Distillers Bulgaria
A one-page guide to Bulgaria for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Sofia
- Official languages
- Bulgarian
- Currency
- Euro (EUR), adopted 1 January 2026; lev withdrawn after 31 January 2026
- Time zone
- UTC+2 (UTC+3 summer)
- Area
- 111,000 km²
People
- Population
- 6.4 million (2025)
- Population growth
- -0.1% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 74.2%
- Aged under 15
- 14.4%
- Aged 65 and over
- 22.2%
- Life expectancy
- 75.8 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$130.8 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$20,328 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 3.0963663917961% (2025)
- Inflation
- 4.58084355235697% (2025)
Climate
Varied, shaped by Mediterranean, oceanic and continental air masses; continental zone predominates, with distinct Black Sea coast and alpine zones above 1,000 m. Annual precipitation averages about 630 mm.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Legal drinking age
- 18 (selling or offering alcohol to under-18s is prohibited)
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 13.2 litres of pure alcohol (2022)
- What people drink
- Beer 43%, wine 11%, spirits 46% (2022)
- Traditional drinks
- Rakiya (grozdova grape, slivova plum, kaysieva apricot)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); Wikipedia: Bulgaria (basics, climate, ports); Wikipedia: Legal drinking age; World Bank Open Data (population, GDP, growth, inflation, area); WHO Global Health Observatory: total alcohol per capita; UN Comtrade (HS 2208 trade); EU Taxation and Customs Union: excise on alcohol; Wikipedia: Rakia; EU excise duty tables (position at 1 July 2021). Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.