Bulgaria

RepublikaBalgariya

Political Status: Communist constitution of May 18, 1971, substantially modified on April 3, 1990; present name adopted November 15, 1990; current democratic constitution adopted July 12, 1991.

Area: 42,823 sq. mi. (110,912 sq. km).

Population: 7,694,576 (2012E—UN); 7,037,935 (2012E—U.S. Census). More than 900,000 Bulgarians have emigrated since 1989.

Major Urban Centers (2005E): SOFIA (1,194,000), Plovdiv (337,000), Varna (323,000), Bourgas (213,000), Rousse (182,000).

Official Language: Bulgarian.

Monetary Unit: Lev (market rate November 5, 2012: 1.53 leva = $1US). The lev is pegged to the euro, which Bulgaria hopes to adopt as its official currency, at the rate of 1.95583 leva = 1 euro.

President: Rosen Plevneliev (elected as the candidate of the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria [GERB], from which he resigned following his election); sworn in for a ...