Bulgaria
From WikiKnowledge
Bulgaria (България) is a country in the southeast of Europe. The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in year 681 to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Northern Bulgaria attained autonomy in 1878 and all of Bulgaria became independent in 1908. Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multiparty election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on a path toward eventual integration into the EU. The country joined NATO in 2004.
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[edit] Flag
Three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red. The national emblem, formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe, has been removed.
[edit] Economy
Bulgaria, a former communist country striving to enter the European Union, has experienced macroeconomic stability and strong growth since a major economic downturn in 1996 led to the fall of the then socialist government. As a result, the government became committed to economic reform and responsible fiscal planning. Minerals, including coal, copper, and zinc play an important role in industry. In 1997, macroeconomic stability was reinforced by the imposition of a fixed exchange rate of the lev against the German D-mark and the negotiation of an IMF standby agreement. Low inflation and steady progress on structural reforms improved the business environment; Bulgaria has averaged 4% growth since 2000 and has begun to attract significant amounts of foreign direct investment. Corruption in the public administration, a weak judiciary, and the presence of organized crime remain the largest challenges for Bulgaria.
[edit] Football
The Best football team for all times is CSKA Sofia - 30 times champion. "The killer of European champions" smashed teams like Ajax, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Inter and many more. Many great players like Stoichkov, Penev, Kostadinov, Letckhov, Nikodimov, Jakimov, Jekov, Denev was CSKA Sofia players.
