Bulgaria is situated on the Balkan Peninsula, in south-eastern Europe. It is bounded by Romania on the north, by the Black Sea on the east, by Turkey and Greece on the south, and by the FYROM and Yugoslavia on the west. The territory of the country takes up 110 993,6 sq. km. The capital of Bulgaria is Sofia (1 250 000 citizens). Bigger cities are Plovdiv (344 000 citizens), Varna (301 000 citizens), Bourgas (199 000 citizens), Rouse (168 000 citizens), Stara Zagora (150 000 citizens) and Pleven (125 000 citizens). The population of the country is approximately 7 500 000 citizens. Bulgaria is one of the comparatively densely populated European countries.

Demogaphics

According to the 2001 census, Bulgaria's population is mainly ethnic Bulgarian (83.9%), with two sizable minorities in the form of Turks (9.4%) and Roma (4.7%). The remaining 2% consist of several smaller minorities including Armenians, Russians, Romanians, Ukrainians, Greeks, and Jews. 84,8% of the Bulgarian population speak Bulgarian, a member of the Slavic languages, which is the only official language, but other languages are spoken, corresponding closely to their respective ethnic minorities. Most Bulgarians (83.9%) are at least nominally a member of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the national Eastern Orthodox church. Other religious denominations include Islam (12.1%), Roman Catholicism (1.7%), Judaism (0.8%), with Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other faiths numbering 1.6%.