World Factbook
Bulgaria
Republika Bulgaria
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
108,489 sq km
water
2,390 sq km
total
110,879 sq km
Climate
temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers
Terrain
mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast
Land use
other
17.7% (2023 est.)
forest
36.2% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
46.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 32.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 1.3% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 12.7% (2023 est.)
Location
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey
Coastline
354 km
Elevation
lowest point
Black Sea 0 m
highest point
Musala 2,925 m
mean elevation
472 m
Irrigated land
929 sq km (2016)
Map references
Europe
Land boundaries
total
1,806 km
border countries
Greece 472 km; Macedonia 162 km; Romania 605 km; Serbia 344 km; Turkey 223 km
Maritime claims
contiguous zone
24 nm
territorial sea
12 nm
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Natural hazards
earthquakes; landslides
Geography - note
strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia
Natural resources
bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land
Area - comparative
almost identical in size to Virginia; slightly larger than Tennessee
Geographic coordinates
43 00 N, 25 00 E
Population distribution
a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger populations
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage
(Black Sea) Danube (795,656 sq km)
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