]] and [[Borovets]] are some of the locations most visited by tourists.<ref>{{cite news |title=Europe (without the euro) |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/apr/20/europe-budget-travel-short-haul-cheap |newspaper=The Guardian |date=20 April 2009 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=31 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031004121/http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/apr/20/europe-budget-travel-short-haul-cheap |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/Economy#ref253978 |title=Bulgaria – Tourism |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |first=John D. |last=Bell |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=10 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510100730/https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/Economy#ref253978 |url-status=live }}</ref> Most visitors are Romanian, Turkish, Greek and German.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nsi.bg/bg/content/1969/%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B5%D1%89%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F-%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D1%87%D1%83%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8-%D0%B2-%D0%B1%D1%8A%D0%BB%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F-%D0%BF%D0%BE-%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%B5%D1%86%D0%B8-%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D0%BE-%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8 |script-title=bg:Посещения на чужденци в България по месеци и по страни |trans-title=Arrivals of foreigners in 2017 by month and country of origin |publisher=National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria |date=15 February 2019 |access-date=15 December 2019 |language=bg |archive-date=5 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605070014/https://www.nsi.bg/bg/content/1969/%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B5%D1%89%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F-%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D1%87%D1%83%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8-%D0%B2-%D0%B1%D1%8A%D0%BB%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F-%D0%BF%D0%BE-%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%B5%D1%86%D0%B8-%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D0%BE-%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8 |url-status=live }}</ref> Tourism is additionally encouraged through the [[100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria|100 Tourist Sites]] system.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bnr.bg/en/post/100103688/100-tourist-sites-of-bulgaria |title=100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria |publisher=Bulgarian National Radio |first=Alexander |last=Markov |date=3 October 2011 |access-date=15 December 2019 |archive-date=15 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215212348/https://www.bnr.bg/en/post/100103688/100-tourist-sites-of-bulgaria |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Science and technology ===
{{Main|Science and technology in Bulgaria}}
[[File:BulgariaSat-1 Mission (35491530485).jpg|thumb|right|upright|alt=A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching BulgariaSat-1 in June 2017|The launch of BulgariaSat-1 by SpaceX]]

Spending on [[research and development]] amounts to 0.78% of GDP,{{Sfn|NSI Brochure|2018|page=19}} and the bulk of public R&D funding goes to the [[Bulgarian Academy of Sciences]] (BAS).<ref name="EUpresidency">{{cite web |url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/188930/EU+Presidency+Puts+Lagging+Bulgarian+Science+in+the+Spotlight |title=EU Presidency Puts Lagging Bulgarian Science in the Spotlight |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=22 March 2018 |access-date=14 July 2018 |archive-date=15 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715011433/https://www.novinite.com/articles/188930/EU+Presidency+Puts+Lagging+Bulgarian+Science+in+the+Spotlight |url-status=live }}</ref> Private businesses accounted for more than 73% of R&D expenditures and employed 42% of Bulgaria's 22,000 researchers in 2015.<ref name="R&D spending">{{cite web |url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/177126/R%26D+Spending+in+Bulgaria+Up+in+2015%2C+Mostly+Driven+by+Businesses |title=R&D Spending in Bulgaria Up in 2015, Mostly Driven by Businesses |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=31 October 2016 |access-date=14 July 2018 |archive-date=2 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202160330/https://www.novinite.com/articles/177126/R%26D+Spending+in+Bulgaria+Up+in+2015%2C+Mostly+Driven+by+Businesses |url-status=live }}</ref> The same year, Bulgaria ranked 39th out of 50 countries in the [[Bloomberg Innovation Index]], the highest score being in education (24th) and the lowest in value-added manufacturing (48th).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-innovative-countries/ |title=The 2015 Bloomberg Innovation Index |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=14 July 2018 |archive-date=25 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225075316/https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-innovative-countries/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Bulgaria was ranked 37th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GII Innovation Ecosystems & Data Explorer 2025 |url=https://www.wipo.int/gii-ranking/en/bulgaria |access-date=2025-10-16 |website=WIPO}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dutta |first1=Soumitra |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2025/en/index.html |title=Global Innovation Index 2025: Innovation at a Crossroads |last2=Lanvin |first2=Bruno |publisher=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]] |year=2025 |isbn=978-92-805-3797-0 |page=19 |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.58864 |access-date=2025-10-17}}</ref> Chronic government underinvestment in research since 1990 has forced many professionals in science and engineering to leave Bulgaria.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shopov |first1=V. |title=The impact of the European scientific area on the 'Brain leaking' problem in the Balkan countries |journal=Nauka |date=2007 |issue=1/2007}}</ref>

