According to the 2001 Bulgarian census, about 10 500 Vlachs were living in Bulgaria, mostly around Vidin in the north-west and in the north-eastern part of the country, in the region known as Dobrudja. Silviu Catana of the Romanian embassy in Bulgaria explains that Dobrudja (Dobrogea in Romanian) became part of Bulgaria after the end of World War 2. It had been incorporated into Romania as a result of the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest, which resulted from the Second Balkan War. Vlachs have Bulgarian nationality, but are of Romanian origin, mentality and language, Catana says. “It’s a bridge, a connection between Romania and Bulgaria – the people have had the same trials, have the same folklore, customs, they speak like Romanians, they wear the clothes of Oltenia (a south-east Romanian province).”

The same census showed about 1100 ethnic Romanians living in Bulgaria.

A notable portion of the Bulgarians living in Romania are Banat Bulgarians, a minority group that has been present in the country since the 17th century. Roman Catholic by faith, they speak a distinct version of eastern Bulgarian, greatly influenced by German, Hungarian, Romanian and Serbo-Croatian. Estimates put Banat Bulgarians at between 6500 and 12 000. The Bulgarian State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad told The Sofia Echo that Romanian data from 2002 showed 8092 Bulgarians in Romania, with unofficial estimates of Bulgarians and Romanians of Bulgarian descent being about 170 000.