Republic of Bulgaria

Republika Bulgariya

CAPITAL: Sofia (Sofiya)

FLAG: The flag is a tricolor of white, green, and red horizontal stripes.

ANTHEM: Bulgariya mila, zemya na geroi (Dear Bulgaria, Land of Heroes).

MONETARY UNIT: The lev (LV) of 100 stotinki has coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 stotinki and 1 and 2 leva, and notes of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 leva. Lv1 = $0.5649 (or $1 = LV1.77) as of May 2003.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard.

HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Labor Days, 1–2 May; Education and Culture Day, 24 May; Christmas, 24–25 December.

TIME: 2 PM=noon GMT.

Location, Size, and Extent

Part of the Balkan Peninsula, Bulgaria has an area of 110,910 sq km (42,822 sq mi), and extends 330 km (205 mi) N–S and 520 km (323 mi) E–W. Comparatively, the area occupied by Bulgaria is slightly larger than the state of Tennessee. Bulgaria is bounded on the N by Romania, on the E by the Black Sea, on the SE...