Bulgaria is situated in Southeast Europe and occupies the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula.
To the north it borders on Romania, to the west on the Republic of Macedonia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to the east on the Black Sea, to the south on Greece and to the southeast on Turkey's European part.
Area: 111.000 sq km. Relief is extremely varied: large plains and lowlands, low and high mountains, valleys and lovely gorges.

The Climate is Temperate continental with clearly marked four seasons. A Mediterranean influence is felt in the country's southern regions. The average annual temperature is 10.5°C. The average January temperature is around O°C. Average summer temperatures rarely exceed 30°C.

Population: 7,973,673

Language: Bulgarian.
English, German, French and Russian is spoken in the country's resorts, hotels and restaurants.

Alphabet: Cyrillic. Signs along international motorways, in airports and resorts are also spelled in Roman letters.

Religion: 86.6% of the population are Orthodox Christians, 13% are Muslims. The Bulgarian Church is autonomous and headed by a Patriarch.

State government: Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic with democratic government.

Official holidays:
January 1 - New Year
March 3 - Bulgaria's Liberation from Ottoman rule - the National Day
Easter - one week after the Catholic Easter
May 1 - Labour Day
May 6 - Bulgarian Army Day
May 24 - Day of Bulgarian Enlightenment and Culture and the Slav Script
September 6 - Bulgaria's Unification
September 22 - Independance Day
December 25-26 - Christmas

Capital
Sofia (pop. 1,141,000)