Despite the lack of funding, research in chemistry, [[materials science]] and [[physics]] remains strong.<ref name="EUpresidency" /> Antarctic research is actively carried out through the [[St. Kliment Ohridski Base]] on [[Livingston Island]] in [[Western Antarctica]].<ref>[https://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/gaz/scar/display_name.cfm?gaz_id=105044 St. Kliment Ohridski Base.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319060854/https://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/gaz/scar/display_name.cfm?gaz_id=105044 |date=19 March 2014 }} SCAR [[Composite Antarctic Gazetteer]]</ref><ref>Ivanov, Lyubomir (2015). [http://livingston-island.weebly.com/ General Geography and History of Livingston Island.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708084208/http://livingston-island.weebly.com/ |date=8 July 2015 }} In: ''Bulgarian Antarctic Research: A Synthesis''. Eds. C. Pimpirev and N. Chipev. Sofia: St. Kliment Ohridski University Press. pp. 17–28. {{ISBN|978-954-07-3939-7}}</ref> The [[information and communication technologies]] (ICT) sector generates three per cent of economic output and employs 40,000<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/f9a35122-44f4-11e6-9b66-0712b3873ae1 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/f9a35122-44f4-11e6-9b66-0712b3873ae1 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Bulgaria strives to become tech capital of the Balkans |newspaper=The Financial Times |first=Kerin |last=Hope |date=17 October 2016 |access-date=15 July 2018}}</ref> to 51,000 software engineers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bta.bg/en/c/DF/id/1762498 |title=Bulgaria's ICT Sector Turnover Trebled over Last Seven Years – Deputy Economy Minister |publisher=Bulgarian Telegraph Agency |date=12 March 2018 |access-date=15 July 2018 |archive-date=17 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117174213/http://www.bta.bg/en/c/DF/id/1762498 |url-status=live }}</ref> Bulgaria was known as a "Communist [[Silicon Valley]]" during the Soviet era due to its key role in [[COMECON]] computing technology production.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.delta.tudelft.nl/article/great-bulgarian-braindrain |title=The Great Bulgarian BrainDrain |publisher=Delft Technical University |first=David |last=McMullin |date=2 October 2003 |access-date=15 July 2018 |archive-date=17 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117174215/https://www.delta.tudelft.nl/article/great-bulgarian-braindrain |url-status=live }}</ref> A concerted effort by the communist government to teach computing and IT skills in schools also indirectly made Bulgaria a major source of [[computer virus]]es in the 1980s and 90s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Petrov |first=Victor |date=30 September 2021 |title=Socialist Cyborgs |url=https://logicmag.io/kids/socialist-cyborgs/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917195506/https://logicmag.io/kids/socialist-cyborgs/ |archive-date=17 September 2021}}</ref> The country is a regional leader in [[supercomputer|high performance computing]]: it operates ''Avitohol'', the most powerful supercomputer in Southeast Europe, and will host one of the eight [[petascale computing|petascale]] [[European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking|EuroHPC]] supercomputers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.capital.bg/biznes/tehnologii_i_nauka/2018/06/22/3203630_shum_tok_i_superkompjutri/ |script-title=bg:Малката изчислителна армия на България |trans-title=Bulgaria's small computing army |publisher=Kapital Daily |first=Yoan |last=Zapryanov |date=22 June 2018 |access-date=15 July 2018 |language=bg |archive-date=17 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117174209/https://www.capital.bg/biznes/tehnologii_i_nauka/2018/06/22/3203630_shum_tok_i_superkompjutri/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-2868_en.htm |title=Digital Single Market: Europe announces eight sites to host world-class supercomputers |publisher=European Commission |date=7 June 2019 |access-date=15 August 2019 |archive-date=11 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811230320/https://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-2868_en.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Bulgaria has made numerous contributions to [[space exploration]].<ref name="Interkosmos">{{cite book |last1=Burgess |first1=Colin |last2=Vis |first2=Bert |title=Interkosmos: The Eastern Bloc's Early Space Program |publisher=Springer |pages=247–250 |year=2016 |isbn=978-3-319-24161-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MG__CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA247 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115223024/https://books.google.com/books?id=MG__CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA247 |url-status=live }}</ref> These include two scientific satellites, more than 200 payloads and 300 experiments in Earth orbit, as well as [[Bulgarian cosmonaut program|two cosmonauts]] since 1971.<ref name="Interkosmos" /> Bulgaria was the first country to grow [[wheat]] [[Plants in space|in space]] with its [[SVET plant growth system|Svet]] [[greenhouse]]s on the [[Mir space station]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/127387/Cosmonauts+Eager%2C+Hopeful+for+Reboot+of+Bulgaria%27s+Space+Program |title=Cosmonauts Eager, Hopeful for Reboot of Bulgaria's Space Program |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=17 April 2011 |access-date=15 July 2018 |archive-date=15 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815055331/https://www.novinite.com/articles/127387/Cosmonauts+Eager%2C+Hopeful+for+Reboot+of+Bulgaria%27s+Space+Program |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ivanova |first1=Tanya |title=Six-month space greenhouse experiments—a step to creation of future biological life support systems |journal=Acta Astronautica |date=1998 |volume=42 |issue=1–8 |pages=11–23 |doi=10.1016/S0094-5765(98)00102-7 |pmid=11541596 |bibcode=1998AcAau..42...11I}}</ref> It was involved in the development of the [[Granat]] [[Gamma-ray astronomy|gamma-ray observatory]]<ref name="RESS" /> and the [[Vega program]]me, particularly in modelling trajectories and guidance [[algorithms]] for both Vega probes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dimitrova |first=Milena |title=Златните десятилетия на българската електроника |trans-title=The Golden Decades of Bulgarian Electronics |publisher=Trud |pages=257–258 |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jqJ6Ocql0XIC&pg=PA257 |isbn=9789545288456 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115223025/https://books.google.com/books?id=jqJ6Ocql0XIC&pg=PA257 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Badescu |first1=Viorel |last2=Zacny |first2=Kris |title=Inner Solar System: Prospective Energy and Material Resources |publisher=Springer |page=276 |year=2015 |isbn=978-3-319-19568-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZrAYCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA276 |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115223025/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZrAYCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA276 |url-status=live }}</ref> Bulgarian instruments have been used in the [[exploration of Mars]], including a spectrometer that took the first high quality [[spectroscopy|spectroscopic]] images of Martian moon [[Phobos (moon)|Phobos]] with the [[Phobos 2]] probe.<ref name="Interkosmos" /><ref name="RESS">{{cite book |last1=Harland |first1=David M. |last2=Ulivi |first2=Paolo |title=Robotic Exploration of the Solar System: Part 2: Hiatus and Renewal, 1983–1996 |publisher=Springer |page=155 |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-387-78904-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dZyaAAVwg5QC&pg=PA155 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115223025/https://books.google.com/books?id=dZyaAAVwg5QC&pg=PA155 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Cosmic ray|Cosmic radiation]] en route to and around the planet has been mapped by [[Liulin type instruments|Liulin-ML]] dosimeters on the [[ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter|ExoMars TGO]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Semkova |first1=Jordanka |last2=Dachev |first2=Tsvetan |title=Radiation environment investigations during ExoMars missions to Mars – objectives, experiments and instrumentation |journal=Comptes Rendus de l'Académie Bulgare des Sciences |date=2015 |volume=47 |issue=25 |pages=485–496 |url=https://inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=RN:47073133 |access-date=6 August 2018 |issn=1310-1331 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308141639/https://inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=RN:47073133 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[RADOM-7|Variants of these instruments]] have also been fitted on the [[International Space Station]] and the [[Chandrayaan-1]] lunar probe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.isro.org/chandrayaan/htmls/radom_bas.htm |title=Radiation Dose Monitor Experiment (RADOM) |publisher=ISRO |access-date=20 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119044239/http://www.isro.org/chandrayaan/htmls/radom_bas.htm |archive-date=19 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dachev |first1=Ts. |last2=Dimitrov |first2=Pl. |last3=Tomov |first3=B. |last4=Matviichuk |first4=Yu. |last5=Spurny |first5=F. |last6=Ploc |first6=O. |title=Liulin-type spectrometry-dosimetry instruments |journal=Radiation Protection Dosimetry |date=2011 |volume=144 |issue=1–4 |pages=675–679 |doi=10.1093/rpd/ncq506 |pmid=21177270 |issn=1742-3406}}</ref> Another lunar mission, [[SpaceIL]]'s ''Beresheet'', was also equipped with a Bulgarian-manufactured imaging payload.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dariknews.bg/novini/liubopitno/bylgarska-kamera-leti-kym-lunata-2155077 |title=Bulgarian Camera Flies to the Moon |publisher=Darik News |date=22 March 2019 |access-date=30 March 2019 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330171924/https://dariknews.bg/novini/liubopitno/bylgarska-kamera-leti-kym-lunata-2155077 |url-status=live }}</ref> Bulgaria's first [[Geosynchronous satellite|geostationary communications satellite]]—[[BulgariaSat-1]]—was launched by [[SpaceX]] in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.spacex.com/news/2017/06/23/bulgariasat-1-mission |title=BulgariaSat-1 Mission |publisher=SpaceX |access-date=15 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117174220/https://www.spacex.com/news/2017/06/23/bulgariasat-1-mission |archive-date=17 November 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Infrastructure ===
{{Main|Energy in Bulgaria|Transport in Bulgaria}}
Telephone services are widely available, and a central digital trunk line connects most regions.{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=14}} [[Vivacom]] (BTC) serves more than 90% of fixed lines and is one of the three operators providing mobile services, along with [[Mtel (Bulgaria)|A1]] and [[Telenor (Bulgaria)|Yettel]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/sites/digital-agenda/files/BG_Country_Chapter_17th_Report_0.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/sites/digital-agenda/files/BG_Country_Chapter_17th_Report_0.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=Bulgaria: 2011 Telecommunication Market and Regulatory Developments |publisher=European Commission |page=2 |date=2011 |access-date=19 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://novinite.com/view_news.php?id=132606 |title=Bulgaria Opens Tender for Fourth Mobile Operator |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=3 October 2011 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=17 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117114747/https://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=132606 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Internet]] penetration stood at 69.2% of the population aged 16–74 and 78.9% of households in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nsi.bg/en/content/6105/individuals-regularly-using-internet |title=Individuals regularly using the Internet (Every day or at least once a week) |publisher=National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria |date=27 February 2021 |access-date=27 February 2021 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224170445/https://www.nsi.bg/en/content/6105/individuals-regularly-using-internet |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nsi.bg/en/content/6099/households-internet-access-home |title=Households with Internet access at home |publisher=National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria |date=27 February 2021 |access-date=27 February 2021 |archive-date=11 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811160642/https://www.nsi.bg/en/content/6099/households-internet-access-home |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Bulgaria's strategic geographic location and well-developed energy sector make it a key European energy centre despite its lack of significant fossil fuel deposits.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/news/energy-hub |title=Energy Hub |publisher=Oxford Business Group |date=13 October 2008 |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=28 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728131509/https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/news/energy-hub |url-status=live }}</ref> Thermal power plants generate 48.9% of electricity, followed by [[nuclear power]] from the [[Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant|Kozloduy reactors]] (34.8%) and [[renewable energy|renewable sources]] (16.3%).{{Sfn|NSI Brochure|2018|page=47}} Equipment for a second nuclear power station at [[Belene Nuclear Power Plant|Belene]] has been acquired, but the fate of the project remains uncertain.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-energy-nuclear/bulgaria-must-work-to-restart-belene-nuclear-project-parliament-idUSKCN1J31DP |title=Bulgaria must work to restart Belene nuclear project: parliament |work=Reuters |first=Angel |last=Krasimirov |date=7 June 2018 |access-date=24 October 2018 |archive-date=24 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024035507/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-energy-nuclear/bulgaria-must-work-to-restart-belene-nuclear-project-parliament-idUSKCN1J31DP |url-status=live }}</ref> Installed capacity amounts to 12,668 MW, allowing Bulgaria to exceed domestic demand and export energy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.export.gov/article?id=Bulgaria-Power-Generation-Oil-and-Gas-Renewable-Sources-of-Energy-and-Energy-Efficiency |title=Bulgaria – Power Generation |publisher=[[International Trade Administration]] |access-date=15 June 2018 |archive-date=15 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615190654/https://www.export.gov/article?id=Bulgaria-Power-Generation-Oil-and-Gas-Renewable-Sources-of-Energy-and-Energy-Efficiency |url-status=live }}</ref>

The national road network has a total length of {{convert|19512|km}},<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2085rank.html#bu |title=Country comparison: Total road length |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=15 June 2018 |archive-date=7 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907162530/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2085rank.html#bu |url-status=dead}}</ref> of which {{convert|19235|km}} are paved. Railroads are a major mode of freight transportation, although highways carry a progressively larger share of freight. Bulgaria has {{convert|6238|km}} of railway track,{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=14}} with rail links available to Romania, Turkey, Greece, and Serbia, and express trains serving direct routes to [[Kyiv]], [[Minsk]], [[Moscow]] and [[Saint Petersburg]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.eurail.com/en/get-inspired/top-destinations/bulgaria-train |title=Trains in Bulgaria |publisher=EuRail |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512223607/https://www.eurail.com/en/get-inspired/top-destinations/bulgaria-train |url-status=dead}}</ref> Sofia is the country's air travel hub, while Varna and Burgas are the principal maritime trade ports.{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=14}}

