Bulgaria
Bulgaria is located in southeastern Europe in the region generally referred to as the Balkans. About the same size as Tennessee, it amounts to 110,912 square kilometers (42,823 square miles) of land. The total population is about 7.85 million people with almost 70 percent living in urban areas. Reflecting economic concerns and changing social attitudes, the population shows signs of decline.
Approximately 86 percent of the population are ethnic Bulgarians, about nine percent are ethnic Turks, and the remaining six percent are Roma, Jews, and others. Several thousand persons self-identify as ethnic Macedonians. Around 85 percent of Bulgarians call themselves Eastern Orthodox Christians. Approximately 13 percent of all Bulgarians are Muslims, fewer than 1 percent are Jews, and fewer than 0.5 percent declare themselves Roman Catholics, Iniate Catholics, or a variety of Protestant denominations. Bulgarian is the official language. The nation's literacy rate is a high 98 percent.
Brief Political History
Bulgaria was established in CE 681. Marked throughout most of its history by cycles of violence and political turmoil, the Ottoman Empire (1299–1922) ruled Bulgaria from 1396 to 1878. Liberated by the Russian Army and volunteers from other countries, Bulgaria became independent again in 1879, and its leaders created what was by European standards of the day a remarkably democratic constitution.
