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Travelling to Bulgaria

Bulgaria · local––:––
Country card

Bulgaria, essentials

Data as of 1 Oct 2026
monthly release

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01

Power

Type C · F · 220 V
Plug types
Type C
Type F
Sockets in Bulgaria
Voltage
220 V
Frequency
50 Hz
02

Money

€ EUR
Currency
€ EuroCode EUR
Converter
88.51EUR
1 USD = 0.8851 EURReference rate on 1 Oct 2026, European Central Bank. Approximate, for budgeting.
Price level
estimate Household consumption price level 46.7 (US = 100), 2025. A macro estimate (ICP), not a shopping basket.
03

Time

UTC+3
Local time
––:––Europe/Sofia
Time zone
UTC+3Clocks change for summer time.
From you
Computed in your browser from your device's clock and the IANA time zones.
04

Getting around

Drive on the right
Driving side
Drive on the right
Speed limits in
km/h
Measurements
Metric
Temperature
°C
05

Talk

Bulgarian
Official
Bulgarian
Spoken by
Bulgarian100%
English25%
Russian23%
Turkish11%
German8%
estimate Share of the population (Unicode CLDR estimates).
06

Call

+359
Calling code
+359
Emergency
112All emergencies, Police, Ambulance, Fire · European emergency number, free of charge everywhere in the EU.
166Police · National short number for the police, used in parallel with 112 (national numbering plan, Communications Regulation Commission).
150Ambulance · National short number for the emergency medical service, used in parallel with 112 (national numbering plan, Communications Regulation Commission).
160Fire · National short number for fire safety and civil protection, used in parallel with 112 (national numbering plan, Communications Regulation Commission).
Each number is checked against an official source.
07

Go

EU member
EU
Schengen area memberUses the euro
Visa rules

Coming later: needs a human-written, sourced note. Until then, use the official entry links above.

08

When

Climate · holidays
Climate
-5°5°15°25°1000 mmJFMAMJJASONDWarmest Jul 22.1 °C · coldest Jan -0.2 °C · wettest Jun 75 mm. Monthly normals 1991–2020.
Show the values
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSeptOctNovDec
°C-0.21.85.810.615.719.822.122.117.412.27.01.5
mm504348527075594247625556
Next holidays
  • Thu, 24 Dec 2026Christmas Eve · Бъдни вечер
  • Fri, 25 Dec 2026Christmas Day · Рождество Христово
  • Sat, 26 Dec 2026Christmas Day · Рождество Христово
  • Mon, 28 Dec 2026Christmas Day (observed) · Рождество Христово (почивен ден)
Public holidays · School holidays on NextBreak
09

Formats

1.10.26 г. · A4
Dates
1.10.26 г.Example: 1 Oct 2026, written the local way.
Week starts
Monday
Numbers
1234,5
Paper
A4
Weekend
Saturday – Sunday
10

Basics

Sofia · .bg
Capital
Sofia
Population
6.4m2025
Area
111,000 km²2024
Government
Parliamentary republicHead of state: Iliana Iotova · since 23 Jan 2026 human review pendingHead of government: Rumen Radev · since 8 May 2026 human review pendingOffice-holders from Wikidata.
Internet domain
.bg
EU member since
1 Jan 2007
Dive deeper · I

Bulgaria on the map

Capital
Sofia
Area
111,000 km² 2024
Density
59 2024
Urban
74.2% 2025
Forest
36.4% 2024
Time zone
UTC+3
Population structure

22.2% are 65 or older

Age groups as a share of each sex, 2025.

80+70-7460-6450-5440-4430-3420-2410-140-4MenWomen
Show the values
AgeMen %Women %
0–44.94.3
5–95.14.5
10–145.44.8
15–195.54.9
20–245.04.4
25–294.94.3
30–346.05.4
35–397.66.7
40–447.66.7
45–498.37.4
50–548.07.3
55–597.16.8
60–646.56.6
65–695.96.8
70–745.06.7
75–793.96.0
80+3.46.5
Dive deeper · II

Trends since 2000

Each line runs from the first to the latest year available; the dot marks the latest value.

01
Population2000–2025 · ranks #30 of 43 (2025)
6.4m2025
02
Life expectancy at birth2000–2024 · ranks #39 of 43 (2024)
75.82024
03
GDP per capita at purchasing power parity2000–2025 · ranks #35 of 42 (2025)
$44,4512025
04
Inflation, consumer prices2000–2025 · ranks #5 of 42 (2025)
4.6%2025
05
Unemployment rate2000–2025 · ranks #13 of 43 (2025)
3.5%2025
06
Carbon dioxide emissions per person2000–2024 · ranks #20 of 43 (2024)
5.31 t2024
Rank · GDP per capita at purchasing power parity, 2025

