Bulgaria Statistics - Cities and Regions

The North-West planning region of Bulgaria includes districts of Vidin, Montana and Vratsa. Unfortunately, this remains the weakest region in terms of economic strength, contributing only about 6,2 per cent to the national Gross Value Added. The main industries here are in the energy and chemical sectors. The most attractive and beautiful natural phenomena are the Belogradchik rocks and the Ledenika and Magura caves. The healthy mineral springs in this region also support the future development of the main tourist centre at Varshets. The North-Central demographic region is located in the central part of Northern Bulgaria. It borders the Danube river to the north, the Iskar river to the west, the river of Rusenski Lom to the east and the Balkan Mountains to the south.

The region North-Central consists of five districts - Veliko Turnovo, Gabrovo, Lovech, Pleven, Rousse. Its comparatively central location in the country favours the development of transport due to the various opportunities to combine waterway, railway, road and air transport as well as to the fact that most important Pan-European corridors also cross it. The North-Eastern Planning Region includes the east part of Northern Bulgaria. It is linked to Romania to the north by Danube river and on land. On east is situated Black Sea through the three main ports of this area - Varna, Devnia and Balchik. The North-East region consists of six districts - Varna, Dobrich, Razgrad, Silistra, Turgovishte and Shoumen. It also includes two national parks - Golden Sands (Zlatni piasaci) and Shumansko plato with total area of 5250,6 hectares. There are also nine national preserves with total area of 1371,5 hectares with threatened with extinction species - Srebarna under the support of UNESKO, Baltata, Patleina, Dervisha, Valchi prohod, Momin grad, Varbov dol, Kirov dol and Kalfata.

Southwestern planning region is second by territory from all planning regions in Bulgaria. It has five administrative districts - Sofia-city, Sofia region, Pernik, Kiustendil and Blagoevgrad. Its north boundaries are the regions Montana and Vraca and the region Lovec, on east the frontiers are regions Plovdiv, Pazardjik and Smolian. The south and west border of the Southwestern region coincide with the national border. There are seven Border Cheking Cross Point on the territory of this region. Three of them are located on the frontier with Serbia, three of them with Republic of Macedonia and one with Greece. Thus, on its territory pass many important national highways and three of the international transport corridors. The South central demographic region is located in the southern part of Bulgaria. The central part of Stara Planina mountain presents its natural northern border. Its territory includes 6 districts - Pazardjik, Plovdiv, Smolyan, Haskovo, Stara Zagora and Kyrdjali. The total area of this region is 27 516 square kilometes, which presents almost a quarter of the whole Bulgarian territory. On south it is connected with Turkey by three checking points - Burgas, Tzarevo and Malko Tarnovo. This region is wide open to the Black sea through its eight ports. It consists of three districts - Bourgas, Sliven, Yambol.

Bulgaria Popular Locations

There are really lots of popular locations for the different international tourists in Bulgaria. Many small villages, which have preserved their traditional appearance and genuine atmosphere, situated in ecologically clean regions, open their doors with hospitality to everyone willing to share the rich Bulgarian traditions and folklore, agriculture, delicious and varied local cuisine, interesting old crafts, the forthright human relations. Some of these pleasant and interesting locations are Bozhentsi, Arbanassi, Ribaritsa, Zheravna, Kovatchevitza, Leshten, Dolen, Momtchilovtci, Shiroka luka and the old crafts complex Etura, near Gabrovo. On the other hand, lots of ancient mineral complexes were built near different mineral springs - Hisaria, Kyustendil, Bourgas mineral baths, Sapareva Banya, the Sliven baths and Sofia.

Most of the Bulgarian spa resorts today have the advantage of being located in various climatic regions, affording the exceptional possibility of combining balneotherapy with climatic treatment. The mineral water also has different chemical composition, degree of mineralization, types of soluble salts, medical gases, biologically active microcomponents, temperature and healing properties. Other popular and beloved destination are the beaches of the Black Sea with total length of 354 km. The main attractive features of the Bulgarian coast are the long marvelous beaches, calm sea, clear water and healthy air, fine golden sand and natural dunes, mineral water springs, blue flag winning resorts, holiday villages and campsites. Average air temperature in the summer is about 28 degrees Celsius, water temperature - 25 degrees Celsius.