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of Bulgaria}}
{{Pie chart
| caption = Ethnic groups in Bulgaria (2021 census)<ref name="Infostat">{{cite web |title=Population by Ethnic Group, Statistical Regions, Districts and Municipalities as of 07/09/2021 |author=National Statistical Institute |year=2022 |language=en |url=https://infostat.nsi.bg/infostat/pages/reports/result.jsf?x_2=2025 |access-date=6 September 2023 |archive-date=12 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212081708/https://infostat.nsi.bg/infostat/pages/reports/result.jsf?x_2=2025 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NSI2021">{{cite web |title=Ethno-Cultural Characteristics of the Bulgarian Population as at 7 September 2021 |author=National Statistical Institute |date=24 November 2022 |language=bg |url=https://nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/Census2021_ethnos.pdf |access-date=25 November 2022 |archive-date=24 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124195716/https://nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/Census2021_ethnos.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
| radius = 80
| thumb = left
| label1 = [[Bulgarians]]
| color1 = #009900
| value1 = 84.57
| label2 = [[Bulgarian Turks|Turks]]
| color2 = #E30A17
| value2 = 8.40
| label3 = [[Romani people in Bulgaria|Romani]]
| color3 = DodgerBlue
| value3 = 4.41
| label4 = Others
| color4 = DarkOrchid
| value4 = 1.31
| label5 = Undeclared
| color5 = Gray
| value5 = 1.31
}}
According to the government's official 2022 estimate, the population of Bulgaria consists of 6,447,710 people, down from 6,519,789 according to the last official census in 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Population and demographic processes in 2022 |url=https://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/Population2022_en_3C3NKZD.pdf |access-date=18 May 2023 |archive-date=28 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428095044/https://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/Population2022_en_3C3NKZD.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NSI2021" /> The majority of the population, 72.5%, reside in urban areas.{{sfn|NSI Census data|2011|page=3}} {{as of|2019}}, Sofia is the most populated urban centre with 1,241,675 people, followed by [[Plovdiv]] (346,893), [[Varna, Bulgaria|Varna]] (336,505), [[Burgas]] (202,434) and [[Ruse, Bulgaria|Ruse]] (142,902).{{sfn|NSI Census data|2017}} [[Bulgarians]] are the main ethnic group and constitute 84.6% of the population. [[Turks in Bulgaria|Turkish]] and [[Roma in Bulgaria|Roma]] minorities account for 8.4 and 4.4%, respectively; some 40 smaller minorities account for 1.3%, and 1.3% do not self-identify with an ethnic group.<ref name="Infostat" /><ref name="NSI2021" /> The Roma minority is usually underestimated in census data and may represent up to 11% of the population.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bulgarians unfazed by anti-Roma hate speech from deputy prime minister |url=https://www.dw.com/en/bulgarians-unfazed-by-anti-roma-hate-speech-from-deputy-prime-minister/a-41183829 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=31 October 2017 |access-date=2 November 2019 |archive-date=2 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102122854/https://www.dw.com/en/bulgarians-unfazed-by-anti-roma-hate-speech-from-deputy-prime-minister/a-41183829 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/400.html#BU |title=Field listing: Ethnic Groups |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=15 December 2019 |archive-date=21 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121042840/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/400.html#BU |url-status=dead}}</ref> Population density is 55–60 per square kilometre (ultimo 2023), almost half the European Union average.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/en.pop.dnst?year_high_desc=true |title=Population density (people per sq. km of land area) |publisher=The World Bank |date=2018 |access-date=12 September 2018 |archive-date=12 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912170027/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/en.pop.dnst?year_high_desc=true |url-status=live }}</ref>

Bulgaria is in a state of demographic crisis.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.klassa.bg/News/Read/article/216069_World+Bank%3A+The+demographic+crisis+is+Bulgaria%E2%80%99s+most+serious+problem |title=World Bank: The demographic crisis is Bulgaria's most serious problem |newspaper=Klassa |date=15 November 2012 |access-date=8 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507005840/http://www.klassa.bg/News/Read/article/216069_World+Bank%3A+The+demographic+crisis+is+Bulgaria%E2%80%99s+most+serious+problem |archive-date=7 May 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="BNR crisis">{{cite web |url=http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Lifestyle/Life/Pages/1203DemographiccrisisDeepening.aspx |title=Demographic crisis in Bulgaria deepening |publisher=Bulgarian National Radio |date=12 March 2012 |access-date=8 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105015344/http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Lifestyle/Life/Pages/1203DemographiccrisisDeepening.aspx |archive-date=5 November 2013}}</ref> It has had negative population growth since 1989, when the post-Cold War economic collapse caused a long-lasting [[emigration]] wave.<ref name="DW Entry">{{cite web |url=https://www.dw.com/en/will-eu-entry-shrink-bulgarias-population-even-more/a-2287183 |title=Will EU Entry Shrink Bulgaria's Population Even More? |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=26 December 2006 |access-date=11 April 2016 |archive-date=10 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510101734/https://www.dw.com/en/will-eu-entry-shrink-bulgarias-population-even-more/a-2287183 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some 937,000 to 1,200,000 people—mostly young adults—had left the country by 2005.<ref name="DW Entry" /><ref>{{cite book |first1=Klaus |last1=Roth |last2=Lauth Bacas |first2=Jutta |title=Migration In, From, and to Southeastern Europe |publisher=The British Library |page=188 |year=2004 |isbn=978-3-643-10896-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNSGDpXT4A0C&pg=PA188 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115223027/https://books.google.com/books?id=pNSGDpXT4A0C&pg=PA188 |url-status=live }}</ref> The majority of children are born to unmarried women.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tps00018 |title=Eurostat – Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table |publisher=Eurostat |date=17 October 2013 |access-date=25 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006114113/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tps00018 |archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> In 2024, the average [[total fertility rate]] (TFR) in Bulgaria was 1.59 children per woman,<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNdata {{!}} Total fertility rate (live births per woman) |url=https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=bulgaria&d=PopDiv&f=variableID:54;crID:100 |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=data.un.org |agency=World Population Prospects: The 2022 Revision {{!}} United Nations Population Division}}</ref> a slight increase from 1.56 in 2018,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nsi.bg/en/content/17554/%D0%BF%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F/population-and-demographic-processes-2018 |title=Population and Demographic Processes in 2018 |website=Nsi.bg |access-date=19 May 2020 |archive-date=15 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715141340/https://www.nsi.bg/en/content/17554/%D0%BF%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F/population-and-demographic-processes-2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and well above the all-time low of 1.1 in 1997, but still below the replacement rate of 2.1 and considerably below the historical high of 5.83 children per woman in 1905.<ref>{{citation |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1850&country=BGR |title=Total Fertility Rate around the world over the last centuries |author=Max Roser |date=2014 |work=[[Our World In Data]], [[Gapminder Foundation]] |access-date=6 May 2019 |archive-date=10 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510101721/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1850&country=BGR |url-status=live }}</ref> Bulgaria thus has one of the oldest populations in the world, with an average age of 43 years.<ref>{{citation-attribution|1={{citation |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bulgaria/ |title=World Factbook EUROPE : BULGARIA |work=[[The World Factbook]] |date=12 July 2018 |access-date=23 January 2021 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420183707/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bulgaria/ |url-status=live }} }}</ref> Furthermore, a third of all households consist of only one person and 75.5% of families do not have children under the age of 16.<ref name="BNR crisis" /> The resulting birth rates are among the lowest in the world<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2002rank.html?countryName=Bulgaria&countryCode=bu&regionCode=eur&rank=228#bu |title=Country Comparison: Population growth rate |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=10 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310000517/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2002rank.html?countryName=Bulgaria&countryCode=bu&regionCode=eur&rank=228#bu |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2054rank.html?countryName=Bulgaria&countryCode=bu&regionCode=eur&rank=205#bu |title=Country Comparison: Birth rate |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=8 April 2013 |archive-date=15 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615142331/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2054rank.html?countryName=Bulgaria&countryCode=bu&regionCode=eur&rank=205#bu |url-status=dead}}</ref> while [[death rate]]s are among the highest.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2066rank.html?countryName=Bulgaria&countryCode=bu&regionCode=eur&rank=9#bu |title=Country Comparison: Death rate |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=8 April 2013 |archive-date=15 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615121335/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2066rank.html?countryName=Bulgaria&countryCode=bu&regionCode=eur&rank=9#bu |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Bulgaria scores high in [[gender equality]], ranking 18th in the 2018 [[Global Gender Gap Report]].<ref name="WEF">{{cite book |title=The Global Gender Gap Report |year=2018 |publisher=World Economic Forum |pages=10, 45, 46 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2018.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2018.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |isbn=978-2-940631-00-1 |access-date=26 February 2019}}</ref> Although [[women's suffrage]] was enabled relatively late, in 1937, women today have equal political rights, high workforce participation and legally mandated [[Equal pay for equal work|equal pay]].<ref name="WEF" /> In 2021, market research agency ''Reboot Online'' ranked Bulgaria as the best European country for women to work.<ref>{{cite web |title=The best countries in Europe for women to work |url=https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/gender-equality-the-best-countries-in-europe-for-women-to-work-125949046.html |website=Yahoo! Finance |date=6 March 2021 |access-date=10 March 2021 |archive-date=7 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307033130/https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/gender-equality-the-best-countries-in-europe-for-women-to-work-125949046.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Bulgaria has the highest ratio of female [[Information and communications technology|ICT]] researchers in the EU,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/EDN-20180425-1?inheritRedirect=true |title=Girls and women under-represented in ICT |publisher=Eurostat |date=25 April 2018 |access-date=15 July 2018 |archive-date=7 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707150154/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/EDN-20180425-1?inheritRedirect=true |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as the second-highest ratio of females in the technology sector at 44.6% of the workforce. High levels of female participation are a [[Gender roles in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe|legacy of the Socialist era]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/e2fdfe6e-0513-11e8-9e12-af73e8db3c71 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/e2fdfe6e-0513-11e8-9e12-af73e8db3c71 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Bulgaria builds on legacy of female engineering elite |newspaper=The Financial Times |first=Kerin |last=Hope |date=9 March 2018 |access-date=15 July 2018}}</ref>

