What do you know about Bulgaria?
Rakia is Bulgaria’s national drink.
Bulgaria is the only country in Europe that hasn’t changed its name.
Eager to find out more fun facts about Bulgaria? keep reading! 
Here’s a list of Bulgaria-related things you did not know about.

Interesting and fun facts about Bulgaria-Rakia is Bulgaria’s national drink

Rakia is a fruit brandy that can be made out of practically any kind of fermented fruit grapes, plums, and apricots are most frequently used as a raw material. 

Interesting and fun facts about Bulgaria-Mark Zuckerberg, has Bulgarian roots.

Mark Zuckerberg, has Bulgarian roots.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is of Bulgarian descent.
Zuckerberg told that he was very proud of his Bulgarian origin and was named after his Bulgarian grandfather Marko, on his mother's side. 
Marko was a rich man who escaped Bulgaria in 1944.

Interesting and fun facts about Bulgaria-Bulgaria is the only country in Europe that hasn’t changed its name 

Bulgaria is the only country in Europe that hasn’t changed its name since it was first established. This happened in 681 AD.
A peace treaty with Byzantium in 681 and  mark the beginning of the First Bulgarian Empire.  the establishment of a permanent Bulgarian capital at Pliska south of the Danube.

Interesting and fun facts about Bulgaria-The Old Bulgarian Calendar Is The Oldest In The World

The Old Bulgarian Calendar Is The Oldest In The World, Recognized By UNESCO.
This is an extremely old system of counting and a very accurate way of rounding off numbers, which shows that ancient Bulgarians had a certain level of mathematical knowledge, supplementing their knowledge of astronomy.
The ancient Bulgarian calendar was circular in shape, and inside the circle, there were 12 constellations, named after animals.
The Bulgarian calendar is more accurate than the Gregorian calendar and only a few seconds apart from the astronomical calendar. 

Interesting and fun facts about Bulgaria-Background

The capital of Bulgaria, Sofia.
The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state.

Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1990.

Interesting and fun facts about Bulgaria-Population

: 6,970,009

Languages : The country's official language is Bulgarian. It is written using the Cyrillic alphabet.Bulgarian (official) 77%, Turkish 8%, Romani 4%.
St. Clement of Ohrid - a Bulgarian,the inventor of the Cyrillic alphabet. This alphabetic writing system is employed across Eastern Europe.

Ethnic groups : Bulgarian 77%, Turkish 8%, Romani 5%, other 1% (including Russian, Armenian, and Vlach).
Religions : the majority of Bulgarian citizens identify as Eastern Orthodox Christians 60%, Muslim 8%, other (including Catholic, Protestant, Armenian Apostolic Orthodox, and Jewish) 2%.

Life expectancy:  male: 71.8 years female: 78.5 years.


Hospital bed density:  7.5 beds/1,000 population

Education expenditures: 4% of GDP

Literacy:   total population: 98.4%

Hospital bed density:  7.5 beds/1,000 population

Education expenditures : 4% of GDP
Literacy:   total population: 98.4%.

Interesting and fun facts about Bulgaria-Geography of Bulgaria

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

Area:  total: 110,879 sq km   land: 108,489 sq km  water: 2,390 sq km

Bulgaria  Coastline:  354 km

Land use:  arable land: 30%    forest: 37%

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

Interesting and fun facts about Bulgaria-Bulgarian former athlete Stefka Kostadinova holds the world record .

Bulgarian former athlete Stefka Kostadinova holds the world record .
on August 30, 1987, Bulgaria’s athlete Stefka Kostadinova set a new high jump world record at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.
Her world record of 2.09 metres has not been beaten since 1987.

Interesting and fun facts about Bulgaria-Bulgaria is the homeland of yogurt.

Bulgaria is considered to be the homeland of yogurt.
A Bulgarian doctor, named Stamen Grigorov, made this revolutionary foundation for a completely new culture of living.It is also credited with producing the healthiest yogurt in Europe, thanks to a unique bacteria native.
The word ‘yogurt’ is derived from the words for ‘thick’ and ‘milk’ in ancient Thracian.
Bulgarian people use yogurt to make many dishes. 

Interesting and fun facts about Bulgaria-Bulgaria is one of the world's biggest exporter of rose oil

Bulgaria is one of the world's biggest exporter of rose oil
Bulgaria, is also called “the land of roses”. Bulgaria is world number 1 producer of rose oil – from the rare rose type Rosa Damascena. 
Bulgaria’s tradition of producing essential rose oils in the Rose Valley dates back to the 17th century.

Interesting and fun facts about Bulgaria-Bulgarians shake their head when they mean to say “yes

Bulgarians shake their head when they mean to say “yes
It is the reality. Bulgarians shake their head side to side (much as other countries would shake for "no") for agreement, and to say yes.
The custom of nodding for "no" and shaking from side-to-side for "yes" persists in Bulgaria to the present day. 
In Bulgarian, "da" means yes and "ne"  means no.

Interesting and fun facts about Bulgaria-Bulgaria is one of the largest exporter of bottled wine in the world

Bulgaria is one of the largest exporter of bottled wine in the world.(it was the world's fourth largest wine exporter in 1980s).
In the Bulgarian wine industry, traditional classic technologies are applied
The annual average production Bulgarian wine ranges between 200-220 million liters.

Interesting and fun facts about Bulgaria-Peter Petroff, the inventor of the first digital wristwatch.

Peter Petroff, the inventor of the first digital wristwatch.
The prototype of the electronic wristwatch is created by Peter Petrov, Bulgarian.
Peter Petrov was born in Berkovitsa on 21 October 1919.

Georgi Nadjakov - discovered the photoelectret state essential to modern photocopying.

I