Bulgaria
Bulgaria is one of the 193 UN member states, in Eastern Europe. UN Tourism counted 12.6 million international arrivals there in 2019, more visited than 81% of the 199 places with figures, so its stamp in Globestamp is printed in Foil.
- International arrivals
- 12.6 millionin 2019, UN Tourism
- Rank by visitors
- 39th of 199most visited first
- Stamp finish
- Foilrarer than 19%
- Area
- 112,569 km² (43,463 sq mi)
- Population
- 7 millionNatural Earth estimate
- Provinces
- 28in Globestamp’s regions layer
- Airports
- 4with scheduled flights
- World Heritage Sites
- 9on Globestamp’s list
Does Bulgaria count as a country?
Yes. Bulgaria is one of the 193 UN member states, so every common list counts it: the UN’s 193, Globestamp’s 250 and the Travelers’ Century Club’s 330.
| List | Counts Bulgaria? |
|---|---|
| UN member states (193) | Yes, a member |
| Globestamp’s countries and territories (250) | Yes |
| Travelers’ Century Club (330) | Yes, as Bulgaria |
| European Union | Yes, a member state |
| Schengen area | Yes, since 1 January 2025 |
The Bulgaria stamp
Every country in Globestamp has its own stamp, drawn after a real entry stamp. Its finish shows how few travelers get there. Bulgaria’s is Foil: a hot-stamped foil block in the ink’s own colour, the finish for places with 6 to 15 million visitors a year. With 12.6 million international arrivals in 2019, Bulgaria is more visited than 81% of the 199 places with figures. See every stamp on the stamp wall, or the rarest on the least-visited countries.
What counts as a visit to Bulgaria
The common rule among travelers is that you set foot there: an airport layover usually doesn’t count, and a port where you went ashore does. Globestamp counts Bulgaria when one of your photos was taken on its ground, or just off its coast; a photo taken from a plane never counts. Photos only at an airport make a transit stamp in lighter ink, counted only if you count layovers. Read more in how to count the countries you’ve visited.
Places in Bulgaria you can collect
Under the country itself, Globestamp keeps layers of places on your globe, and a photo taken at one ticks it. These are the ones it knows in Bulgaria, from 9 World Heritage Sites.
World Heritage Sites 9
Pirin National Park (1983) · Boyana Church (1979) · Madara Rider (1979) · Srebarna Nature Reserve (1983) · Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo (1979) · Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak (1979) · Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari (1985) · Ancient City of Nessebar (1983) · Rila Monastery (1983). On the bucket list →
National parks 3
Pirin National Park · Rila National Park · Central Balkan National Park. On the bucket list →
Ski resorts 6
Bansko · Borovets · Pamporovo · Semkovo · Tsigov Chark · Kartala ski center. On the bucket list →
Wine regions 1
Euxinograd winery. On the bucket list →
Zoos and aquariums 8
Sofia Zoo · Varna Aquarium · Dobrich Zoo · Festa Dolphinarium and 4 more. On the bucket list →
Botanical gardens 6
Botanical garden of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences · Botanical garden, Balchik · Borika Bothanical garden · Botanical garden Margarita and 2 more. On the bucket list →
Science museums and planetariums 4
National Polytechnical Museum · Astronomical Observatory and Planetarium "Nicolaus Copernicus" · Smolyan Planetarium · Astronomical observatory Gabrovo. On the bucket list →
Largest cities
| City | People (urban area) |
|---|---|
| Sofia | 1,185,000 |
| Plovdiv | 340,494 |
| Varna | 312,770 |
| Burgas | 195,966 |
| Ruse | 184,270 |
| Stara Zagora | 143,431 |
| Pleven | 118,675 |
| Sliven | 96,368 |
Airports
Bulgaria has 4 airports with scheduled flights, 4 of them large. Each is a dot on Globestamp’s airports layer, and every flight you log adds to how far you’ve flown (try the flight distance calculator).
28 provinces to fill in
Globestamp goes deeper than countries: its regions layer splits Bulgaria into 28 provinces (Natural Earth’s first-level divisions), and each one fills in when a photo was taken there.
All 28
Blagoevgrad · Burgas · Dobrich · Gabrovo · Haskovo · Kardzhali · Kyustendil · Lovech · Montana · Pazardzhik · Pernik · Pleven · Plovdiv · Razgrad · Ruse · Shumen · Silistra · Sliven · Smolyan · Sofia · Sofia · Stara Zagora · Targovishte · Varna · Veliko Tarnovo · Vidin · Vratsa · Yambol
Questions people ask
Is Bulgaria a country?
Yes. Bulgaria is one of the 193 UN member states, so every common list counts it: the UN’s 193, Globestamp’s 250 and the Travelers’ Century Club’s 330.
How many tourists visit Bulgaria a year?
UN Tourism (via the World Bank) counted 12,552,000 international arrivals in Bulgaria in 2019, the 39th most of the 199 places with figures. Countries count arrivals in different ways (some include day-trippers and cruise passengers), so treat it as a rough rank rather than an exact number of tourists.
How rare is a Bulgaria stamp in Globestamp?
It is printed in Foil, the finish for places with 6 to 15 million visitors a year, rarer than 19% of the places with figures. The fewer travelers a place receives, the rarer its finish, from plain Ink to Mythic.
Does Bulgaria count for the Travelers’ Century Club?
Yes. The Travelers’ Century Club counts it as “Bulgaria”, one of its 330 destinations.
Places as rare as Bulgaria
Near Bulgaria
Sources
- Countries, cities and regions: Natural Earth 10m admin-0 (public domain); lists as of October 2026.
- Visitors: UN Tourism via the World Bank, ST.INT.ARVL (International tourism, number of arrivals), CC BY 4.0, data updated 2026-10-08. Each country's latest year before 2020. Countries count visitors differently; use as a rough rank.
- World Heritage Sites, parks, landmarks and the bucket-list places: Wikidata (CC0), as compiled in the app, October 2026.
- Airports: OurAirports (public domain), airports with scheduled service.
- Travelers’ Century Club: the club’s list of 330 destinations, as of January 2022.