Population: 7,718,750(2005)

Capital city: Sofia

Official language: Bulgarian

Alphabet: Cyrillic

Religion: Mainly Eastern Orthodox Christianity

National holiday: March 3, the day of the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman domination (1878)

Monetary unit: the Bulgarian Lev

Administrative division: 28 regions, named after their respective regional centres.

State system: a parliamentary republic with a one-chamber parliament (National Assembly). The head of state of the republic is the President, elected for a five-year term of service. The Council of Ministers is the main body of executive power.

Relief: most diverse.

Climate: moderate continental with Black Sea influence in the east and Mediterranean in the south.