Bulgaria is a member of the European Union and the Council of Europe. It is also an important energy supplier and an active participant in international organizations, such as NATO and the UN.

Religion in Bulgaria is a private affair and is not regulated by the state. The majority of Bulgarians practice Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Other religious beliefs, such as Islam and Judaism, are practiced by a minority of the population. The freedom of religion and belief is guaranteed by the Constitution of Bulgaria.

The language of Bulgaria is a Slavic fusional language. Contemporary standard Bulgarian is inflecting and agglutinating, although case inflection has largely been lost. The finite verb agrees with its subject in person and number, and in aspect and mood (present, past, perfective/aorist, and imperfective). Adjectives, on the other hand, show a great deal of morphological variation. They may be simple, compound, or adverbial, and they agree with the noun they modify in gender (masculine, feminine, and neuter). The word for definite article is the weak form attached as a suffix to the first stressed nominal constituent of the noun phrase. Bulgarian pronouns differ from English in that they agree with their subjects in tense, case, and number and have distinct forms for interrogative, negative, and summative.

Teenagers in Bulgaria generally respect elder family members and adults, but are more informal when talking to them than teens in the United States. They typically address adults by their first names and are likely to hug or kiss them upon greeting. Punctuality is valued in Bulgaria, but arriving up to 15 minutes late for a meeting or appointment is not considered a major issue and is excusable.

A typical Bulgarian breakfast consists of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate with a piece of cake or some other bread item like a sweet roll or toast. Boza, a malt-based drink, is another traditional morning beverage enjoyed by the elderly in rural areas.

It is common for teenagers in Bulgaria to get allowances from their parents. Whether or not they work outside of school is up to the individual and usually dependent on their families. In general, Bulgarian parents are not as involved in their children’s extra-curricular activities and may leave it up to their kids to make decisions about their own lives. However, they may still be supportive if their teen is interested in an activity that will help with their future career choices.