Brown Bear
Brown bears roam the Rhodope and Balkan Mountains, and Bulgaria is home to one of the largest bear populations in all of Europe.
Flag of Bulgaria
Field Report
Bulgaria is a small country in southeastern Europe, tucked between the Black Sea to the east and several mountain ranges that run through its middle like a spine. It sits near Greece, Turkey, and Romania, and its cities are filled with ancient history going back thousands of years. Most of Bulgaria's people speak Bulgarian and follow Eastern Orthodox traditions, but many have never heard the true gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that changed their hearts.
From the Field Notebook
Brown Bear
Brown bears roam the Rhodope and Balkan Mountains, and Bulgaria is home to one of the largest bear populations in all of Europe.
Dalmatian Pelican
The Dalmatian Pelican, one of the world's heaviest flying birds, nests in Bulgaria's Srebarna Lake, a freshwater lake near the Danube River.
European Bison
Once extinct in the wild across Bulgaria, European bison have been carefully reintroduced into the Central Balkan National Park over the past decade.
Banitsa
Banitsa is a flaky, baked pastry filled with egg and white cheese that Bulgarians often eat warm for breakfast, sometimes with plain yogurt on the side.
Shopska Salad
Shopska salad layers fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers under a generous snowfall of crumbled white sirene cheese, and it appears on nearly every Bulgarian table in summer.
Tarator
Tarator is a chilled soup made from yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and dill that Bulgarians drink cold on hot summer days like a refreshing savory drink.
Bulgaria is the oldest country in Europe that has kept the same name since it was founded — it has been called Bulgaria since the year 681 AD.
The Cyrillic alphabet, used today by Russians, Ukrainians, Serbs, and many others, was developed in Bulgaria in the ninth century by the disciples of two Greek brothers, Saints Cyril and Methodius, who first translated the Bible into a Slavic language.
Bulgaria produces around 70 to 85 percent of the world's rose oil, a precious ingredient used in perfumes, and the annual Rose Festival in the Valley of Roses draws visitors from across the globe.
Bulgarians nod their head up and down to mean 'no' and shake it side to side to mean 'yes,' which is the opposite of what most of the world does.
The ancient city of Plovdiv in Bulgaria is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on Earth, with people living there for at least 6,000 years.
Daily Life
76
Years life expectancy
98%
Can read and write
86%
Kids go to school
Missions Field Report
Bulgaria is home to 16 distinct people groups — 5 of them haven’t yet heard about Jesus.
Most Bulgaria's people follow Christianity (82.2%). Evangelical Christians make up about 2.0% of the population.
What People Believe
Unreached People Groups
These are communities of people who haven’t had the chance to hear about Jesus yet. They need missionaries — and they need kids like you to pray for them.
Turk
510,000 people
Pomak
63,000 people
Deaf
21,000 people
Arab
11,000 people
Jewish, Bulgarian
1,200 people
Prayer Journal
Tick each one as you pray. God hears every word.