#35 of 42 Full ranking →

#1#42
Dive deeper · III

Economy & society

Economy
Gross domestic product$130.8bn2025 · ranking
GDP per capita$20,3282025 · ranking
GDP per capita at purchasing power parity$44,4512025 · ranking
GDP growth3.1%2025 · ranking
Inflation, consumer prices4.6%2025 · ranking
Unemployment rate3.5%2025 · ranking
Price level of household consumption46.72025 · ranking
Trade (exports plus imports)102.5%2025 · ranking
Current health expenditure7.9%2023 · ranking
Society
Population6.4m2025 · ranking
Population growth-0.13%2025 · ranking
Population density592024 · ranking
Urban population74.2%2025 · ranking
Median age estimate44.82025 · ranking
Population aged 65 and over22.2%2025 · ranking
Life expectancy at birth75.82024 · ranking
Fertility rate1.722024 · ranking
Infant mortality rate4.62024 · ranking
Net migration-3k2025 · ranking
International migrant stock4.4%2024 · ranking
Surface area111,000 km²2024 · ranking
Forest area36.4%2024 · ranking
Protected areas35.6%2025 · ranking
GDP at purchasing power parity$286bn2025 · ranking
GNI per capita (Atlas method)$17,7802025 · ranking
Labour force participation rate56.1%2025 · ranking
Foreign direct investment, net inflows3.7%2025 · ranking
Human Development Index0.8452023 · ranking
Maternal mortality ratio62023 · ranking
Government expenditure on education4.5%2022 · ranking
Individuals using the internet82.4%2024 · ranking
Mobile cellular subscriptions118.12024 · ranking
Access to electricity100.0%2024 · ranking
Clean electricity share71.9%2025 · ranking
Carbon dioxide emissions per person5.31 t2024 · ranking
Total greenhouse gas emissions46.7 Mt2024 · ranking
Fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5)19.72023 · ranking
Government effectiveness0.132025 · ranking
Control of corruption-0.292025 · ranking
Rule of law-0.052025 · ranking
Corruption Perceptions Index402025 · ranking
Liberal democracy index0.502025 · ranking
Dive deeper · IV

Memberships, in order

From the organisations' official member lists.

  1. 1955UNJoined 14 Dec 1955
  2. 2004NATOJoined 29 Mar 2004
  3. 2007EUJoined 1 Jan 2007
  4. 2022OECDMember since 2022
  5. 2025SchengenJoined 1 Jan 2025
  6. 2026Euro areaJoined 1 Jan 2026
Dive deeper · V

Compare Bulgaria with

Bulgaria vs France Bulgaria vs Italy Bulgaria vs Romania Bulgaria vs Spain Bulgaria vs Japan Bulgaria vs United States Bulgaria vs Türkiye
Sources for this page

Where every figure comes from

Methodology · Report an error

  • The World Bank: World Development Indicators (original producer named per indicator), CC BY 4.0 · CC BY 4.0 · refreshed: Updated several times a year; pulled monthly
  • UN DESA Population Division, World Population Prospects 2024, CC BY 3.0 IGO · CC BY 3.0 IGO · refreshed: Biennial (next edition 2027); pulled monthly
  • UNDP Human Development Report Office, HDR 2025 data, CC BY 3.0 IGO · CC BY 3.0 IGO · refreshed: Yearly report; pulled monthly
  • Ember, Yearly Electricity Data, CC BY 4.0 · CC BY 4.0 · refreshed: Updated several times a year; pulled monthly
  • The World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators (aggregate estimates only), CC BY 4.0 · CC BY 4.0 · refreshed: Yearly (September); pulled monthly
  • Corruption Perceptions Index 2025 by Transparency International is licensed under CC BY 4.0 · CC BY 4.0 · refreshed: Yearly (February); pulled monthly
  • V-Dem v16 via Our World in Data, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · refreshed: Yearly (March); pulled monthly
  • CountryInfo, human-verified from the official sources listed per item · CountryInfo editorial content · refreshed: Reviewed monthly; numbers every 6 months
  • Unicode Common Locale Data Repository (CLDR) 48.2, © Unicode, Inc., Unicode License v3 · Unicode License v3 · refreshed: Per CLDR release
  • Wikidata (CC0); human review pending for office-holders · CC0 1.0 · refreshed: Pulled monthly
  • World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal, CRU TS 4.08 climatology 1991–2020, CC BY 4.0 · CC BY 4.0 · refreshed: Static normals; pulled monthly
  • python-holidays 0.106, © Vacanza Team and contributors, MIT licence · MIT · refreshed: Generated monthly
  • Source: European Central Bank euro reference rates (via frankfurter.dev) · ECB reuse with source acknowledgement · refreshed: Rate on the 1st of each month (monthly release)
  • Practical facts (plugs, voltage, driving side, emergency numbers, links) checked by a person against official sources on 15 Oct 2026.

Country, language and currency names come from Unicode CLDR (250 territories).