| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria local long form: Republika Bulgaria local short form: Bulgaria former: Kingdom of Bulgaria, People's Republic of Bulgaria etymology: named after the Bulgar tribes who settled the lower Balkan region in the 7th century A.D. |
| Government type | parliamentary republic |
| 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 etymology: named after the Saint Sofia Church in the city, parts of which date back to the 4th century A.D. |
| Administrative divisions | 28 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast); Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Haskovo, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Shumen, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Sofia-Grad (Sofia City), Stara Zagora, Targovishte, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Yambol |
| Independence | 3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire) |
| National holiday | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) |
| Constitution | history: several previous; latest drafted between late 1990 and early 1991, adopted 13 July 1991 amendments: proposed by the National Assembly or by the president of the republic; passage requires three-fourths majority vote of National Assembly members in three ballots; signed by the National Assembly chairperson; note - under special circumstances, a "Grand National Assembly" is elected with the authority to write a new constitution and amend certain articles of the constitution, including those affecting basic civil rights and national sovereignty; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote in each of several readings; amended several times, last in 2015 |
| Legal system | civil law |
| International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Bulgaria dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Rumen RADEV (since 22 January 2017); Vice President Iliana IOTOVA (since 22 January 2017) head of government: Interim Prime Minister Stefan YANEV (since 12 May 2021); note - YANEV is leading a caretaker government until elections are held on 11 July 2021 cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, elected by the National Assembly elections/appointments: president and vice president elected on the same ballot by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 6 and 13 November 2016 (next to be held in fall 2021); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) elected by the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister, elected by the National Assembly election results: Rumen RADEV elected president in second round; percent of vote - Rumen RADEV (independent, supported by Bulgarian Socialist Party) 59.4%, Tsetska TSACHEVA (GERB) 36.2%, neither 4.5% |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie (240 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 11 July 2021 (next election to be held in 2025) election results: percent of vote by party/coalition - ITN 23.8%, GERB-SDS 23.2%, BSP for Bulgaria 13.2%, DB 12.5%, DPS 10.6%, ISMV 5%, other 11.7%; seats by party/coalition ITN 65, GERB-SDS 63, BSP for Bulgaria 36, DB 34, DPS 29, ISMV 13 |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: Supreme Court of Cassation (consists of a chairman and approximately 72 judges organized into penal, civil, and commercial colleges); Supreme Administrative Court (organized into 2 colleges with various panels of 5 judges each); Constitutional Court (consists of 12 justices); note - Constitutional Court resides outside the judiciary judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court of Cassation and Supreme Administrative judges elected by the Supreme Judicial Council or SJC (consists of 25 members with extensive legal experience) and appointed by the president; judges can serve until mandatory retirement at age 65; Constitutional Court justices elected by the National Assembly and appointed by the president and the SJC; justices appointed for 9-year terms with renewal of 4 justices every 3 years subordinate courts: appeals courts; regional and district courts; administrative courts; courts martial |
| Political parties and leaders | Agrarian People's Union or ZNS [Roumen YONCHEV] Bulgarian Agrarian People’s Union [Nikolay NENCHEV] Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Korneliya NINOVA] (alliance of BSP, ZNS, PKT, New Dawn, Ecoglasnost) Bulgaria of the Citizens or DBG [Dimiter DELCHEV]] Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria or GERB (alliance with SDS) [Boyko BORISSOV] Democratic Bulgaria or DB (alliance of Yes! Bulgaria, DSB, and The Greens) [Atanas ATANASOV, Hristo IVANOV] Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria or DSB [Atanas ATANASOV] Ecoglasnost [Emil GEORGIEV] Green Movement or The Greens [Borislav SANDOV, Vladislav PENEV] Movement for Rights and Freedoms or DPS [Mustafa KARADAYI] Movement 21 or D21 [Tatyana DONCHEVA] New Dawn [Mincho MINCHEV] Political Club Thrace or PKT [Stefan NACHEZ] Stand Up.BG or IS.BG [Maya MONOLOVA] Stand Up! Mafia, Get Out! or ISMV (coalition of IS.BG, D21, DBG, ENP, ZNS, and Volt) [Maya MONOLOVA, Nikolay HADZHIGENOV] There is Such a People or ITN [SLAVI TRIFONOV] United People's Party or ENP [Valentina VASILEVA-FILADELFEVS] Union of Democratic Forces or SDS [Rumen HRISTOV] Yes! Bulgaria [Hristo IVANOV] Volt Bulgaria or Volt [Nastimir ANANIEV] |
| International organization participation | Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EU, FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Tihomir Anguelov STOYTCHEV (since 27 June 2016) chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-0174; [1] (202) 299-0273, [1] (202) 483-1386 FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973 email address and website: office@bulgaria-embassy.org; Embassy.Washington@mfa.bg https://www.bulgaria-embassy.org/en/homepage/ consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Herro MUSTAFA (since 18 October 2019) embassy: 16, Kozyak Street, Sofia 1408 mailing address: 5740 Sofia Place, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100 FAX: [359] (2) 937-5320 email address and website: acs_sofia@state.gov https://bg.usembassy.gov/ |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; the pan-Slavic white-blue-red colors were modified by substituting a green band (representing freedom) for the blue note: the national emblem, formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe, has been removed |
| National symbol(s) | lion; national colors: white, green, red |
| National anthem | name: "Mila Rodino" (Dear Homeland) lyrics/music: Tsvetan Tsvetkov RADOSLAVOV note: adopted 1964; composed in 1885 by a student en route to fight in the Serbo-Bulgarian War |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
