Back ليف بلغاري Arabic ليف بلجارى ARZ Lev AST Bolqarıstan levi Azerbaijani Леў (валюта) Byelorussian Баўгарскі леў BE-TARASK Български лев Bulgarian বুলগেরিয়ান লেভ BPY Bugarski lev BS Lev Catalan
| български лев (Bulgarian) | |
|---|---|
 The first Bulgarian banknote, 1885 | |
| ISO 4217 | |
| Code | BGN (numeric: 975) |
| Subunit | 0.01 |
| Unit | |
| Plural | levove, numeric: leva |
| Symbol | The abbreviation лв. (lv.) is used |
| Nickname | kint[1] |
| Denominations | |
| Subunit | |
| 1⁄100 | stotinka |
| Plural | |
| stotinka | stotinki |
| Symbol | |
| stotinka | ст. (st.) |
| Banknotes | 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 leva |
| Coins | 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 st., 1 lev, 2 leva |
| Demographics | |
| Date of introduction | 4 June 1880 |
| Date of withdrawal | 31 December 2025 |
| Replaced by | Euro |
| User(s) |  Bulgaria |
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | Bulgarian National Bank |
| Website | www |
| Mint | Bulgarian Mint |
| Website | www |
| Valuation | |
| Inflation | 2.2%[2] |
| Method | Consumer price index (CPI) |
| Pegged with | Euro (€) = 1.95583 leva |
| EU Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) | |
| Since | 10 July 2020 |
| 1 € = | BGN 1.95583[3] |
| Band | 15.0% de jure; 0.0% de facto |
The lev (Bulgarian: лев, plural: лева, левове / leva,[4] levove; ISO 4217 code: BGN; numeric code: 975) is the currency of Bulgaria. In early modern Bulgarian, the word lev meant "lion"; the word "lion" in the modern standard language is lаv (IPA: [ɫɤf]; in Bulgarian: лъв). The lev is subdivided into 100 stotinki (стотинки, singular: stotinka, стотинка). Stotinka in Bulgarian means "a hundredth" and is, in fact, a direct translation of the French term "centime." Grammatically, the word stotinka is derived from the Bulgarian word "sto" (сто; a hundred).
Since 1997, the Bulgarian lev has operated under a currency board arrangement, initially pegged to the Deutsche Mark at a fixed rate of 1,000 BGL = 1 DEM. Following the introduction of the euro and the redenomination of the lev in 1999, the peg was effectively set at 1.95583 BGN = 1 EUR. Since 2020, the lev has been part of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II). In November 2023, Bulgarian euro coins design was approved by the Bulgarian National Bank.[5]
Bulgaria will adopt the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2026, replacing the Bulgarian lev. [6][7]
- ^ The nickname for lev can be both kint (masc) and kinta (fem), inflected accordingly for plurals and numerical values (kinta, kinti); stotinka – which literally simply means hundreth (diminutive) – is usually shortened to stinka.
- ^ National Statistical Institute, December 2024
- ^ Bank, European Central (10 July 2020). "Communiqué on Bulgaria".
- ^ "Lev - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary". Merriam-webster.com. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- ^ "The design of future Bulgarian euro coins has been approved". Radio Bulgaria. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ "Bulgaria meets criteria to join the euro area on 1 January 2026". 4 June 2025.
- ^ url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2025/07/08/bulgaria-ready-to-use-the-euro-from-1-january-2026-council-takes-final-steps/