Bulgaria Statistics - Attractive Places

Every winter, Samokov, Borovets, Bansko and Pamporovo attract lots of tourists with their excellent skiing opportunities, modern hotels and picturesque mountain scenes. Among most popular resorts on the Black Sea, on the other hand, are Sozopol, Nessebur, Golden Sands, Sunny Beach, Sveti Vlas, Albena, St St Constantine and Helena and others. Also different spa resorts, such as Bankya, Hisarya, Sandanski, Velingrad, Varshets are beloved holiday destinations all over the year. Bulgaria gradually becomes an attractive holiday place today due to the improving quality of its resorts and the prices often below those in Western Europe. If you are keen in nature, you probably could be interested in the fact that Bulgaria has three national parks, ten natural parks, over 90 reserves, and 350 natural landmarks. In the European Union, Bulgaria is at second place only after Spain with its sixteen UNESCO Biosphere reserves. The first nature reserve in the country was Silkosia in the Strandzha mountain declared just in 1931, followed by Parangalitsa, Rila in 1933.

Bulgaria Nature

Bulgaria is well-known for its natural diversity, with lots of beautiful landscapes ranging from the Alpine snow-capped peaks in Rila, Pirin and the Balkan Mountains to the mild and sunny weather of the Black Sea coast, from the typically continental Danubian Plain - ancient Moesia - in the north to the strong Mediterranean influence in the valleys of Macedonia and the southernmost parts of Thrace. Bulgarian territory comprises portions of the classical regions of Thrace, Moesia, and Macedonia. The southwest area of the country is mountainous with two alpine ranges - Rila and Pirin and on the east are the lower but more extensive Rhodope Mountains. Rila mountain includes the highest peak of the whole Balkan Peninsula - Musala at 2,925 meters or 9,596 ft. The main mountain range of the Balkan mountains runs west-east through the middle of the country, north of the popular Rose Valley. Lots of picturesque hills and plains are also found in the southeast, along the Black Sea coast in the east, and along the Danube in the north. Other major rivers include the Struma and the Maritsa river in the south part of Bulgaria. There are approximately 260 glacial lakes, situated in Rila and Pirin, and several big lakes on the Black Sea coast. Most mineral springs here are in great abundance mainly in the south-western and central parts of the country along the faults between the mountains.

Attractions in Bulgaria These are the most interesting facts about the Bulgarian nine places and monuments in the preservation list of UNESCO:

1. Kazanluk Tomb - it is a Thracian tomb, dated to the late fourth century B C. Its religious murals, found mainly in the burial chamber and in the corridor are of exclusive artistic value. This tomb is located in the Tyulbeto Hill near the town of Kazanluk.

2. Ivanovo Rock Churches consist of the Holy Archangel Michael, with partially preserved churches. The murals in the Church of the Holy Virgin have been considered as some of the most significant achievements of fourteenth century Bulgarian medieval art. The churches are located around twenty km away from the city of Rouse, in the rocks of the Rousenski Lom Nature Park.

3. Boyana Church - its unique murals from 1259, are usually considered among the masterpieces of medieval European painting. It is located at a distance of about eight km from the center of Sofia, in the foothills of Mount Vitosha.

4. Madara Horseman - this is quite interesting rock relief, cut into the Madara rocks on the northern slope of the Provadiisko Plateau and it is twenty-three meters high. It is close to the village of Madara, comparatively near the city of Shoumen.

5. Rila Monastery - it is founded in the tenth century, then rebuilt in the thirteenth century. Later, it becomes a main literary center in the fifteenth century and is finished in its contemporary striking appearance during the nineteenth century. This spiritual center of the Bulgarian people is located in the Northwest part of the Rila Mountain, on twenty km from the town of Rila and about 120 km from the Bulgarian capital.

