Bulgaria

    three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; note - the national emblem, formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe, has been removed

   coat of arms 

The history of Bulgaria as a separate country began in the 7th century with the arrival of the Bulgars and the foundation of the First Bulgarian Empire together with the local seven Slavic tribes, a union recognized by Byzantium in 681. A country in the middle of the ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse Balkan Peninsula, Bulgaria has seen many twists and turns in its long history and has been a prospering empire stretching to a coastline on the Black, Aegean and Adriatic Seas and a cultural centre of Slavic Europe, but also a land long dominated by a foreign state, once by the Byzantine Empire and once by the Ottoman Empire. See the history section to the left.

Languages:
Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria

Government type:
parliamentary democracy

Capital:
Sofia

Administrative divisions:
28 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast); Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Khaskovo, Kurdzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Shumen, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofiya, Sofiya-Grad, Stara Zagora, Turgovishte, Varna, Veliko Turnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Yambol

Independence:
3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire)

National holiday:
Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)

Constitution:
adopted 12 July 1991

Legal system:
civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Elena B. POPTODOROVA
chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 387-0174
FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973

consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York
consulate(s): Los Angeles

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John R. Beyrle
embassy: 16 Kozyak Street, Sofia 1407
mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, 5740 Sofia Place, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100
FAX: [359] (2) 937-5230 

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

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