Bulgaria

Bulgaria is a country in south-eastern Europe, located on the Balkan Peninsula and bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, Greece and Türkiye to the south, and the Black Sea to the east. The capital and largest city is Sofia. Bulgaria has a population of about seven-million people and operates as a parliamentary republic. The economy is classified as an upper-middle-income market economy, with key sectors including manufacturing, agriculture, energy, tourism and services. Bulgaria is a member of the European Union, having joined in 2007, and also belongs to NATO and the United Nations. The country's currency is the Bulgarian lev. Major exports include machinery, metals, chemicals, refined petroleum products and agricultural goods such as wheat and sunflower oil. Bulgaria has a significant mining sector, producing copper, lead, zinc and coal, and has historically been an industrial hub in the Balkans. Since the end of communist rule in 1989 and the transition to a market economy in the 1990s, Bulgaria has pursued economic reforms and European integration, though it remains one of the EU's less wealthy member states.