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Greeks in Bulgaria (Bulgarian:гърциGǎrci) constitute the eighth-largestethnic minority inBulgaria (Greek:ΒουλγαρίαVoulgaria). They number 1,356 according to the 2011 census.^[1] They are estimated at around 25,000 by Greek organizations^[2] and around 28,500 by the Greek government.^[3] These larger estimates include theSarakatsani community, the descendants of the post-WWII Greek emigrants, and other Greek citizens living in Bulgaria as students, businessmen, consorts etc. Today, Greeks mostly live in the large urban centres likeSofia andPlovdiv, but also in the coastal zone.

Historically, the presence of a Greek population in what is today Bulgaria dates to the 7th century BC, whenMilesians andDorians founded thrivingGreek colonies on theBulgarian Black Sea Coast, often on the site of earlierThracian settlements.^[4] Maritimepoleis likeNesebar (ΜεσημβρίαMesembria),Sozopol (ΑπολλωνίαApollonia),Pomorie (ΑγχίαλοςAnkhialos) andVarna (ΟδησσόςOdessos)^[4] controlled the trade routes in the western part of theBlack Sea and often waged wars between each other.

Prior to the early 20th century, there was a small Greek minority in Southeastern Bulgaria, living largely between Varna to the north,Topolovgrad to the west and the Black Sea to the east, with a scattered rural population in the inland regions of theStrandzha andSakar mountains.^[2] The Greek-inhabited places in Strandzha and Sakar were the towns ofTopolovgrad (Greek:Καβακλί, Kavakli) andElhovo (Greek:Κιζίλ Αγάτς, Kizil Agats), and 10 villages in that area.^[5] However, a large part of this population, the so-calledKariots (Greek:Καρυώτες),^[6] is regarded by some ethnographers (includingKonstantin Josef Jireček) as having been only Greek-identifying, but of Bulgarian origin.^[7]Raymond Detrez deems this theory improbable, since the Kariots are a rural population.^[8] Greek communities also existed in Plovdiv (Greek:Φιλιππούπολη, Filippoupoli), Sofia (Greek:Σόφια, Sofia),Asenovgrad (Greek:Στενήμαχος, Stenimachos),Haskovo (Greek:Χάσκοβο, Chaskovo), andRousse (Greek:Ρούσε, Rouse), among others.^[2] In 1900, the Greeks in Bulgaria numbered 33,650.^[9]

Following the anti-Greek tensions in Bulgaria in 1906 and thePolitis–Kalfov (1924) andMollov–Kafantaris (1927)population exchange agreements afterWorld War I, the bulk of the Greek-speaking population in Bulgaria was forced to leave for Greece and was substituted byBulgarians fromWestern Thrace andGreek Macedonia.^[10] Among the few exceptions were some of theSarakatsani, mainly inSliven (Greek:Σλίβεν, Sliven) andKotel (Greek:Κότελ, Kotel), estimated at 4,107 in 2006^[11] and a small group of Greek speakers with Bulgarian self-consciousness. This group, living inSuvorovo (Greek:Κοζλουτζά or Σουβόροβο, Kozloutza or Souvorovo), and two nearby villages, according to the Bulgarian ethnographer Anastas Angleov: "...They themselves used to say [to their Bulgarian-speaking neighbours]: We are Bulgarians, but we speak Greek...".^[7]

From the 19th century the Greek communities on the coastal areas were thriving as they financed and maintained several religious and cultural buildings and institutions: churches, schools of all grades, libraries and press. Until the early 20th century, there were a total of 117 churches and 8 monasteries maintained by Greeks in Bulgarian territory, while a number of Greek dioceses were located in coastal cities and in particular inPomorie,Varna,Nesebar andSozopol.^[12] The most prosperous communities were that of Varna, with seven Greek schools that hosted ca. 1,200–1,500 students in 1907, and of Plovdiv, with a total of eight schools. Among them, theZariphios in Plovdiv, established at 1875, became one of the most well known Greek educational institutions of the region.^[13]

• Georgios Kleovoulos (c. 1785–1828), scholar and educator, from Plovdiv
• Anastasios Polyzoidis (1802–1873), politician born inMelnik
• Vlasios Skordelis (1835-1898), writer born inAsenovgrad
• Christos Tsountas (1857–1913), archaeologist, fromAsenovgrad
• Filippos Nikoglou (1871–1953), doctor and Greek patriot, fromAsenovgrad
• Christos Tsigiridis (1877–1947), electrical engineer and technological pioneer
• Konstantinos Dimitriadis (1879–1943), sculptor born inAsenovgrad
• Kostas Varnalis (1884–1974), poet born inBurgas (Pyrgos)
• Giorgios Gounaropoulos (1890–1977), artist born inSozopol
• Apostolos Nikolaidis (1896–1980), athlete andPanathinaikos legend, fromPlovdiv (Philippoupoli)
• Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis (1913–1975), architect born inAsenovgrad
• Tomas Lafchis (b. 1958), football goalkeeper and businessman
• Vicky Almazidu (b. 1956), jazz singer who sings withMilcho Leviev
• Giorgos Manthatis (b. 1997), footballer born inSofia
• Nikolaos Tsitiridis (b. 1994), comedian, writer and late-night talk show host (Bulgarian mother)

• Immigration to Bulgaria
• Bulgarians in Greece
• Grecomans
• Eastern Rumelia
• Bulgaria-Greece relations
• Sarakatsani
• Nestinarstvo
• Zariphios School
• Lyalevo

• Daskalova-Zhelyazkova, Nevena (1989).Karioti (in Bulgarian).Sofia:Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.OCLC21482370.
• Valchinova, Galya (1998). "Greek Population and Greek Ethnic Identity in Bulgaria. A Contribution to the History of an Unidentified Minority".Historical Future (in Bulgarian) (2).

• Greek embassy in Bulgaria(in Greek and Bulgarian)

• Ethnic groups in Bulgaria
• Greek diaspora by country
• Bulgarian people of Greek descent

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• Articles containing Bulgarian-language text
• Articles containing Greek-language text
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• Articles with Bulgarian-language sources (bg)