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Bulgaria

Europe

Photos of Bulgaria

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The Church of Saint George in Sofia, Bulgaria, is the oldest building in the capital city. Built as baths by the Romans in the early fourth century, it became a church inside the walls of Serdica, the capital of Dacia Mediterranea during the Roman and Byzantine Empires. During the 16th century Ottoman invasion, the church was turned into a mosque. At the end of the Ottoman empire, it became part of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
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Contents

Introduction

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Visit the Definitions and Notes page to view a description of each topic.

Definitions and Notes
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Geography

Area

comparison ranking: total 105

Area - comparative

Area comparison map:
<p>almost identical in size to Virginia; slightly larger than Tennessee</p>

People and Society

Languages

Bulgarian audio sample:

Age structure

2024 population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for Bulgaria. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends. <br/><br/>For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page.

Median age

comparison ranking: total 19

Population growth rate

comparison ranking: 226

Birth rate

comparison ranking: 216

Death rate

comparison ranking: 7

Net migration rate

comparison ranking: 111

Maternal mortality ratio

comparison ranking: 168

Infant mortality rate

comparison ranking: total 149

Total fertility rate

comparison ranking: 202

Tobacco use

comparison ranking: total 12

Environment

Government

National coat of arms

Bulgaria’s coat of arms in the national colors of white, green, and red was adopted in 1997. The three lions are a national symbol for strength, courage, and leadership that was used during the country’s liberation movement in the 1870s and the kingdom period in the early 20th century. Above the shield is the crown of Bulgaria (originally the crown of the medieval Bulgarian tsars) with a gold cross on top. A white scroll over the oak branches bears the Bulgarian national motto, “United we stand strong.”

Economy

Real GDP growth rate

comparison ranking: 127

Real GDP per capita

comparison ranking: 70

Labor force

comparison ranking: 107

Unemployment rate

comparison ranking: 68

Public debt

comparison ranking: 166

Taxes and other revenues

comparison ranking: 48

Current account balance

comparison ranking: 148

Exports

comparison ranking: 60

Imports

comparison ranking: 61

Debt - external

comparison ranking: 42

Energy

Communications

Transportation

Airports

comparison ranking: 49

Heliports

comparison ranking: 86

Merchant marine

comparison ranking: total 100

Military and Security

Space

Terrorism

Transnational Issues

Contents