Bulgaria shares borders with Serbia, Macedonia, Romania, Greece, and Turkey. Two mountain ranges and two great valleys mark the topography of Bulgaria, a country the size of Tennessee and situated on the Black Sea. The Maritsa is Bulgaria's principal river, and the Danube also flows through the country.
Country lead by President: Georgi Purvanov (2002)
Prime Minister: Sergei Stanishev (2005)
Population
7,385,367 (growth rate: –0.9%); birth rate: 9.7/1000; infant mortality rate: 19.9/1000; life expectancy: 72.3; density per sq mi: 173
Land Area
42,683 sq mi (110,549 sq km); total area: 42,823 sq mi (110,910 sq km )
Monetary unit
Lev Language
Bulgarian 85%, Turkish 10%, Roma 4%
Ethnicity Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) 2% (2001)
Religion Bulgarian Orthodox 83%, Islam 12%, other Christian 1% (2001)
Transportation Railways: total: 4,294 km (2004). Highways: total: 37,077 km; paved: 34,111 km (including 328 km of expressways); unpaved: 2,966 km (2002). Waterways: 470 km (2004). Ports and harbors: Burgas, Varna. Airports: 213 (2004 est.).
Rila Monastery
Boyana Church