Country Profiles » Bulgaria

Country Profile: Bulgaria

Country Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Greece 1:1,000,000 Scale Topographic MapsHellenic Military Geographical Service1:1,000,0005
Yugoslavia 1:750,000 Scale Topographic MapsVojnogeografski Institut1:750,0001968 – 19682

Geoscientific
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Bulgaria 1:50,000 Scale Geological MapsBulgarian National Geological Survey1:50,0002004 – 200434
Romania 1:500,000 Scale Geological Maps (12 Sheets)Comitetul Geologic1:500,0001964 – 19641
Bulgaria 1:500,000 Scale Geological Map (2 sheets)Committee of Geology, Department of Geophysical Prospecting and Geological Mapping1:500,0001989 – 19891
Romania 1:1,000,000 Scale Geological Map (2 sheets)Institut de Geologie Si Geofizica1:1,000,0001978 – 19781
Romania 1:1,000,000 Scale Metallogenic MapInstitut de Geologie Si Geofizica1:1,000,0001969 – 19691

Thematic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
The World 1:30,000,000 Scale Topographic Map Series 1145 (NGA)DMA1:30,000,0002

Global Census Archive: GIS Census Data

East View Geospatial has an ongoing effort to add GIS census data to our Global Census Archive program. Please contact us for the status and availability of Bulgaria census resources.


Global Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military City PlansVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)Varies1944 – 20033017
Soviet Military 1:100,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:100,0001947 – 199924897
Soviet Military 1:200,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:200,0001949 – 200917799
Soviet Military 1:500,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:500,0001953 – 19983093

Nautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
NGA Nautical Charts POD Certified (All Scales)National Geospatial-Intelligence AgencyVaries1943 – 20134517

Aeronautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Joint Operations Graphic (JOG) 1:250,000 – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:250,0001958 – 20074204
Tactical Pilotage Chart (TPC) 1:500,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:500,0001967 – 2006598
Operational Navigation Chart (ONC) 1:1,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:1,000,0001969 – 2001243
Jet Navigation Chart (JNC) 1:2,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:2,000,0001971 – 1999117
Global Navigation and Planning Chart (GNC) 1:5,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:5,000,0001981 – 199927

Geoscientific
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military 1:1,000,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:1,000,0001948 – 19941089

Note: East View Geospatial is continuously sourcing new resources that may not yet be listed in Global Explorer. Please contact us if you have geodata needs beyond what is listed above and we will be happy to discuss available off-the-shelf and custom solutions.


Historical Country Mapping Information

Jump to: Topographic | GIS/Vector | Geological/Scientific | Atlas | Tourist/Reference | Census/Demography/Statistics

Topographic

A modern topographic map series of Bulgaria at 1:25,000 scale on the Gauss─Krϋger projection was initiated in the 1930s, and continued after the socialist revolution in 1944 to be completed in 1952. Some derived mapping was published at 1:50,000 and 1:100,000 scales. In 1951, the General Board of Geodesy and Cartography (GUGKK) was established, and during the 1950s and 1960s, military mapping was brought into conformity with the Soviet 1942-system specifications. Large-scale mapping of the country was also undertaken at a scale of 1:5,000 for the more settled areas and 1:10,000 for high mountain areas.

Soviet military topographic mapping of Bulgaria is available at the following scales: 1:1,000,000 (4 sheets, complete coverage, published 1981-1990); 1:500,000 (9 sheets, complete coverage, published 1978-1989); 1:200,000 (36 sheets, complete coverage, published 1977-1987); 1:100,000 (109 sheets, complete coverage, published 1976-1989); 1:50,000 (354 sheets, complete coverage, published 1978-1993) and city (1:10,000) topographic mapping of 21 major cities from Blagoevgrad to Yambol published between 1963 and 1988. These products are available in print, digital raster and digital vector GIS formats from East View Geospatial.

The present civilian mapping authority is the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction, Sofia. Mapping of the whole territory is complete at 1:25,000 and smaller scales, and there is also complete cover at either 1:5,000 or 1:10,000 scale, with over 1,000 sheets published. The projection is Gauss─Krϋger, Krassovsky ellipsoid. Urban maps have been produced at 1:1,000 and 1:5,000 scales.

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GIS/Vector

In 1991, a joint Canadian-Bulgarian company was established, DataMap Europe Ltd., with an office in Sofia, and this desktop mapping consultancy has produced digital vector data in MapInfo and ARC/INFO format for government clients in Bulgaria. These include data sets of the country as a whole at 1:500,000 or 1:300,000 scale resolution, and detailed digital data (1:5,000 and 1:2,000) for Sofia and a number of other cities. The latter include subsets of streets, buildings, water features, land use zones, municipal boundaries and postal codes.

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Geological/Scientific

Earth science mapping has been published by the former Committee of Geology and Mineral Resources and the Geological Institute ‘Strashimir Dimitrov’, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS). Several small-scale geological maps, some of recent origin and in English, are available, and a new 1:100,000 scale geological series in 86 sheets was completed in 1998. This series is digital and plotted in color on demand. Digital mapping of some areas has also been undertaken at 1:25,000 scale. There are many private mining companies in Bulgaria, some of which, for example, Geology and Geophysics Inc., also undertake geological mapping.

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Atlas

A good source of thematic data, which is still available although now very dated, is the national atlas ─ Atlas narodna Republika Balgarija ─ produced jointly by BAS and GUGKK. This atlas was started in 1964 and published in 1973. It is in bound form and contains more than 250 maps at scales mainly of 1:1,000,000 or 1:500,000. These cover a broad range of themes including physical, resource, economic and social aspects of the country. The descriptions are in Bulgarian only.

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Tourist/Reference

The principal commercial map publisher in Bulgaria is Cartographia Ltd., Sofia, which provides a wide range of maps and atlases for the tourist market and the general public. It also publishes maps for educational use, including wall maps, historical school maps and globes. City maps are published for almost all significant towns, and there is a street atlas of Greater Sofia. Other maps include a series of recently-published tourist maps of mountain areas, including three 1:100,000 scale map sets of long-distance European footpaths, and tourist maps of Black Sea resorts.

Many of the tourist, road and city maps of Bulgaria are in Cyrillic script, but a growing number of externally produced maps are becoming available in latin script including those from Cartographia, Hungary (also badged by HarperCollins), Karto+Grafik (K+G) and Panstowe Przedsiebiorstwo Wydanictw Kartograficznch (PPWK), Poland.

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Census/Demography/Statistics

The National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria collects and disseminates statistical information about the Bulgarian population and economy.

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