Bulgaria is a country in southeastern Europe, and shares borders with, Romania, Serbia Macedonia, Greece and Turkey, the Black Sea is the sea border at the east. Its history started with the Thracians later the Greeks the Romans and the Ottomans The first unified Bulgarian state dates back to 681 AD, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavs during the Middle Ages. Bulgaria’s emerged since the 1980ties from communism to a democracy and a market-based economy. Bulgaria has a dynamic climate; temperature can vary significantly in different areas. The lowest recorded temperature is −38.3, while the highest is 45.2  °C.

Bulgaria’s population of 7.4 million predominantly urbanized people are spread over 28 Provinces. Most commercial and cultural activities are centered on the capital Sofia. The strongest sectors of the economy are heavy industry, power engineering, and agriculture. Bulgaria became a full member of the European Union in 2007, but still use its local currency the Leva which has a fixed rate of 1.95 the Euro.

Bulgaria is an emerging market economy in the upper middle income range, where the private sector accounts for more than 80 per cent of GDP. The economy experienced a period of rapid growth since the end of the 1980ties, but the average salary remains one of the lowest in the EU at (€419) per month in September 2014. This makes investing and trading with Bulgaria a lucrative exercise, the cost of living in Bulgaria is only 48 per cent of the average European Country. Economic activities are fostered by the lowest personal and corporate income tax rates in the EU, the second-lowest public debt of all member states at 16.5 per cent of GDP in 2012, which makes the economic outlook for Bulgaria very bright.

Bulgaria is Europe’s sixth-largest coal producer and local deposits of coal, iron, copper and lead are vital for the manufacturing and energy sectors. Top export items of Bulgaria are industrial commodities such as oil products, copper products and pharmaceuticals. Bulgaria is a net exporter of agricultural and food products and is the largest global producer of perfumery essential oils such as lavender and rose oil. Although agriculture has declined significantly in the past two decades, Bulgaria is still a strong an exporter of wine, potatoes, cereals, sunflower seeds and many other agricultural products, other exports are copper, medicine.

Tourism is a significant contributor to economic growth, Bulgaria has emerged as a travelling destination with its inexpensive resorts and beaches. Lonely Planet ranked Bulgaria among the top 10 tourist destinations in the world because of sea and winter tourism, Bulgaria inherits the rich Thracian civilization, which treasures are the bone of the cultural tourism in the country. The most important collection of the treasures of Thracian kings is unique in the world, and travels in 2015 to the Louvre in Paris.   Bulgaria houses over 200 monasteries and many churches and temples that are dating back to Byzantine times. Other attractions are Veliko Tarnovo, the Roman theaters at Plovdiv, coastal resorts Golden Sands and Sunny Beach and winter resorts Bansko, Pamporovo and Borovets. Bulgaria has a dynamic climate, temperature can vary significantly in different areas.

http://www.export.gov/bulgaria