Geography
A former country of the Eastern European bloc, with an area of 110,993 square kilometers, it is made up of the Balkan chain to the west and north, and of a plain that stretches east to the Black Sea.

Spread over 27,000 hectares, and ranging in altitude from 1008 to 2914 m in the Pirin Massif, Pirin National Park in southwestern Bulgaria offers a karstic Balkan landscape with its lakes, waterfalls, grottos and pine forests. The rugged mountains are dotted with some 70 lakes.

Adjacent to the Danube, the Srebarna nature reserve is a fresh water lake that covers more than 600 ha, and shelters over 100 species of birds.

Status
Republic

Government
Republic; pluralist democracy that includes a President, Prime Minister and parliament made up of 240 elected members.

Capital: Sofia

Currency
Bulgarian lev (plural: leva)

Language spoken
Bulgarian (uses the Cyrillic alphabet)

Main industries
Mining (fairly unproductive); sugar, jam-making and steel are growing industries

Agriculture
cattle, wheat, corn, tobacco and wine grapes

Bulgaria is famous for its 1600 mineral springs, the temperature of which ranges from 37 to 101° C.

Climate
Continental Mediterranean climate with four seasons; average annual temperature 10.5° C

Time: GMT +2

Phone country code +359 (Bulgaria); 2 (Sofia)

Airplane access
Five international airports

Holidays
January 1, March 3, May 1, Easter Sunday, May 24, September 6, September 22, Christmas