Location: Balkan State, Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey

Map references: Africa, Arctic Region, Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 110,910 sq km
land area: 110,550 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries: total 1,808 km, Greece 494 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km (all with Serbia), Turkey 240 km

Coastline: 354 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers

Terrain: mostly mountains with lowlands in north and south

Natural resources: bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 34%
permanent crops: 3%
meadows and pastures: 18%
forest and woodland: 35%
other: 10%

Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: air pollution from industrial emissions; rivers polluted from raw sewage, heavy metals, detergents; deforestation; forest damage from air pollution; soil contamination from heavy metals from metallurgical plants and industrial wastes
natural hazards: subject to earthquakes, landslides
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur, Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

Note: strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia

NOTE: The information regarding Bulgaria on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Bulgaria Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Bulgaria Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.