The official currency in Bulgaria is the lev. One lev is divided into 100 stotinki (singular, one stotinka). Following hyper-inflation in the mid-90s, a currency board was introduced and the lev was tied to the value of the euro and one euro is now worth 1.95 leva. Now that Bulgaria became EU member state, it is expected to accept the euro as currency in a couple of years.
Bulgaria's main financial institution is Bulgarian National Bank, which determines conditions for economic policies and regulates the work of all other financial institutions in the country.
Until 1989, all economic transactions in Bulgaria were state-controlled and the country had a centralised economy. Since the fall of communism, a market economy based on liberal market principles has been established.
Average salaries in Bulgaria are still well below the EU average. As a result, foreigners in the country find the cost of living relatively low. The situation is expected to change only gradually after Bulgaria entered the EU on January 1 2007.