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World > Europe > Bulgaria
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Bulgaria |
Introduction:
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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.
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| Official name: |
Republic of Bulgaria |
| Capital: |
name: Sofia
geographic coordinates: 42 41 N, 23 19 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Government type: |
parliamentary democracy |
| Population: |
7,322,858 (July 2007 est.) |
| Languages: |
Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) |
| Official Currency: |
Bulgarian Lev (BGN)
Current Bulgarian Lev Exchange Rates
Historical Bulgarian Lev Exchange Rates
Chart Bulgarian Lev Exchange Rates |
| Currency code: |
BGN |
| Area: |
total: 110,910 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km
water: 360 sq km |
| Climate: |
temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers |
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Map of Bulgaria
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