The most interesting facts about Bulgaria, from Europe’s oldest country and city to the birthplace of the Cyrillic alphabet.
Fast facts
Official name: Republic of Bulgaria
Population: 6.8 million
Area: 110,879 sq km
Capital city: Sofia
Major languages: Bulgarian, Turkish, Romani
Major religions: Christian 64.7%, Muslim 9.8%
Time zone: UTC+2 (Eastern European Time)
Fun facts about Bulgaria
1. Bulgaria is a country in Southeastern Europe that borders Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey.
2. Bulgaria is a country in the Balkans. Other countries located in the Balkan Peninsula include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia.
3. Archaeological evidence suggests Bulgaria has been inhabited since at least the Middle Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age) from 100,000 to 40,000 BC.
4. The first Bulgarian empire was marked by the unity of the Bulgars and Slavs in 681, making it one of the oldest countries in Europe.
5. Bulgaria is the only European country that hasn’t changed its name since it was first established.
6. In the 9th Century, Bulgaria used the Glagolitic alphabet, which was gradually replaced by the Cyrillic script. It is now used in dozens of Slavic languages.
7. Adopted in 1990, Bulgaria’s flag is made up of three horizontal stripes of white, green and red. The white represents peace, love and freedom, the green represents the agricultural landscape and the red stands for the struggle for independence and military courage.
8. During the First World War (1914-18), Bulgaria fought alongside the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary and Germany). 100,000 Bulgarian soldiers died – the most severe per capita loss of any country involved in the war.
9. Yogurt may have been invented in Bulgaria 4,000 years ago when nomadic tribes carried their milk in animal skins, which caused bacteria to grow, fermentation, and eventually, yogurt. While this is impossible to confirm, Bulgaria definitely played a critical role in introducing yogurt to the West and turning it into a popular and commercial product.
10. After the Second World War, Bulgaria became a Communist state and a satellite of the USSR until its collapse in 1991.
11. Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second-largest city, is the oldest continually inhabited city in Europe. It has been occupied by humans for over 8,000 years.
12. Bulgaria is named after the Bulgar tribes who settled in the region in the 7th century.
13. Bulgaria has some of Europe’s most dangerous roads, with nine estimated deaths per 100,000 people in 2019. According to the most recently available data from the World Health Organization, the number has reduced to 8.4 traffic deaths in 2021.
14. The Nestinarstvo fire-dancing festival in Bulgaria sees participants walk and dance barefoot on burning embers as part of a ritual to ensure the well-being and fertility of the village.
15. Bulgarians are the world’s 10th biggest drinkers. The average Bulgarian consumes 11.5 liters of pure alcohol per person per year. This is roughly equivalent to 128 bottles of wine!
16. The Valley of Roses spans a vast region of Bulgaria, where the treasured Rose Damascena is cultivated. The Bulgarian people extract rose oil from these flowers, a substance valued higher than gold.
17. Bulgaria’s capital city, Sofia, was named after the Sveta Sofia Church, one of the capital’s oldest churches, which dates back to the 6th century AD.
18. The Danube River flows through Bulgaria. It is the second longest river in Europe after the Volga in Russia, at 1,770 miles (2,850 km) long.
19. One of Bulgaria’s most famous landmarks is the Aleksander Nevski Cathedral, an enormous church built between 1882 and 1912. The church was built in honor of 200,000 Russians who died fighting for Bulgarian independence during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78.
20. Bulgaria is one of the countries least impacted by terrorism, recording no measurable impact over the past five years.
21. The UNESCO-listed Rock-Hewn Churches of Ivanovo are a collection of churches, chapels, monasteries, and cells carved into a network of caves dug by hermits. They were constructed during the 12th century with murals, including a Last Supper scene, added in the 14th.
22. Bulgaria’s Pirin National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is famous for its 176 lakes, waterfalls, caves and coniferous forests. It’s also home to 45 mammal species, including bears, wolves, and jackals, 159 bird species, eight species of amphibians, 11 species of reptiles and six fish species.
23. Bulgaria is the world’s fastest-shrinking country. Its population was around 9 million in the late 1980s but fell to below 7 million in 2018. It is predicted to fall below 6 million in the next 50 years.
24. Formed over 230 million years ago, the Belogradchik Rocks are famous for resembling people, animals and objects. Adam and Eve, the Bear, the Camel, the Monks, the Mushroom, and the Shepherd Boy are just some of the named natural formations that reach up to 200m (656ft) high.
25. In 1978, writer Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian defector and anti-Communist, died after being injected with poison from the tip of an umbrella by Bulgarian secret agents in London.
26. Bulgaria has the third-highest smoking rate in Europe, with 38.8% of people aged 15 and over smoking daily.
27. One of Bulgaria’s most unusual buildings is the Buzludzha Monument, better known as “Bulgaria’s UFO”. The now-abandoned facility was constructed in the 1970s and served as the seat of the Bulgarian Socialist Party until communism was abandoned in 1989.
28. According to the 2021 census, 69.5 percent of the Bulgarian population are Eastern Orthodox Christians. Saints Cyril and Methodius, who influenced the religion of the Slavic people, are venerated in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
29. Hristo Stoichkov, nicknamed “The Dagger”, is considered the greatest football player in Bulgaria. He was a top scorer in the World Cup in 1994 and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1999.
30. Bulgaria has had one Nobel Prize winner. The 1981 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Elias Canetti “for writings marked by a broad outlook, a wealth of ideas and artistic power.”
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Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. With seven years of teaching experience and a background in educational content, she specialises in creating clear reference resources about countries, geography and global topics.