6. Nessebur, the old part of the town - this is an extraordinary picturesque architectural, historical and archaeological reserve at the Black Sea coast with valuable relics and monuments from different periods - original churches from the fifth to the 17th century and some authentic National Revival Period houses.

7. Sveshtari Tomb - a Thracian tomb from the first half of the third century before Christmas. Its central burial chamber has exceptionally lavish decoration and impressive caryatides in high relief. It is located close to the village of Sveshtari, seven kilometers northwest of the town of Isperih.

8. Sreburna Reserve - a beautiful and somehow extraordinary biosphere reserve in the valley of the Danube, including the Sreburna Lake and its surroundings. It has been established for the preservation of rare plant and animal species, located near the town of Silistra.

9. Pirin National Park - located in the high parts of the Northern Mount Pirin, it is characterized by a specific relief and an inimitable plants and animals . It also links the Bayuvi Doupki-Dzhindzhiritsa Biosphere Reserve and the Yulen Reserve.

Bulgaria Statistics - Cost of Living

The standard of living in Bulgaria had previously fallen by about 40 per cent, but it at recent days it gradually reached pre-1990 levels. United Nations sanctions against Yugoslavia and Iraq took a heavy toll on the whole Bulgarian economy. The first signs of recovery emerged in 1994 when the GDP of the country grew and inflation fell significantly. Since 1997, Bulgaria constantly began to recover with GDP, growing at about 4 to 5 per cent rate, increasing FDI, macroeconomic stability until the European Union membership today. The former government, elected in 2001, continued to follow the essential economic policy objectives, marked by its predecessor in 1997 - retaining the Currency Board, practising sound financial policies, accelerating privatization, and pursuing structural reforms.

In 1997, macroeconomic stability was additionally reinforced by the imposition of a fixed exchange rate of the lev against the German Mark. Low inflation and steady progress on structural reforms improved the entire business environment. Thus, Bulgaria has marked 5,1 per cent growth since 2000 and has begun to attract bigger amounts of foreign direct investment all over the world. Economic forecasts for 2008 and 2010 predict continued growth in the economy. The annual year-on-year GDP growth for these years is expected to total around 5,3 per cent and 6,0 per cent, respectively. Total industrial output for 2008 was forecast to rise by 11,9 per cent from the previous year, and for 2010 by 15,2 per cent. On the other hand, unemployment for 2005 was measured at 11,5 per cent and for 2006 approximately 9 per cent. Towards 2006 the national GDP structure was - agriculture - 8,0 per cent, industry - 26,1 per cent and services - 65,9 per cent.

Bulgarian Currency Exchange Rates

Fortunately, there are already lots of local and international banks and currency exchange offices, working in the capital and around the country. The working hours for the bigger part of the banks here are from 9 a m to 3 a m every day from Monday to Friday. Most currency exchange offices are open to 6 p m and some of them service their customers twenty-four hours a day. Currency exchange could be easily found also at the airport on arrival or departure and in the bigger hotels. The currency of Bulgaria is called Lev and now is linked to the Euro. Most transactions such as hotels booking are carried out directly in Euros, and the common trading rate is - 1 Euro around 1,96 Leva.

The official banknote denominations include 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Leva, and also the coins of 1, 2, 5,10, 20, 50 called "stotinki". 1 LEV coin also could be found on the Bulgarian market. Bulgarian Lev has been used for the first time in 1881. 100 stotinki today are equal to one Lev. Generally said, the name of the national currency used to mean lion, but has been later changed to its present name. The contemporary ISO currency code for the Lev is BGN. Since 1999, the Lev was revalued by Bulgarian National Bank at the rate of 1,000 old Levs for 1 new Lev. The national exchange rate today is fixed to the euro at 1,95583 BGN for 1 euro.

