About Bulgaria
 Bulgaria is situated in Southeastern Europe, in the northeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. Countries neighboring Bulgaria are: Greece, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia.
Under Todor Zhivkov, Bulgaria's leader from 1954 to 1989, the country became one of the most prosperous in Eastern Europe, with farmers allowed to till small private plots and industrial growth eventually contributing to over half the gross national product. The collapse of communism in 1989 left industry exposed, and the transition to democracy has been a troubled one. The renamed communist party (now the Bulgarian Socialist Party) managed to control the direction of newly democratic Bulgaria, restricting the influence of the president to troubled noises. In June 2001, the Bulgarian monarchy made an unprecedented comeback when former King Simeon II was elected prime minister. Rapid inflation, high unemployment, the lack of a social safety net and the visible wealth of sanctioned criminals have caused widespread disillusionment.
Visiting the Country
What the visitor encounters now is a country struggling valiantly to adapt and people who remain remarkably hospitable in the face of social and economic chaos. Urban Bulgaria, especially Sofia, is much changed. In the villages, however, you can still find people riding a donkey to work, and eating homegrown potatoes and home-milked cheese. The difference is that they too, settle down for an evening in front of satellite TV.
Bulgaria has a temperate climate, with cold damp winters and hot dry summers. Sofia has an average daily temperatures above 15°C (59°F) from May to September, above 11°C (51.8°F) in April and October, above 5°C (41°F) in March and November, and below freezing in December and January.
Language
The Bulgarian language is a South Slavic language written in the Cyrillic alphabet. Saints Cyril and Methodius, two brothers from Thessaloniki, invented the Cyrillic script in the 9th century and one of the strongest bonds between Bulgarians and Russians is their shared use of this alphabet. Russian is the second language of older Bulgarians and is still taught in schools. Younger people are more likely to be interested in speaking a version of English peppered with classic rock lyrics and advertising slogans. Bulgarians waggle their heads Indian-style to mean yes, and nod to mean no.
Country Facts
Full country name: Republic of Bulgaria
Area: 110,912 sq km
Population: 8.3 million
Capital city: Sofia (pop 1.1 million)
People: 85% Bulgarian, 8.5% Turkish, 2.6% Roma, 2.5% Macedonian
Language: Bulgarian. Turkish and Romany are spoken by minorities.
Religion: 85% Bulgarian Orthodox, 13% Muslim
Major Industries: Food processing, machine and metal building, electronics, chemicals, textiles, ferrous and nonferrous metals
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