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. Population: 8,428,006 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 is Eastern Orthodox, 13% are Muslims. The Bulgarian Church is autonomous and headed by a Patriarch. State Government: Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic. 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)