Bulgaria Statistics - Weather and Climate

The climate in North Bulgaria is moderate continental, while this in the south parts of the country is intermediate continental, sometimes resembling Mediterranean. The climate in the higher regions is mountainous and along the Black Sea coast it is maritime. The most important feature of the weather in the seaside regions is that it is usually milder in the winter and cooler in the summer than this in the internal part of the country. The average annual temperature is 10,50 degrees Celsius, in winter about zero degrees - the lowest temperature -38,30 degrees Celsius was marked in far 1947. Average summer temperatures typically do not exceed 30 degrees Celsius. With its four distinct seasons, Bulgaria enjoys quite favourable climate that is among the best features of the country concerning tourism in the whole year.

Although this country is situated comparatively at the same latitude as south New England, its climate is extremely more temperate. Summers are usually hot and dry, but seldom oppressive, with temperate relative humidity. Winters are often cold, but seldom so bitterly. In the south and Black Sea coastal regions and some Mediterranean influences temper the harsher continental climate of the internal territory. Different mountain groups in Bulgaria also play an important part in determining regional variances. Thus, winter often sees a much cooler weather with snow showers frequent inland and established ski resorts such as Borovets easily receive enough snow cover well into spring. However, the temperature remains constant at a pleasant 5 degrees with a clear freshness to the air. During cold spells, lots of rivers and lakes have been frozen over with a crisp and mild white blanket of snow covers the landscape.

Bulgaria Statistics - Food and Drinks

Bulgarian cuisine is quite an interesting representative of the cuisine of Southeastern Europe. Essentially Slavic, it is somehow mixture of different Turkish, Greek and Middle Eastern influences, and to a lesser extent Italian, Mediterranean and Hungarian ones. Due to the relatively warm climate and diverse geography affording excellent growth conditions for a variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits, Bulgarian cuisine is particularly diverse. Famous for its rich salads required at every meal, it is also well-known for the diversity and quality of its dairy products and the different wines and some particularly local alcoholic drinks such as rakia, mastika and menta. Bulgarian cuisine features also a variety of hot and cold soups - most interesting of which are tarator and Shkembe chorba. There are many traditional Bulgarian pastries as well such as banitsa. Thus, a traditional Bulgarian menu can include bread, yogurt and fresh milk, cheese, tomatoes, paprika, potatoes, onions, beans and fruits, grappa and red or white wine. Bulgarian rakia somehow resembles brandy and often occurs to be the national drink, sometimes quite strong. Grapes is most common used for this local drink, but there are also some fruit varieties. Bulgaria is a popular producer and exporter of wine to more than 70 countries in the world. On its territory there are 12 wineries, making a huge variety of excellent wines.

Bulgaria Statistics - Communication and News

Telecommunications is undoubtedly among the fastest growing industries in Bulgaria. There are three national mobile operators - Globul, Mtel and Vivatel, which already provide almost 100 per cent coverage. They have lots of representative centers throughout the country which also constantly grow and improve their total convenience for the different users. Nowadays, more than 6 245 000 Bulgarians own mobile phones. Every bigger town and many villages already have comparatively speedy Internet connection, thus, there are around 185 000 Internet hosts available today. Main telephone lines in use are around 2,483 million towards 2005. The international country code is 359 and could be directly dialed to 58 countries.

There are also several satellite earth stations, such as Intersputnik for the Atlantic Ocean region and Intelsat for Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions. Since 2001 on the territory of Bulgaria are situated thirty-one AM, sixty-three FM and two shortwave radio broadcast stations. The television broadcast stations are around thirty-nine plus 1 242 repeaters for the same period. Local and international telephone services are also covered through special automatic street telephones operating with different calling cards. Such phones are the orange Bulphone and blue Mobika widely spread through the country. Different prepaid calling cards could be purchased from any post office. You have the option also to make your phone call from almost every post office on the territory of the country. Postal services do not differ increasingly from these in Europe or North America. Various Internet services are also provided in Internet clubs and cafes in most of the bigger cities.

