Bulgaria: Key Facts

Facts at a glance

Source: Wikipedia: Bulgaria; BTA: Bulgaria’s population at 6,423,207 as of 31 December 2025, NSI final data; European Central Bank: Bulgaria joins the euro area; timeanddate.com: Time zone in Sofia, Bulgaria; World Standards: Plug, socket and voltage by country; European Commission: 112, the EU emergency number; State Agency Road Safety: Useful information for drivers^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7}

Bulgaria lies in the east of the Balkan Peninsula. It borders Romania along the Danube to the north, Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, and has a Black Sea coast to the east. It has been a member of NATO since 2004 and of the EU since 2007; see EU, NATO, euro and Schengen.¹

The flag

The national flag has three equal horizontal bands of white, green and red, from top to bottom. It was first adopted in 1879, after the Liberation. During the communist era it carried the state emblem; the plain tricolour was readopted on 27 November 1990, re-established by the Constitution of 1991 and confirmed by a law of 1998. Its proportions are 3:5.⁸

The coat of arms

The coat of arms, adopted in 1997, shows a crowned golden lion rampant on a dark red shield, under the crown of the medieval Bulgarian tsars. Two crowned golden lions hold the shield, which stands on crossed oak branches above a white ribbon with the motto “Unity makes strength” (Съединението прави силата).⁹

The national anthem

The anthem is “Mila Rodino” (“Dear Motherland”). Tsvetan Radoslavov wrote the words and music in 1885, during the Serbo-Bulgarian War. It was adopted in 1964, and since 12 July 1991 the official anthem has been the first verse and the chorus, which name the Balkan Mountains, the Danube, Thrace and Pirin.¹⁰