=== Largest cities ===
{{Largest cities of Bulgaria}}

=== Health ===
{{Main|Health in Bulgaria}}
High death rates result from a combination of an ageing population, high numbers of people at risk of poverty, and a weak [[Health system|healthcare system]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/51f1bd86-d6cc-11e7-ae3e-563c04c5339a |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211/https://www.ft.com/content/51f1bd86-d6cc-11e7-ae3e-563c04c5339a |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Bulgaria battles to stop its brain drain |newspaper=The Financial Times |first=Kerin |last=Hope |date=11 January 2018 |access-date=7 September 2018 |quote=But a sharp decline in the quality of state healthcare and high poverty rates—42% of the population are at risk of poverty in old age, according to Eurostat—gives Bulgaria the second-lowest life expectancy in the EU after Lithuania.}}</ref> Over 80% of deaths are due to [[cancer]] and [[cardiovascular conditions]]; nearly a fifth of those are avoidable.<ref>Country Health Profile, p. 1</ref> Although [[healthcare in Bulgaria]] is nominally universal,<ref name="Health system">{{cite journal |last1=Georgieva |first1=Lidia |last2=Salchev |first2=Petko |title=Bulgaria Health system review |journal=Health Systems in Transition |date=2007 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=xvi, 12 |url=http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/80592/E90023.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/80592/E90023.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |issn=1817-6127}}</ref> [[out-of-pocket expenses]] account for nearly half of all healthcare spending, significantly limiting access to medical care.<ref>Country Health Profile, p. 7</ref> Other problems disrupting care provision are the emigration of doctors due to low wages, understaffed and under-equipped regional hospitals, supply shortages and frequent changes to the basic service package for those insured.<ref>Country Health Profile, pp. 8, 11, 12.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=146868 |title=The Bulgaria 2012 Review: Health and Healthcare |publisher=[[Novinite]] |first=Maria |last=Guineva |date=7 January 2013 |access-date=21 February 2013 |archive-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117033058/http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=146868 |url-status=live }}</ref> The 2018 Bloomberg Health Care Efficiency Index ranked Bulgaria last out of 56 countries.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-19/u-s-near-bottom-of-health-index-hong-kong-and-singapore-at-top |title=These Are the Economies With the Most (and Least) Efficient Health Care |publisher=Bloomberg |first=Lee J |last=Miller |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |date=19 September 2018 |access-date=21 September 2018 |archive-date=24 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220424201747/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-19/u-s-near-bottom-of-health-index-hong-kong-and-singapore-at-top |url-status=live }}</ref> Average [[life expectancy]] is 74.8 years, compared with an EU average of 80.99 and a world average of 72.38.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/355rank.html#BU |title=Country Comparison: Life Expectancy |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=15 December 2019 |archive-date=1 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201031608/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/355rank.html#BU |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=EU-1W&name_desc=true&year_high_desc=false |title=Life expectancy at birth, total (years) |publisher=The World Bank |date=2019 |access-date=15 December 2019 |archive-date=15 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215221420/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN%3Flocations%3DEU-1W%26name_desc%3Dtrue%26year_high_desc%3Dfalse |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Education ===
{{Main|Education in Bulgaria}}
[[File:Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" (37849719131).jpg|thumb|alt=Sofia University building|The Rectorate of Sofia University]]
Public expenditures for education are far below the European Union average as well.<ref name="UNICEF" /> Educational standards [[Education in Bulgaria|were once high]],{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=6}} but have declined significantly since the early 2000s.<ref name="UNICEF">{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/Bulgaria.pdf |title=Education in Bulgaria |publisher=UNICEF |date=2007 |access-date=23 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055249/http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/Bulgaria.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> Bulgarian students were among the highest-scoring in the world in terms of reading in 2001, performing better than their Canadian and German counterparts; by 2006, scores in reading, math and science had dropped. By 2018, [[Programme for International Student Assessment]] studies found 47% of pupils in the 9th grade to be [[functional illiteracy|functionally illiterate]] in reading and natural sciences.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.capital.bg/politika_i_ikonomika/obrazovanie/2019/12/03/4000165_pisa_2018_bulgarskite_uchenici_vloshavat_rezultata_si/ |title=PISA 2018: Българските ученици покоряват ново дъно |trans-title=PISA 2018: Bulgarian pupils reach new lows |publisher=Kapital Daily |last=Dimitrov |first=Deyan |date=3 December 2019 |access-date=15 December 2019 |archive-date=4 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204212145/https://www.capital.bg/politika_i_ikonomika/obrazovanie/2019/12/03/4000165_pisa_2018_bulgarskite_uchenici_vloshavat_rezultata_si/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Average basic [[literacy]] stands high at 98.4% with no significant difference between sexes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/370.html#BU |title=Field Listing: Literacy |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=15 December 2019 |archive-date=29 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329034851/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/370.html#BU |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Ministry of Education and Science (Bulgaria)|Ministry of Education and Science]] partially funds public schools, colleges and universities, sets criteria for textbooks and oversees the publishing process. Education in primary and secondary public schools is free and compulsory.{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|page=6}} The process spans 12 grades, in which grades one through eight are primary and nine through twelve are secondary level. Higher education consists of a 4-year [[Bachelor's degree|bachelor]] degree and a 1-year [[Master's degree|master's]] degree.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mon.bg/english/high/system_educ.htm |title=Structure of the Education System in Bulgaria |publisher=Ministry of Education, Youth and Science of Bulgaria |access-date=4 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111221228/http://www.mon.bg/english/high/system_educ.htm |archive-date=11 January 2012}}</ref> Bulgaria's highest-ranked higher education institution is [[Sofia University]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2018/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/locations/BG/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats |title=Bulgaria: University Ranking |magazine=Times Higher Education |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=6 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906013321/https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2018/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/locations/BG/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/where-to-study/study-in-bulgaria |title=Study in Bulgaria |magazine=Times Higher Education |access-date=20 May 2018 |archive-date=20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180520203048/https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/where-to-study/study-in-bulgaria |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Language ===
{{Main|Languages of Bulgaria}}
[[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] is the only language with official status.<ref>{{harvnb|NSI Census data|2011|p=5}} In the 2011 census, the language question was optional and it was answered by 90.2% of those surveyed.</ref> It belongs to the [[Slavic group of languages]] but has a number of grammatical peculiarities that set it apart from other Slavic languages: these include a complex verbal morphology (which also codes for distinctions in [[evidentiality]]), the absence of [[noun cases]] and [[infinitives]], and the use of a suffixed [[definite article]].<ref>"The introduction of the definite article, which appears in the form of a suffix, and the almost total disappearance of the ancient declensions, for which the use of prepositions has been substituted, distinguish the Bulgarian from all the other members of the Slavonic family" ({{cite EB1911 |last=Bourchier |first=James |author-link=James David Bourchier |wstitle=Bulgaria/Language |title=Language and Literature of Bulgaria |volume=4 |pages=784–785 |short=x}}).</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in Bulgaria}}
[[File:Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia (by Pudelek).JPG|thumb|right|[[Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia|St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia]]]]

