Country · Europe
Bulgaria
Republic of Bulgaria
Bulgaria is a country in Southeast Europe. About 7 million people live there, in an area of 110 879 square kilometres. Its capital city is Sofia.
Picture credit: Raggatt2000 (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Matti Blume (CC BY-SA 4.0) · user:MrPanyGoff (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Bulgaria?
Bulgaria lies in Southeast Europe, on the continent of Europe.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 4 787 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 354 km long.
It shares a border with 5 countries: Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Türkiye.
How big is Bulgaria?
Bulgaria covers 110 879 square kilometres.
That is about 2.7 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 103rd largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 63.4 people on every square kilometre.
That is close to the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Bulgaria?
About 7 million people live in Bulgaria.
That is the 103rd biggest population in the world.
People here speak Bulgarian.
They pay with the Bulgarian lev (лв).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 71 years.
The land of Bulgaria
The land of Bulgaria sits on average 472 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 354 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 18 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Bulgaria different?
Dishes the country is known for: Banitsa and Bob chorba.
Websites from here often end in .bg.
Bulgaria and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Bulgaria.
It takes up about 0.08 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Europe the country ranks 15th of 45 by size, and 20th by population.
Bulgaria and its neighbours
Türkiye, its largest neighbour, is about 7.1 times bigger.
Türkiye has more people: 82.3 million against 7 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 3 live wild in Bulgaria: European wildcat, Common carp and Beluga sturgeon. The highest mountain in the country is Musala, at 2 925 metres. The longest river in the country is the Iskar. The largest lake in the country is Burgas Lake.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big is Bulgaria compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 85 times as big as Bulgaria: 9 372 610 km² against 110 879 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 2.2 times as big as Bulgaria: 242 900 km² against 110 879 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Bulgaria?
The capital of Bulgaria is Sofia. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Bulgaria?
About 7 million people live in Bulgaria, which makes it the 103rd most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Bulgaria?
Bulgaria borders Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Türkiye — 5 neighbours in total.
How big is Bulgaria?
Bulgaria covers 110 879 square kilometres, making it the 103rd largest country in the world. That is about 2.7 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Bulgaria?
The highest mountain in Bulgaria is Musala, 2 925 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Bulgaria?
The longest river in Bulgaria is the Iskar, about 368 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Bulgaria?
The largest lake in Bulgaria is Burgas Lake. It covers about 28 km².
Which continent is Bulgaria in?
Bulgaria is in Europe, in the part called Southeast Europe.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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