State system: Republic
Population: about 6.5 mil people (2021)
Capital city: Sofia (1.4 mil inhabitants)
Official language: Bulgarian, Alphabet: Cyrillic (Аа, Бб, Вв, Гг …)
Religion: Orthodox (61%), Muslim (8%), others and unaffiliated (31%)
Time zone: GMT (London) + 2 hours, Central European time (Germany) + 1 hour
Climate: Continental to Mediterranean in the South parts of the country. Four seasons – cool and wet spring, hot summer, sunny and windy autumn and cold and snowy winter.
Electricity: 220 V, 50 Hz. Standard Europlug
Entrance in the country: Most of the foreign citizens entering Bulgaria don’t need visa but they must carry their valid international passport. The list of the countries which citizens need visa, when entering Bulgaria, can be found at Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since January 1st 2025, Bulgaria is a full member of the Schengen area.
Official holidays:
January 1st – New Year’s Holiday
March 3rd – Liberation Day (Day of Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Dominion)
Easter holidays (from Friday to Monday)
• 2023: April 16
• 2024: May 5
• 2025: April 20
• 2026: April 12
• 2027: May 2
• 2028: April 16
• 2029: April 8
May 1st – Labour Day
May 6th – Gergyovden (Saint George’s Day), and the Day of the Bulgarian Army
May 24th – Day of the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius, of the Bulgarian alphabet, education and culture and of Slavic literature
September 6th – Unification of Bulgaria
September 22nd – Independence Day
December 24th – Christmas Eve
December 25th, and 26th – Christmas Days
Money exchange: You may exchange money in banks and in any of the numerous exchange offices. Some of those offices are opened during the holidays.
Exchange rates: The Bulgarian lev (BGN) is the official currency of Bulgaria. Although Bulgaria is a member of the EU, the country hasn’t adopted the Euro as a national currency yet. The BGN is pegged to the euro and the official exchange rate of the Leva against the Euro is 1.95583 Leva for 1 Euro.
Credit cards: Visa, Master Card, American Express are accepted in most of the cities, hotels and resorts. Eurocard, Maestro, Cirrus, JCB, VISA Electron are also accepted. Visa and Master Card can change through ATM.
Most of the shops work on weekends and holidays. 🙂
Important phones:
Dialling code for Bulgaria from abroad +359
Emergency number: 112
Road assistance: 146
Telephone information: (0)118 00