Bulgaria is a [[secular state]] with guaranteed [[freedom of religion]] by constitution, but [[Eastern Orthodox Christianity]] is designated as the traditional religion of the country.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Bulgarian Constitution |url=http://www.parliament.bg/en/const |access-date=20 December 2011 |publisher=Parliament of Bulgaria |archive-date=10 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210221600/http://www.parliament.bg/en/const |url-status=dead}}</ref> Approximately two-thirds of Bulgarians identify as Eastern Orthodox Christians.<ref name="NSI2021" /> The [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]] was the first church apart from the [[Organization of the Eastern Orthodox Church#Four ancient patriarchates|Four Ancient Patriarchates of the Eastern Orthodox Church]]—in [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople|Constantinople]], [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria|Alexandria]], [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch|Antioch]] and [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]]—and the first national church to gain [[autocephalous]] status in 927 AD.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kiminas |first=D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QLWqXrW2X-8C&q=927&pg=PA15 |title=The Ecumenical Patriarchate |publisher=Wildside Press LLC. |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4344-5876-6 |page=15 |access-date=20 December 2011 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115223027/https://books.google.com/books?id=QLWqXrW2X-8C&q=927&pg=PA15 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Carvalho |first=Joaquim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jR98-Ata0CkC&pg=PA258 |title=Religion and power in Europe: conflict and convergence |publisher=Pisa University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-88-8492-464-3 |page=258 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115223058/https://books.google.com/books?id=jR98-Ata0CkC&pg=PA258 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Bulgarian Patriarchate has 12 [[diocese]]s and over 2,000 priests.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Bulgarian Orthodox Church |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bulgarian-Orthodox-Church |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-date=8 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008111434/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/84219/Bulgarian-Orthodox-Church |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Islam in Bulgaria|Muslims]] are the second-largest religious community and constitute approximately 10% of Bulgaria's population. A 2011 survey of 850 Muslims in Bulgaria found 30% professing to be “deeply religious” and 50% as just “religious”. According to the study, some religious teachings, like [[Islamic funeral]], have been traditionally incorporated and are widely practiced while other major ones are less observed, such as the [[Muslim prayer]] or abstaining from [[Alcohol in Islam|drinking alcohol]], [[Islamic dietary laws|eating pork]], and [[cohabitation]].<ref>{{cite news |date=9 December 2011 |title=Bulgaria's Muslims not deeply religious: study |newspaper=Hürriyet Daily News |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/bulgarias-muslims-not-deeply-religious-study-8817 |url-status=dead |access-date=28 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318145515/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/bulgarias-muslims-not-deeply-religious-study-8817 |archive-date=18 March 2022}}</ref>

Other important religions include [[Catholic Church in Bulgaria|Roman Catholicism]] and [[History of the Jews in Bulgaria|Judaism]], whose history in Bulgaria dates back to the early [[Middle Ages]], the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]], as well as various Protestant denominations, all of which stand for around 2% of Bulgaria's population. An ever increasing number of Bulgarians are either [[Irreligion|irreligious]] or unaffiliated with any religion, a percentage that has been growing rapidly over the past 20 years, from 3.9% in 2001, through 9.3% in 2011 and all the way to 15.9% in 2021.<ref name="NSI2021" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://fpc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Bulgaria-Table-2.png |title=Religious demography in the censuses of 1887, 1905, 1926, 1946, 1992, 2001 and 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220618024142/https://fpc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Bulgaria-Table-2.png |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nsi.bg/Census_e/Census_e.htm |title=2001 Census: Population by districts and religious groups |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223092046/http://www.nsi.bg/Census_e/Census_e.htm |archive-date=23 February 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://censusresults.nsi.bg/Census/Reports/2/2/R10.aspx |title=Преброяване 2011: Население по местоживеене, възраст и вероизповедание |trans-title=2011 Census: Population by place of residence, age and religion |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303153448/http://censusresults.nsi.bg/Census/Reports/2/2/R10.aspx |archive-date=3 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the most recent census of 2021 the religious denominations of the population are as follows: [[Christianity in Bulgaria|Christian]] (71.5%), [[Islam in Bulgaria|Muslim]] (10.8%), other religions (0.1%). A further 12.4% were unaffiliated or did not respond.<ref>{{Cite web |last=staff |first=The Sofia Globe |date=24 November 2022 |title=Census 2021: Close to 72% of Bulgarians say they are Christians |url=https://sofiaglobe.com/2022/11/24/census-2021-close-to-72-of-bulgarians-say-they-are-christians/ |access-date=27 November 2023 |website=The Sofia Globe |language=en-US |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215230746/https://sofiaglobe.com/2022/11/24/census-2021-close-to-72-of-bulgarians-say-they-are-christians/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Infostat2">{{cite web |title=Population by Religious Denomination, Statistical Regions and Districts as of 07/09/2021 |author=National Statistical Institute |year=2022 |language=en |url=https://infostat.nsi.bg/infostat/pages/reports/result.jsf?x_2=2001 |access-date=8 September 2023 |archive-date=21 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021045402/https://infostat.nsi.bg/infostat/pages/reports/result.jsf?x_2=2001 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NSI2021" />

== Culture ==
{{Main|Culture of Bulgaria}}
[[File:Kukeri E8.jpg|thumb|alt=Bulgarian Kuker|''[[Kukeri|Kuker]]'' in [[Lesichovo]]]]
Contemporary Bulgarian culture blends the formal culture that helped forge a national consciousness towards the end of Ottoman rule with millennia-old folk traditions.<ref name="Cultural life" /> An essential element of Bulgarian folklore is fire, used to banish evil spirits and illnesses. Many of these are personified as witches, whereas other creatures like [[Slavic dragon|zmey]] and [[samodiva (folklore)|samodiva]] ([[Supernatural beings in Slavic religion|veela]]) are either benevolent guardians or ambivalent tricksters.{{Sfn|MacDermott|1998|pages=64–70}} Some rituals against evil spirits have survived and are still practised, most notably [[kukeri]] and [[survakane|survakari]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Creed |first=Gerald W. |title=Masquerade and Postsocialism: Ritual and Cultural Dispossession in Bulgaria |publisher=Indiana University Press |page=2 |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-253-22261-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ilhCTCHKCAQC&pg=PA2 |access-date=3 March 2024 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115223028/https://books.google.com/books?id=ilhCTCHKCAQC&pg=PA2 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Martenitsa]] is also widely celebrated.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bnt.bg/en/a/179851-the-bulgarian-tradition-of-martenitsa |title=The Bulgarian Tradition of Martenitsa |publisher=Bulgarian National Television |date=1 March 2018 |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref> [[Nestinarstvo]], a ritual fire-dance of Thracian origin, is included in the list of [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage]].{{Sfn|MacDermott|1998|page=226}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/nestinarstvo-messages-from-the-past-the-panagyr-of-saints-constantine-and-helena-in-the-village-of-bulgari-00191 |title=Nestinarstvo, messages from the past: the Panagyr of Saints Constantine and Helena in the village of Bulgari |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref> [[List of World Heritage Sites in Bulgaria|Nine historical and natural objects]] are [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]s: <!-- DO NOT make this a pointed list --> [[Pirin National Park]], [[Srebarna Nature Reserve|Sreburna Nature Reserve]], the [[Madara Rider]], the Thracian tombs in [[Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari|Sveshtari]] and [[Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak|Kazanlak]], the [[Rila Monastery]], the [[Boyana Church]], the [[Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo]] and the ancient city of [[Nesebar]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/bg |title=Bulgaria – Profile |publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> The Rila Monastery was established by Saint [[John of Rila]], Bulgaria's [[patron saint]], whose life has been the subject of numerous literary accounts since Medieval times.<ref name="EBLiterature">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Bulgarian-literature |title=Bulgarian Literature |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |first=Liliana |last=Brisby |access-date=20 July 2018}}</ref>[[File:DidacticGospelAlphabetPrayerConstantinePreslavski.jpg|alt=A page of a medieval manuscript|thumb|A page with the ''Alphabet Prayer'' by [[Constantine of Preslav]]]]The establishment of the [[Preslav Literary School|Preslav]] and [[Ohrid Literary School|Ohrid]] literary schools in the 10th century is associated with a golden period in Bulgarian literature during the [[Middle Ages]].<ref name="EBLiterature" /> The schools' emphasis on Christian [[religious text|scriptures]] made the Bulgarian Empire a centre of Slavic culture, bringing Slavs under the influence of Christianity and providing them with [[Old Church Slavonic|a written language]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Giatzidis |first=Emil |title=An Introduction to post-Communist Bulgaria: Political, Economic and Social Transformation |publisher=Manchester University Press |page=11 |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7190-6094-6 |url={{Google books|MUVgsK_GfxYC |page=11 |plainurl=yes}} |quote=Thus, with its early emphasis on Christian Orthodox scholarship, Bulgaria became the first major centre of Slavic culture}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Riha |first=Thomas |title=Readings in Russian Civilization |publisher=University of Chicago Press |page=214 |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-2267-1843-9 |url={{Google books|_Bkddxc600IC |page=214 |plainurl=yes}} |quote=And it was mainly from Bulgaria that a rich supply of literary monuments was transferred to Kiev and other centres.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=McNeill |first=William Hardy |title=The Rise of the West |publisher=University of Chicago Press |page=49 |year=1963 |url={{Google books|_RsPrzrsAvoC |page=49 |plainurl=yes}} |quote=Accordingly, when Bulgaria was converted to Christianity (after 865), bringing massive Slavic-speaking populations within the pale of Christendom, a new literary language, Old Church Slavonic, directly based upon Bulgarian speech, developed for their use.}}</ref> Its alphabet, [[Cyrillic]] script, was developed by the Preslav Literary School.<ref>{{cite book |last=Curta |first=Florin |title=Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=221 |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-521-81539-0 |url={{Google books|YIAYMNOOe0YC |page=221 |plainurl=yes}}}}</ref> The [[Tarnovo Literary School]], on the other hand, is associated with a Silver age of literature defined by high-quality manuscripts on historical or mystical themes under the [[Asen dynasty|Asen]] and [[House of Shishman|Shishman]] dynasties.<ref name="EBLiterature" /> Many literary and artistic masterpieces were destroyed by the Ottoman conquerors, and artistic activities did not re-emerge until the [[Bulgarian National Revival|National Revival]] in the 19th century.<ref name="Cultural life">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-arts |title=Bulgaria – The arts |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |first=John D. |last=Bell |access-date=28 July 2018 |quote=The early impetus of Bulgarian traditions in the arts was cut short by the Ottoman occupation in the 14th century, and many early masterpieces were destroyed.&nbsp;... the foundations were laid for later artists such as Vladimir Dimitrov, an extremely gifted painter specializing in the rural scenes of his native country&nbsp;... At the beginning of the 21st century, the best-known contemporary Bulgarian artist was Christo, an environmental sculptor known for wrapping famous structures}}</ref> The enormous body of work of [[Ivan Vazov]] (1850–1921) covered every genre and touched upon every facet of Bulgarian society, bridging pre-Liberation works with literature of the newly established state.<ref name="EBLiterature" /> Notable later works are ''[[Bay Ganyo]]'' by [[Aleko Konstantinov]], the [[Friedrich Nietzsche|Nietzschean]] poetry of [[Pencho Slaveykov]], the [[Symbolism (arts)|Symbolist]] poetry of [[Peyo Yavorov]] and [[Dimcho Debelyanov]], the [[Marxism|Marxist]]-inspired works of [[Geo Milev]] and [[Nikola Vaptsarov]], and the [[Socialist Realism|Socialist realism]] novels of [[Dimitar Dimov]] and [[Dimitar Talev]].<ref name="EBLiterature" /> [[Tzvetan Todorov]] is a notable contemporary author,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=94265 |title=French-Bulgarian Theorist Tzvetan Todorov Wins Top Spanish Award |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=18 June 2008 |access-date=20 December 2011}}</ref> while Bulgarian-born [[Elias Canetti]] was awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] in 1981.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Lorenz |first1=Dagmar C.G. |title=Elias Canetti |encyclopedia=The Literary Encyclopedia |date=17 April 2004 |volume=1.4.1 |url=http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=725 |issn=1747-678X}}</ref>

