Bulgaria - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Bulgaria. Strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia. Mother's mean age at first birth is 26.4 years (2020 est.) (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 7 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of Bulgaria
Location Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey
Geographic coordinates 43 00 N, 25 00 E
Map references Europe
Tarrain mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast
Natural Resources bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land
Natural Hazards earthquakes; landslides
Irrigated Land 987 sq km (2013)
Major rivers (by length in km) Dunav (Danube) (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 1,806 km
Border Countries Greece 472 km; Macedonia 162 km; Romania 605 km; Serbia 344 km; Turkey 223 km
Coastline 354 km
Climate temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers
Area
Total Area
Land Area 108,489 sq km
Water Area 2,390 sq km
comparative Area almost identical in size to Virginia; slightly larger than Tennessee
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Contiguous zone 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Elevations
Highest point Musala 2,925 m
Lowest point Black Sea 0 m
Mean elevation 472 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 46.9% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 29.9% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 1.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 15.5% (2018 est.)
Forest 36.7% (2018 est.)
Other 16.4% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

A fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger populations

People and Society

In Bulgaria, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Bulgarian 78.5%, Turkish 7.8%, Roma 4.1%, other 1.2%, unspecified 9.4% (2021 est.)

Population
Pop growth rate -0.66% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 7.9 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 14.2 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 8.5% of GDP (2020)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 7.5 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Total fertility rate 1.51 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 0.73 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate NA
Est married women (ages 15-49) 57.3% (2023 est.)
Literacy age 15 and over can read and write
Education expenditures 4% of GDP (2020 est.)
Net Migration rate -0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Bulgarian | Bulgarian(s)
Languages
Religions Christian 64.7%, Muslim 9.8%, other 0.1%, none 4.7%, unspecified 20.7% (2021 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 13.8% (male 479,586/female 453,423)
15-64 years 65.2% (male 2,250,962/female 2,171,279)
65 years and over 21% (2024 est.) (male 572,943/female 854,466)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 57.3
Youth dependency ratio 22
Elderly dependency ratio 35.3
Potential support ratio 2.8 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 45.1 years (2024 est.)
Male 43.3 years
Female 47 years
Urbanization
Urban population 76.7% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization -0.28% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 1.288 million SOFIA (capital) (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.67 male(s)/female
Total population 0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 7.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 8.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 76.1 years (2024 est.)
Male 72.9 years
Female 79.4 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 99.5% of population
Improved: rural rural: 97.4% of population
Improved: total total: 99% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0.5% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 2.6% of population
Unimproved: total total: 1% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 100% of population
Improved: rural rural: 100% of population
Improved: total total: 100% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 0% of population
Unimproved: total total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 11.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 4.44 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 1.72 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 4.96 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 39% (2020 est.)
Male 40.9% (2020 est.)
Female 37.1% (2020 est.)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Bulgaria

Want to know more about Bulgaria? Check all different factbooks for Bulgaria below.

Bulgaria is found in Southeast Europe