Bulgaria Statistics - Economy Population Government

General statistics from 2004 determine that the total unemployment in Bulgaria comes down significantly from 16,9 per cent to 13,2 per cent. Thus, around one-quarter of the population of this country works in agriculture and one-third in different industries. Both of these sectors have been hit hard by the poor attempts of the national economy to recover quickly from the post-communist collapse. Unfortunately, it is no surprise then that in 2002 13,4 per cent of the population pass below the poverty line. Major industries in which Bulgarian economy today develop, include electricity, gas and water, food, beverages and tobacco, machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum and nuclear fuel. Fossil fuels - around 45 per cent and nuclear power - approximately 56 per cent - produce most of the national electricity. The smaller part of it is made by different hydroelectric facilities.

Nowadays, Bulgaria exports clothing, footwear, iron, steel, fuels, machineries and equipment primarily to various European Union members and Turkey. The largest import trading partner of the country is Russia, with nearly one-quarter of all imports, primarily hydrocarbons. Germany, Italy, Greece and France present on the Bulgarian market machinery, metals, chemicals and plastics. According to the last official census in 2001, Bulgarian population is mainly ethnic Bulgarian - 83,9 per cent, with two basic minorities - Turks - 9,4 per cent - and Roma - 4,7 per cent. In Bulgaria live also some smaller minorities, such as Russians, Armenians, Vlachs, Jews, Crimean Tatars and Karakachans. Most Bulgarian citizens - around 82,6 per cent are members of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, and the national Eastern Orthodox church. Other religions that are presented in Bulgaria include Islam - 12,2 per cent, some Protestant denominations - 0,8 per cent, Roman Catholicism with 0,5 per cent, with other denominations, atheists and undeclared numbering around 4,1 per cent.

Unfortunately, Bulgaria has had the slowest population growth of any country in the world since 1950 today, except Saint Kitts and Nevis due to their high emigration rate. This growth even has been negative since the early 90s, due to the economic collapse and high emigration. In 1988 the population was 8 859 000 people, and in 2001 become only 7 950 000. Bulgarian government is chaired by the prime minister Sergey Stanishev since 18 August 2005. It is the principal body of the executive branch in the country and currently consists of twenty ministers. The Prime Minister is as a rule chosen by the largest parliamentary group, and is given a mandate by the Bulgarian president to form his cabinet. The current governmental coalition is made up by the three main players in the contemporary Bulgarian politics - the Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP, National Movement Simeon II or NMS and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, representing mainly the Turkish minority.

Bulgaria - Travel Arrangements

When you are tend to visit this eastern European country, there three most important things that you should consider at any rate. Here are listed some useful phones in the case you have some difficulty or trouble in Bulgaria. It would be generally worth for you to keep in mind that the dialing code for this country from abroad is +359. Other generally useful numbers are:

1 Fire-brigade - 160
2 First medical aid - 150.
3 Police - 166
4 Road aid - +3592 962 54 12 or 962 52 99
5 Sofia Airport - +3592 937 22 12 and +3592 937 22 11
6 Sofia Central Railway Station - +3592 9311111.

Generally said, there three main ways to arrive in Bulgaria at recent days. The national carrier Balkan Bulgarian Airlines, different private companies, as well as most foreign airlines regularly link this country to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and North America. On the other hand, Bulgaria can be entered through any one of the many border checkpoints. Foreign driving licenses continue to be valid on its territory. But you should keep in mind that the insurance is compulsory and it can either be taken out beforehand or on the Bulgarian border. The speed limit here is as follows - 50 km/h in populated areas, 90 km/h outside populated areas, 130 km/h on motorways. Petrol stations are located at every 30 to 50 km on the bigger highways and national roads through the country.

Most main European railway connections pass through Bulgaria. Different international trains link Sofia with many European capitals and the domestic rail network ensures comparatively easy access to all large Bulgarian towns. If you want to arrive in Bulgaria calmly and pleasantly, you will need a valid passport with certain entry or transit visa which is issued by the embassies and consulates of the country abroad. But no such visas are required for citizens of the countries with which Bulgaria has a visa-free regime or for organized tourists who have bought a package tour as well as for the different citizens of the European Union and EFTA member states. Additionally, CIS citizens will also need no visas for a stay of one month, if they already have a valid passport, a voucher for prepaid tourist services or if they pay the sum of 40 USD for each day of their life in the country.