Bulgaria Becomes 21st Nation to Join the Euro

Following the nation’s accession to the eurozone, only six EU member states use their own currencies.

A giant Euro sign is pictured at the European Central Bank headquarters ahead of an event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Single Supervisory Mechanism in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on Nov. 6, 2024. Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP via Getty Images

Bulgaria became the 21st member of the eurozone on Jan. 1, leaving only a handful of countries in the 27-member European Union yet to adopt the currency.

In the run-up to the change, price tags and bank accounts have shown both lev and euro currencies, at the fixed rate of 51 euro cents to the outgoing currency.