А religious visual arts heritage includes [[fresco]]es, [[mural]]s and [[icon]]s, many produced by the medieval [[Painting of the Tarnovo Artistic School|Tarnovo Artistic School]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Grabar |first=André |title=La Peinture Religieuse en Bulgarie |trans-title=Religious Visual Arts in Bulgaria |publisher=P. Geuthner |page=95 |year=1928}} {{ASIN|B005ZI4OV8}}</ref> Like literature, it was not until the National Revival when Bulgarian visual arts began to reemerge. [[Zahari Zograf]] was a pioneer of the visual arts in the pre-Liberation era.<ref name="Cultural life" /> After the Liberation, [[Ivan Mrkvička]], [[Anton Mitov]], [[Vladimir Dimitrov]], [[Tsanko Lavrenov]] and [[Zlatyu Boyadzhiev]] introduced newer styles and substance, depicting scenery from Bulgarian villages, old towns and historical subjects. [[Christo]] is the most famous Bulgarian artist of the 21st century, known for his outdoor installations.<ref name="Cultural life" />

Folk music is by far the most extensive traditional art and has slowly developed throughout the ages as a fusion of Far Eastern, Oriental, medieval Eastern Orthodox and standard Western European tonalities and modes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kremenliev |first=Boris A. |title=Bulgarian-Macedonian Folk Music |publisher=University of California Press |page=52 |year=1952 |url={{Google books|wOOfVFJWMLIC-zcC |page=52 |plainurl=yes}} |quote=Bulgaria's scales are numerous, and it may be demonstrated that they are a fusion of Eastern and Western influences.&nbsp;... first, Oriental scales; second, church modes: the osmoglasie&nbsp;... third, the conventional scales of Western Europe.&nbsp;... Among the scales which have come to the Balkans from Asia, the pentatonic is one of the most widely used in Bulgaria. Whether it came from China or Japan, as Dobri Hristov suggests}}{{dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Bulgarian folk music has a distinctive sound and uses a wide range of traditional instruments, such as [[gadulka]], [[gaida]], [[kaval]] and [[davul|tupan]]. A distinguishing feature is ''extended rhythmical time'', which has no equivalent in the rest of European music.<ref name="CENTCOM" /> The [[Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir|State Television Female Vocal Choir]] won a [[Grammy Award]] in 1990 for its performances of Bulgarian folk music.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/32nd-annual-grammy-awards |title=32nd Grammy Awards Winners |date=28 November 2017 |publisher=Grammy Awards |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref> Written musical composition can be traced back to the works of [[Yoan Kukuzel]] ({{Circa|1280}}–1360),<ref>{{cite book |last=Lang |first=David Marshall |title=The Bulgarians: From Pagan Times to the Ottoman Conquest |publisher=Westview Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/bulgariansfrompa00lang/page/145 145] |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-89158-530-5 |quote=John Kukuzel, the eminent Bulgarian/born reformer of Byzantine music. |url=https://archive.org/details/bulgariansfrompa00lang/page/145}}</ref> but modern classical music began with [[Emanuil Manolov]], who composed the first Bulgarian [[opera]] in 1890.<ref name="Cultural life" /> [[Pancho Vladigerov]] and [[Petko Staynov]] further enriched [[symphony]], ballet and opera, which singers [[Ghena Dimitrova]], [[Boris Christoff]], [[Ljuba Welitsch]] and [[Nicolai Ghiaurov]] elevated to a world-class level.{{efn|Cited to multiple sources<ref name="Cultural life" /><ref>{{cite web |title=The 2011/2012 season of the National Opera and Ballet House |url=http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Music/Pages/2510The20112012seasonoftOperaand.aspx |publisher=Bulgarian National Radio |first=Elena |last=Tzvetkova |date=25 October 2011 |access-date=20 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623132141/http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Music/Pages/2510The20112012seasonoftOperaand.aspx |archive-date=23 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1491905/Ghena-Dimitrova.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1491905/Ghena-Dimitrova.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Obituary: Ghena Dimitrova |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=13 June 2005 |access-date=20 December 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-boris-christoff-1494547.html |title=Obituary: Boris Christoff |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=29 June 1993 |access-date=20 December 2011 |first=Elizabeth |last=Forbes}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-ljuba-welitsch-5601321.html |title=Obituary: Ljuba Welitsch |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=9 September 1996 |access-date=4 October 2018 |first=Elizabeth |last=Forbes}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Boris Christoff, Bass, Dies at 79; Esteemed for His Boris Godunov |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/29/obituaries/boris-christoff-bass-dies-at-79-esteemed-for-his-boris-godunov.html |date=29 June 1993 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=20 December 2011 |first=Allan |last=Kozinn}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Anne |last=Midgette |title=Nicolai Ghiaurov, Operatic Bass, Dies at 74 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/03/arts/nicolai-ghiaurov-operatic-bass-dies-at-74.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=3 June 2004 |access-date=13 December 2013}}</ref>}} Bulgarian performers have gained acclaim in other genres like [[electropop]] ([[Mira Aroyo]]), [[jazz]] ([[Milcho Leviev]]) and blends of jazz and folk ([[Ivo Papazov]]).<ref name="Cultural life" />

The [[Bulgarian National Radio]], [[bTV (Bulgaria)|bTV]] and daily newspapers ''[[Trud (Bulgarian newspaper)|Trud]]'', {{lang|bg-latn|[[Dnevnik (Bulgaria)|Dnevnik]]}} and ''[[24 Chasa]]'' are some of the largest national media outlets.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17205118 |title=Bulgaria profile – Media |work=BBC News |date=13 July 2015 |access-date=2 May 2014}}</ref> [[Media of Bulgaria|Bulgarian media]] were described as generally unbiased in their reporting in the early 2000s and print media had no legal restrictions.{{Sfn|Library of Congress|2006|pages=18, 23}} Since then, [[freedom of the press]] has deteriorated to the point where Bulgaria scores 111th globally in the World Press Freedom Index, lower than all European Union members and membership candidate states. The government has diverted EU funds to sympathetic media outlets and bribed others to be less critical on problematic topics, while attacks against individual journalists have increased.<ref name="RSF">{{cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/bulgaria |title=Bulgaria |publisher=[[Reporters Without Borders]] |access-date=20 May 2018}}</ref><ref name="guardian1">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/sep/23/press-freedom-bulgaria |title=Why Bulgaria is the EU's lowest ranked country on press freedom index |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Roy |last=Greenslade |date=23 September 2014 |access-date=20 May 2018}}</ref> Collusion between politicians, oligarchs and the media is widespread.<ref name="RSF" />

