Bulgaria

• Country Name: Republic of Bulgaria
• Year Founded: In the late 7th century
• Population: 7,204,687 persons
• Primary Language: Bulgarian 84.5%
• Ethnic Make-up: Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian)
• Political System: Parliamentary democracy
• Year Entered the European Union: Entered the EU on 1 January 2007
• Representative of the European Union (include party): Meglena Kuneva; political partyà Nacionalno dviženie za stabilnost i vǎzhod (ELDR)
• Type of Economy: is free market economy
• Currency: is the Lev - or in the plural form, Leva
• Current Exchange rate for American Currency: leva (BGN) per US dollar - 1.3171
• GDP: Total: $93.8 billion; Per capita: $12,370
• Percentage of Trade within the European Union: European nations accounted for over 51 percent of Bulgaria's foreign trade exchange over the first three months of 2003, a research of the National Statistical Institute shows. Italy, Germany and Greece remain Bulgaria's top trade partners within the EU. These countries make for 63 percent of Bulgaria's exports to the union and over 64 percent of the imports.
• Unemployment Rate: 6.3%
• Chief Exports: clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels
• Key Imports: machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials
• Major Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, other Christian 1.2%, other 4%
• Surrounding Countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia 318 km, Turkey 240 km
• Literacy Rate: definition: age 15 and over can read and write; total population: 98.2%; male: 98.7%; female: 97.7%
• One Interesting Fact: Bulgaria ranks 3rd in Europe (after Greece and Italy) for its number of archaeological treasures