Overview

Bulgaria is situated in south-eastern Europe, in the north-eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The country earned its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, but having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, it 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 multi-party election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy.

The country officially became a member of NATO on 2 April 2004.

Bulgaria became a member of EU on 01 January 2007.

Bulgaria occupies a relatively small area but is nevertheless distinguished by generous and varied nature - a sea with a 378 km long coastal strip and golden beaches, 16 mountains with their own characteristic features, shelters valleys and high plateaus, over 550 curative mineral springs, dozen of unique natural phenomena and 2000 thrilling caves, a healthy climate and diverse flora and fauna.

The capital of Bulgaria is the city of Sofia. The official language is Bulgarian and uses only the Cyrillic alphabet. To facilitate tourists, road and direction signs in populated areas, resorts, railway station, airports and along the main highways are also spelled in Roman letters.