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Bulgaria

Continent: Europe

Geography

People &
Society

Government

Economy

Energy

Communications

Military &
Security

Transportation

Terrorism

Transnational Issues
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Background

The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Northern Bulgaria attained autonomy in 1878 and all of Bulgaria became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1908. Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multiparty election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. The country joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007.

Location

Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey

Area Comparative

Almost identical in size to Virginia; slightly larger than Tennessee

Maritime Claims

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Contiguous zone: 24 nm

Climate
Temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers

Population Distribution

A fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger populations

Natural Hazards

Earthquakes; landslides

Environment Current Issues

Air pollution from industrial emissions; rivers polluted from raw sewage, heavy metals, detergents; deforestation; forest damage from air pollution and resulting acid rain; soil contamination from heavy metals from metallurgical plants and industrial wastes

Environment International Agreements

Party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

Signed but not ratified: None of the selected agreements

Geography Note

Strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia
Year

Map Reference

  • Europe

Irrigated Land 2012

  • 1,020 sq km

Area 2019

  • Total
    110,879 sq km
  • Land
    108,489 sq km
  • Water
    2,390 sq km

Coastline

  • 354 km

Geographical Coordinates

  • 43 00 N, 25 00 E

Land use 2019

  • Agricultural Land
    46.9%
  • Agricultural Land Arable Land
    29.9%
  • Agricultural Land Permanent Crops
    1.5%
  • Agricultural Land Permanent Pasture
    15.5%
  • Forest
    36.7%
  • Other
    16.4%

Terrain

  • Mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast

Elevation

  • Mean Elevation: 472 m
  • Lowest Point: Black Sea 0 m
  • Highest Point: Musala 2,925 m

Land Boundaries

  • Total
    1,806 km
  • Greece
    472 km
  • Macedonia
    162 km
  • Romania
    605 km
  • Serbia
    344 km
  • Turkey
    223 km

Natural Resources

  • Bauxite
  • Copper
  • Lead
  • Zinc
  • Coal
  • Timber
  • Arable land
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