Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located west of the Black Sea and south of the Danube river, Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north. It covers a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi) and is the 16th largest country in Europe. Sofia is the nation's capital and largest city; other major cities include Burgas, Plovdiv, and Varna.
The economy of Bulgaria functions on the principles of the free market, having a large private sector and a smaller public one. Bulgaria is an industrialised high-income country according to the World Bank, and is a member of the European Union (EU), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). The Bulgarian economy has experienced significant growth (538%), starting from $13.15 billion and reaching estimated gross domestic product (GDP) of $86 billion or $203 billion, GDP per capita of $31,148, average gross monthly salary of 2,009 leva, and average net monthly salary of $2,102 (2022). The national currency is the lev, pegged to the euro at a rate of 1.95583 leva for 1 euro. The lev is the strongest and most stable currency in Eastern Europe.
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river and has many mineral springs, such as the Sofia Central Mineral Baths. It has a humid continental climate. Being in the centre of the Balkans, it is midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea and closest to the Aegean Sea.
The demography of the Republic of Bulgaria is monitored by the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria. Demographic features of the population of Bulgaria include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and others.
The provinces of Bulgaria are the first-level administrative subdivisions of the country.
Kyustendil Province is a province in southwestern Bulgaria, extending over an area of 3,084.3 km2 (1,190.9 sq mi), and with a population of 163,889. It borders the provinces of Sofia, Pernik, and Blagoevgrad; to the west, its limits coincide with the state borders between Bulgaria and North Macedonia, and between Bulgaria and the Republic of Serbia. The administrative center of the Province is Kyustendil.
Sofia Province is a province (oblast) of Bulgaria. The province does not include Sofia in its territories, but Sofia remains its administrative center. The province borders on the provinces of Pernik, Kyustendil, Blagoevgrad, Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Lovech, Vratsa, Montana and "Sofia City Province", and borders with Serbia to the northwest.
Varna Province, formerly known as Varna okrug, is a province in eastern Bulgaria, one of the 28 Bulgarian provinces. It comprises 12 municipalities with a population of 494,216 inhabitants as of April 2016. The province is named after its administrative centre, Varna.
Pancharevo is a resort village and district located on the outskirts of Sofia close to Vitosha, Lozenska and Plana mountains and occupies the southeastern part of the Capital Municipality.As of 2011 the village has 3,433 inhabitants, but the district has about 28,000 inhabitants. It is the largest region in Sofia with a total area of 3,647 km2 (1,408 sq mi). It includes the largest artificial lake in Bulgaria Lake Pancharevo, also as Iskar Reservoir and Pasarel Reservoir, located one above the other. The districts consists of 10 villages, and Pancharevo is the municipal seat:
Severozapaden, is a region of Bulgaria. The capital is the city of Pleven. The region has the lowest-ranked economy in Bulgaria and the European Union, with a GDP per capita (PPS) of €9,300 or 31% of EU28 average (2017). It includes five administrative divisions or oblasts: Vidin Province, Vratsa Province, Montana Province, Lovech Province and Pleven Province.
Severoiztochen Planning Region is a planning region in Bulgaria.The region includes four provinces: Targovishte Province, Varna Province, Shumen Province and Dobrich Province.
Yugozapaden Planning Region is a planning region in Bulgaria. The capital, also the national capital, is Sofia. It includes: Blagoevgrad Province, Sofia city, Sofia Province, Pernik Province and Kyustendil Province.
FC Vitosha is a Bulgarian association football club based in Bistritsa, Sofia City Province, which competes in the Southwest Third League, the third tier of Bulgarian football. It is named after the Vitosha mountain range, where Bistritsa is located.
The Stolichna Municipality is an obshtina (municipality) in Sofia City Province, Western Bulgaria. It is named after its administrative centre - the city of Sofia, which is also the capital of Sofia City Province and Sofia Province and the capital of Bulgaria as well.
The Metropolitan City of Naples is a metropolitan city in the Campania region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Naples. The province was established on 1 January 2015 and contains 92 comuni . It was first created by the reform of local authorities and established by Law 56/2014, thus replacing the province of Naples in 2015.
The Battle of Sofia was the culmination of Russian General Iosif Gurko's Western Squad for the defeat of the Orhaniye army in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). It led to the Liberation of Sofia from Turkish rule.
The Prague metropolitan area is the metropolitan area of Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic. The population is 2,222,100 as of 2023.
The Lesnovska reka is a river in western Bulgaria, a right tributary of the river Iskar, itself a right tributary of the Danube, belonging to the Black Sea drainage. Its length is 65 km. It drains parts of the Ihtimanska Sredna Gora mountain range and the Sofia Valley.
