Bulgaria Population, Main Cities and Geography

By | January 27, 2023

Bulgaria: population and cities

Population

According to Countryaah website, Bulgaria has about 7.5 million residents.

Ethnic composition

In Bulgaria there are 84% Bulgarians, 8% Turks, 5% Roma and 3% residents of other ethnic backgrounds.

Religious affiliation

In Bulgaria there are 86% Orthodox Christians, 13% Muslims, 1% other believers.

National language

Bulgarian is spoken in Bulgaria and Turkish is spoken as a minority language.

Capital, other cities

The capital of Bulgaria is Sofia with a population of around 1.2 million. According to Abbreviation Finder, BUL stands for Bulgaria in English. Click to see other meanings of this 3-letter acronym.

Other cities are:

  • Plovdiv (Plovdiv) with around 345,000 residents. The second largest city in Bulgaria in terms of population became the European Capital of Culture in 2019
  • Varna with around 314,500 residents
  • Burgas with around 193,300 residents
  • Ruse with around 162,000 residents
  • Stara Zagora with around 144,000 residents
  • Pleven with around 122,000 residents
  • Sliven with around 100,600 residents
  • Dobrich with around 100,400 residents
  • Šumen with around 89,000 residents
  • Pernik with around 86,000 residents
  • Yambol with around 83,000 residents
  • Khaskovo with around 81,000 residents

Bulgaria: geography, map

National borders

Bulgaria has a common border with a total of 1,808 km in length with a total of five countries:

  • Greece with a length of around 494 km,
  • Macedonia with a length of around 148 km,
  • Romania with a length of around 608 km,
  • Serbia and Montenegro with a length of around 318 km,
  • as well as Turkey with a length of around 240 km.

Bulgaria also has a coast to the Black Sea with a length of around 378 km. Check topmbadirectory for politics, flags, famous people, animals and plants of Bulgaria.

Area and land use

Bulgaria covers a total area of 110,099 km².

Thereof:

  • ForestAround 35% of the country is forested.
  • Meadow, pasture landAround 18% of the land is used as meadow or pasture land.
  • Arable land and fieldsAround 37% of the land is used as arable land or fields.
  • SwampThe estuary of the Kamchia just before the Black Sea is a large, unspoilt swamp area that is under nature protection.
  • MountainsThe Balkan Mountains are long, narrow, folded mountains that run through the country from west to east and include several differently named mountain ranges.

Tidal range in Burgas

In Burgas the mean tidal range is only a few decimeters. (For a detailed explanation of ebb and flow, see Tides, Ebb and Flow).

Compare

The world’s highest tidal range can be found in the Bay of Fundy in Canada, where it is up to 16 m, and at spring tide even over 20 m. The Bay of Fundy is located on the Atlantic between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which is called Nova Scotia in German and whose capital is Halifax. On the German North Sea coast it varies between 1 m and 3 m. In the western Baltic Sea, on the other hand, the tidal range is only 0.3 m, while it is barely noticeable in the eastern Baltic Sea.

Longitude and latitude

Bulgaria extends over the following geographical latitude (abbreviation Δφ) and geographical longitude (abbreviation Δλ):

Δφ = from around 41 ° to 44 ° north latitude Δλ = from around 22 ° to 28 ° east longitude

You can find detailed information on this subject under Longitude and Latitude.

Legal time

For Bulgaria, the following value applies to Central European Time (CET), i.e. the time without summer time. A minus sign means that it is earlier there, a plus sign that it is later than CET:

Δt (CET) = + 1 h

Further and detailed explanations of the time can be found under Time zones, time.

Highest level of the sun in Sofia

Sofia lies at a northern latitude of around φ = 43 °.

If the sun is at the tropic, i.e. at δ = 23.5 °, summer starts in Sofia, June 21st. Then, for the highest position of the sun at noon, according to Eq. 1 (see position of the sun):

43 ° = (90 ° – h) + 23.5 °

so:

H = 70.5 °

At 70.5 °, the sun in Sofia has the highest level of the entire year above the horizon (more precisely: above the horizon).

mountains

Musala

The highest mountain in the country is the Musala with a height of 2,925 m.

Other high mountains are:

  • Vihren with a height of 2,915 m
  • Dimitrov with a height of 2,902 m
  • Poleszhan with an altitude of 2,850 m
  • Vitosha with a height of 2,290 m

Rivers

Danube

The longest river in the country is the Danube with a total length of around 2,888 km and a “national share” of around 470 km.

The two rivers Brigach and Breg flow together near Donaueschingen in the Black Forest in Germany and from there they form the Danube. At 48 km, the Breg is the longer of the two source rivers and rises at an altitude of 1,078 m near the Martinskapelle near Furtwangen in the southern Black Forest. From here to the mouth of the Danube in the Black Sea, its length is 2,888 km. The second source river, the Brigach, has its source in the Brigach Valley near St. Gallen, also in the southern Black Forest. It is 42.7 km long to the confluence with the Breg.

Other rivers in the country are:

  • Iskur with a length of around 368 km
  • Tundja with a length of around 350 km
  • Maritsa with a length of around 322 km
  • Ossum with a length of around 314 km
  • as well as the goiter with a length of around 290 km

Lakes

Burgaser See

The country includes numerous smaller and larger lakes. The largest natural lake is the Burgaser lake with an area of about 28 km².

Iskar Reservoir

The largest reservoir is the Iskar Reservoir with an area of 30 km².

Bulgaria Population