Germany and Bulgaria enjoy long-standing amicable relations. Bulgaria sees Germany as a strategic partner in Europe. The large Bulgarian diaspora in Germany (approx. 440,000 people) forms an important bridge between the two countries.

Germany is Bulgaria’s leading economic partner. German companies are among the largest foreign investors in the country. The German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2023. It is the largest bilateral foreign chamber in Bulgaria. Some 4000 companies with German participation operate in Bulgaria, providing around 65,000 jobs. However, staff shortages and the migration of skilled workers to other EU member states are also affecting German companies active in Bulgaria.

The two countries enjoy long-standing intensive contacts in the schools and universities sector. Several thousand Bulgarian students are enrolled at German universities. Of the around 16,000 foreign students in Bulgaria, Germans comprise the fourth-largest group. There are about 1500 Germans studying at Bulgarian universities, especially medicine in Sofia, Varna and Plovdiv. There are over 235 partnerships between German and Bulgarian universities. Bulgaria also has several degree programmes that are offered in German.

German remains popular as a foreign language in Bulgaria: after English and Russian, it is the third most important foreign language at grammar schools (and the second most important in the cities). Thirty-seven schools are involved in programmes for intensive promotion of the German language through the partner schools network. In particular pupils in grammar schools with a focus on languages acquire very good German skills through an intensive language year in Year 8.

Bulgaria has a diverse cultural scene, although it faces some financial constraints. German organisations such as the Goethe-Institut, ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation run projects in Bulgaria.