@Bulgaria
Introduction Bulgaria
Background:
The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local
Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first
Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with
the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the
end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman
Turks. Bulgaria regained its independence 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
multiparty election since World War II and began the contentious
process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy
while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime.
Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on a path toward
eventual integration into NATO and the EU - with which it began
accession negotiations in 2000.
Geography Bulgaria
Location:
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and
Turkey
Geographic coordinates:
43 00 N, 25 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 110,910 sq km
water: 360 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries:
total: 1,808 km
border countries: Greece 494 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km,
Turkey 240 km