[[Bulgarian cuisine]] is similar to that of other Balkan countries and demonstrates strong Turkish and Greek influences.<ref name="Cuisine">{{cite book |last=Albala |first=Ken |title=Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO |pages=61, 62 |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-313-37626-9 |url={{Google books|zG1H75z0EYYC |page=61 |plainurl=yes}}}}</ref> [[Yogurt]], [[lukanka]], [[banitsa]], [[shopska salad]], [[lyutenitsa]] and [[kozunak]] are among the best-known local foods. Meat consumption is lower than the European average, given a cultural preference for a large variety of salads.<ref name="Cuisine" /> Bulgaria was the world's second-largest wine exporter until 1989, but has since lost that position.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=136420 |title=Bulgaria Bounces Back |publisher=[[Novinite]] |first=Tom |last=Bruce-Gardyne |date=7 February 2012 |access-date=7 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/articles/176970/Bulgaria+Ranks+22nd+in+World+Wine+Production |title=Bulgaria Ranks 22nd in World Wine Production |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=21 October 2016}}</ref> The 2016 harvest yielded 128 million litres of wine, of which 62 million was exported mainly to Romania, Poland and Russia.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://seenews.com/news/bulgaria-plans-to-export-62-mln-litres-of-wine-from-2016-grape-harvest-558027 |title=Bulgaria wine production 2016 |publisher=SEE News |first=Ivaylo |last=Mihaylov |date=14 February 2017}}</ref> [[Mavrud]], Rubin, [[Siroka Melniska|Shiroka melnishka]], [[Dimiat]] and [[Misket Cherven|Cherven Misket]] are the typical grapes used in [[Bulgarian wine]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-eats/2017/05/wines-of-bulgaria-are-they-the-next-must-have-wine/ |title=Wines of Bulgaria |publisher=[[ChicagoNow]] |access-date=30 July 2018 |archive-date=12 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512190500/http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-eats/2017/05/wines-of-bulgaria-are-they-the-next-must-have-wine/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Rakia]] is a traditional fruit [[brandy]] that was consumed in Bulgaria as early as the 14th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://novinite.com/view_news.php?id=132826 |title=Archeological Find Proves Rakia Is Bulgarian Invention |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=10 October 2011 |access-date=20 December 2011}}</ref>

=== Sports ===
{{Main|Sport in Bulgaria}}
[[File:Grigor Dimitrov at 2025 Miami Open 01 (cropped).jpg|thumb|alt=Grigor Dimitrov in 2025|[[Grigor Dimitrov]] at the [[2025 Miami Open]]]]

Bulgaria appeared at the [[1896 Summer Olympics|first modern Olympic games]] in 1896, when it was represented by [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Gymnastics at the 1896 Summer Olympics|gymnast]] [[Charles Champaud]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bgolympic.org/fce/index.shtml?s=001&p=0039&n=000001 |title=Athens 1896 |publisher=Bulgarian Olympic Committee |access-date=4 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928142341/http://www.bgolympic.org/fce/index.shtml?s=001&p=0039&n=000001 |archive-date=28 September 2011}}</ref> Since then, Bulgarian athletes have won 55 gold, 90 silver, and 85 bronze medals,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.olympic.org/bulgaria |title=Bulgaria |publisher=International Olympic Committee |access-date=5 October 2018}}</ref> ranking 25th in the [[All-time Olympic Games medal table|all-time medal table]]. [[Olympic weightlifting|Weightlifting]] and [[wrestling]] are signature sports of Bulgaria. As of 2025, Bulgaria ranks 2nd in the all-time medal table of the [[European Weightlifting Championships]], 3rd in the all-time medal table of the [[World Weightlifting Championships]], 4th in the all-time medal table for [[Weightlifting at the Summer Olympics]], 3rd in the all-time medal table of the [[European Wrestling Championships]], 6th in the all-time medal table of the [[World Wrestling Championships]] and 9th in the all-time medal table for [[wrestling at the Summer Olympics]]. Coach [[Ivan Abadjiev|Ivan Abadzhiev]] developed innovative training practices that allowed Bulgaria to dominate weightlifting in the 1980s.<ref name="Sport">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-arts#ref42718 |title=Bulgaria – Sport and recreation |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |first=John D. |last=Bell |access-date=22 July 2018 |quote=In international sports competition, Bulgarians have excelled in tennis, wrestling, boxing, and gymnastics, but the country's greatest repute may be in weight-lifting.&nbsp;... Fans of football (soccer), the most popular sport in Bulgaria, were buoyed by the success of the national team in the 1994 World Cup, when it advanced to the semi-final match under the leadership of forward Hristo Stoichkov. The premier league in Bulgaria has 16 teams, of which four play in Sofia: CSKA, Levski, Slavia, and Lokomotiv.}}</ref> Bulgarian athletes have also excelled in [[boxing]], [[gymnastics]], [[volleyball]] and [[tennis]].<ref name="Sport" /> [[Stefka Kostadinova]]'s world record in [[Women's high jump world record progression|women's high jump]], achieved at the [[1987 World Championships in Athletics|1987 World Championships]], remained unbroken until 2024, making it one of the longest-standing world records in history.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/highest-high-jump-(female) |title=Highest high jump (female) |date=30 August 1987 |publisher=The Guinness World Records |access-date=22 July 2018}}</ref> [[Grigor Dimitrov]] was the first Bulgarian tennis player in the Top 3 [[ATP rankings#Current rankings|ATP rankings]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/dimitrov-breaks-into-top-10-of-emirates-atp-rankings |title=Dimitrov Breaks Into Top 10 of Emirates ATP Rankings |publisher=[[ATP World Tour]] |first=James |last=Buddell |date=7 July 2014 |access-date=9 October 2018}}</ref>

[[Association football|Football]] is the most popular sport in the country. The [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgarian national football team]]'s best performance was a 4th-place finish at the [[1994 FIFA World Cup]], when the squad was spearheaded by the top goalscorer for the tournament- [[Hristo Stoichkov]].<ref name="Sport" /> Stoichkov is the most successful Bulgarian player of all time; he was awarded the [[European Golden Shoe|Golden Boot]] and the [[Ballon d'Or]] and was considered one of the best players in the world while playing for [[FC Barcelona]] in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fcbarcelona.com/club/history/card/hristo-stoichkov |title=Hristo Stoichkov |publisher=FC Barcelona |access-date=22 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.epfl-europeanleagues.com/fao/hristo_stoichkov.htm |title=Hristo Stoichkov – Bulgarian League Ambassador |publisher=Professional Football Against Hunger |access-date=4 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106213859/http://www.epfl-europeanleagues.com/fao/hristo_stoichkov.htm |archive-date=6 November 2011}}</ref> [[PFC CSKA Sofia|CSKA Sofia]] and [[PFC Levski Sofia|Levski Sofia]]<ref name="Sport" /> are the most successful clubs domestically and [[Eternal derby of Bulgarian football|long-standing rivals]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/78723/Levski%2C+CSKA+Score+Emphatic+Wins+Before+"Eternal+Derby" |title=Levski, CSKA Score Emphatic Wins Before "Eternal Derby" |publisher=[[Novinite]] |date=1 April 2007 |access-date=22 July 2018}}</ref> [[PFC Ludogorets Razgrad|Ludogorets]] is remarkable for having advanced from the local fourth division to the [[2014–15 UEFA Champions League]] group stage in a mere nine years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.espn.com/soccer/blog/name/93/post/2037103/headline |title=Plucky Ludogorets' rise to the Champions League group stage |publisher=[[ESPN]] |first=Nick |last=Ames |date=16 September 2014 |access-date=22 July 2018}}</ref> Placed 39th in 2018, it is Bulgaria's highest-ranked club in [[UEFA]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.uefa.com/nationalassociations/club |title=Club Coefficients |publisher=UEFA |access-date=22 July 2018}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Bulgaria}}
* [[Outline of Bulgaria]]
* [[Labour law in Bulgaria]]{{Clear}}

