Bulgaria Population: 7,517,973 (July 2004 est.) Capital: Sofia [ Select Another Country ]

An Introduction to Bulgaria
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. Northern Bulgaria attained autonomy in 1878 and all of Bulgaria became independent in 1908. Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria 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 the EU. The country joined NATO in 2004.

The Bulgarian Flag Three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; the national emblem formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe has been removed - it contained a rampant lion within a wreath of wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and above a ribbon bearing the dates 681 (first Bulgarian state established) and 1944 (liberation from Nazi control).

Rankings of The Most Populous Countries in the World.

1. China   2. India   3. United States   4. Indonesia   5. Brazil   6. Russia   7. Pakistan   8. Bangladesh   9. Japan 10. Nigeria

11. Mexico 12. Germany 13. Philippines 14. Vietnam 15. Egypt 16. Turkey 17. Iran 18. Ethiopia 19. Thailand 20. United Kingdom

21. France 22. Italy 23. Congo 24. Ukraine 25. South Korea 26. South Africa 27. Burma 28. Colombia 29. Spain 30. Poland

Some interesting facts and figures about Bulgaria. Pop Growth Rate / Year:     • -0.92% Avg. Life Expectancy:     • 68.14 yrs - Male     • 75.59 yrs - Female Phone Lines:     • 2,868,200 (2002) Televisions:     • 3.31 million (1997) Radios:     • 4,510,000 (1997) Internet Code:     • .bg Did you know ... People from Bulgaria are called Bulgarians