== Explanatory notes ==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite web |ref={{harvid|NSI Census data|2017}} |url=http://www.nsi.bg/bg/content/2975/%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5-%D0%BF%D0%BE-%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8-%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8-%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B5-%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB |script-title=bg:Население по области, общини, местоживеене и пол |trans-title=Population by Province, Municipality, Address and Sex as of 31 December 2017 |publisher=National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria |access-date=22 July 2018 |language=bg |date=2017}}
* {{cite web |ref={{harvid|NSI Census data|2011}} |url=http://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/Census2011final.pdf |script-title=bg:Преброяване 2011 (окончателни данни) |trans-title=Final Results of the 2011 census |publisher=National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria |access-date=22 July 2018 |language=bg |date=2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222232458/http://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/Census2011final.pdf |archive-date=22 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web |ref={{harvid|NSI Brochure|2018}} |url=http://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/publications/Brochure_Bulgaria2018.pdf |title=Bulgaria 2018 |publisher=National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria |access-date=23 July 2018 |language=bg, en |date=2018}}
* {{Cite report |title=Country Profile: Bulgaria |date=20 October 2006 |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/frd/copr/Bulgaria.pdf |last=Curtis |first=Glenn |access-date=3 January 2024 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Federal Research Division]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103213947/https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/frd/copr/Bulgaria.pdf |archive-date=3 January 2024 |via=[[Library of Congress]] |ref={{Sfnref|Library of Congress|2006}}}}
* {{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/state/docs/chp_bulgaria_english.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/state/docs/chp_bulgaria_english.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=State of Health in the EU. Country Health Profile: Bulgaria 2017 |publisher=European Commission |access-date=20 May 2018}}
* {{cite book | ref={{harvid|Angelov et al|1981}}
 | title = История на България. Том II. Първа българска държава
 | trans-title = History of Bulgaria. Volume II. First Bulgarian State
 | last1 = Ангелов (Angelov)
 | first1 = Димитър (Dimitar)
 | first2 = Иван (Ivan)
 | last2 = Божилов (Bozhilov)
 | first3 = Станчо (Stancho)
 | last3 = Ваклинов (Vaklinov)
 | first4 = Васил (Vasil)
 | last4 = Гюзелев (Gyuzelev)
 | first5 = Кую (kuyu)
 | last5 = Куев (Kuev)
 | first6 =  Петър (Petar)
 | last6 = Петров (Petrov)
 | first7 = Борислав (Borislav)
 | last7 = Примов (Primov)
 | first8 = Василка (Vasilka)
 | last8 = Тъпкова (Tapkova)
 | first9 = Геновева (Genoveva)
 | last9 = Цанокова (Tsankova)
 | others = и колектив
 | year = 1981
 | language = bg
 | publisher = Издателство на БАН ([[Bulgarian Academy of Sciences]] Press)
 | location = София ([[Sofia]])
 }}
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 | title = История на средновековна България VII–XIV век (History of Medieval Bulgaria VII–XIV centuries)
 | last1 = Божилов (Bozhilov)
 | first1 = Иван (Ivan)
 | first2 = Васил (Vasil)
 | last2 = Гюзелев (Gyuzelev)
 | author-link2=Vasil Gyuzelev
 | year = 1999
 | language = bg
 | publisher = Анубис (Anubis)
 | location = София (Sofia)
 | isbn = 954-426-204-0
 }}
* {{cite book |last=Chen |first=Sanping |title=Multicultural China in the Early Middle Ages |url={{Google books|ugbWH-5OjegC |plainurl=yes}} |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-8122-4370-3}}
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* {{cite book |title=Bulgaria |last=Crampton |first=R. J. |year=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-954158-4}}
* {{cite book |last1=Curtis |first1=Glenn E. |last2=Mitova |first2=Pamela |last3=Marsteller |first3=William |last4=Soper |first4=Karl Wheeler |title=Country Study: Bulgaria |series=Area handbook series |via=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]] |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-8444-0751-7 |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/93010955/ |access-date=6 August 2018}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0013) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920110251/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0013%29 |archive-date=20 September 2008 |title=Chapter 1 |chapter=Historical Setting |access-date=4 December 2011 |ref={{Sfnref|Historical Setting}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0016) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921073705/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0016%29 |archive-date=21 September 2008 |title=Chapter 1 |chapter=The First Golden Age |access-date=13 October 2012 |ref={{Sfnref|The First Golden Age}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0032) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920110429/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0032%29 |archive-date=20 September 2008 |title=The Bulgarian Independence Movement |chapter=The Final Move to Independence |access-date=4 December 2011 |ref={{Sfnref|The Final Move to Independence}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0033) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921073337/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0033%29 |archive-date=21 September 2008 |title=The Bulgarian Independence Movement |chapter=San Stefano, Berlin, and Independence |access-date=4 December 2011 |ref={{Sfnref|San Stefano, Berlin and Independence}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0052) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921072906/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0052%29 |archive-date=21 September 2008 |title=World War II |chapter=Bulgaria in World War II: The Passive Alliance |access-date=4 December 2011 |ref={{Sfnref|Bulgaria in World War II: The Passive Alliance}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0053) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920105850/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0053%29 |archive-date=20 September 2008 |title=World War II |chapter=Wartime Crisis |access-date=4 December 2011 |ref={{Sfnref|Wartime Crisis}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0054) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921073515/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0054%29 |archive-date=21 September 2008 |title=World War II |chapter=The Soviet Occupation |access-date=27 July 2018 |ref={{Sfnref|The Soviet Occupation}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0059) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920111401/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0059%29 |archive-date=20 September 2008 |title=Communist Consolidation |chapter=After Stalin |access-date=24 April 2012 |ref={{Sfnref|After Stalin}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0062) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920111524/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0062%29 |archive-date=20 September 2008 |title=Communist Consolidation |chapter=Domestic Policy and Its Results |access-date=4 December 2011 |ref={{Sfnref|Domestic Policy and Its Results}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0066) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921073626/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0066%29 |archive-date=21 September 2008 |title=The Zhivkov Era |chapter=Foreign Affairs in the 1960s and 1970s |access-date=4 December 2011 |ref={{Sfnref|Foreign Affairs in the 1960s and 1970s}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0068) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920111029/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0068%29 |archive-date=20 September 2008 |title=The Zhivkov Era |chapter=The Political Atmosphere in the 1970s |access-date=4 December 2011 |ref={{Sfnref|The Political Atmosphere in the 1970s}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0069) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920111641/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0069%29 |archive-date=20 September 2008 |title=The Zhivkov Era |chapter=Bulgaria in the 1980s |access-date=27 July 2018 |ref={{Sfnref|Bulgaria in the 1980s}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0072) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921073600/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0072%29 |archive-date=21 September 2008 |title=The Society and its Environment |chapter=Topography |access-date=4 December 2011 |ref={{Sfnref|Topography}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0074) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921073232/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0074%29 |archive-date=21 September 2008 |title=The Society and its Environment |chapter=Climate |access-date=4 December 2011 |ref={{Sfnref|Climate}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0102) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920110820/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0102%29 |archive-date=20 September 2008 |title=Chapter 3 |chapter=The Economy |access-date=4 December 2011 |ref={{Sfnref|The Economy}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0103) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920111053/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0103%29 |archive-date=20 September 2008 |title=The Economy |chapter=Resource Base |access-date=4 December 2011 |ref={{Sfnref|Resource Base}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0149) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921073159/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0149%29 |archive-date=21 September 2008 |title=Chapter 4 |chapter=Government and Politics |access-date=4 December 2011 |ref={{Sfnref|Government and Politics}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0225) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920110247/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0225%29 |archive-date=20 September 2008 |title=National Security |chapter=Arms Sales |access-date=4 December 2011 |ref={{Sfnref|Arms Sales}}}}
** {{Cite book |chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+bg0216) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921073623/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+bg0216%29 |archive-date=21 September 2008 |title=National Security |chapter=Military Personnel |access-date=20 December 2011 |ref={{Sfnref|Military Personnel}}}}
* {{cite book
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* {{cite book |last=Ghodsee |first=Kristen R. |author-link=Kristen R. Ghodsee |title=Muslim Lives in Eastern Europe: Gender, Ethnicity and the Transformation of Islam in Postsocialist Bulgaria |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2009 |asin=B015X41JMA}}
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* {{cite book |last=Golden |first=Peter Benjamin |author-link=Peter Benjamin Golden |date=1992 |title=An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples: Ethnogenesis and State Formation in Medieval and Early Modern Eurasia and the Middle East |url=https://www.academia.edu/12545004 |publisher=[[Harrassowitz Verlag|Otto Harrassowitz]] |isbn=978-3-447-03274-2}}
* {{cite EB1922 |wstitle= Bulgaria |last1= Grogan |first1=  Elinor F. B. }}
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 | last = Kazhdan
 | first = A.
 | author-link = Alexander Kazhdan
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* {{cite book 
 | title = The Making of Byzantium (600–1025)
 | last = Whittow
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 | author-link = Mark Whittow
 | year = 1996
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 }}
* {{cite book |title=Теми по физическа и социално-икономическа география на България (Topics on Physical and Social-Economic Geography of Bulgaria) |last1=Дончев (Donchev) |first1=Дончо (Doncho) |last2=Каракашев (Karakashev) |first2=Христо (Hristo) |year=2004 |language=bg |publisher=Ciela |location=София ([[Sofia]]) |isbn=954-649-717-7 |ref={{harvid|Donchev|Karakashev|2004}}}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|voy=Bulgaria|Bulgaria}}
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* {{Wikiatlas|Bulgaria}}
* {{osmrelation-inline|186382}}
* [http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/bulgaria Bulgaria Profile] from [[Balkan Insight]]
* [https://www.president.bg/ President of The Republic of Bulgaria]

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{{Countries of Europe}}
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[[Category:Bulgaria| ]]<!--Please leave the empty space as standard.-->
[[Category:Countries in the Balkans]]
[[Category:Countries and territories where Bulgarian is an official language]]
[[Category:Countries in Europe]]
[[Category:Member states of NATO]]
[[Category:Member states of the European Union]]
[[Category:Member states of the Three Seas Initiative]]
[[Category:Member states of the Union for the Mediterranean]]
[[Category:Member states of the United Nations]]
[[Category:Republics]]
[[Category:681 establishments]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 680s]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1878]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1990]]