INTRODUCTION TO BULGARIA

Geography:
Bulgaria, Balkan Peninsula south of Romania and west of the Black Sea. Its area is 110,994 sq km (42,855 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Sofia.

Land and Resources
More than half of Bulgaria is hilly or mountainous. The Balkan Mountains cross from the northwestern corner of Bulgaria to the Black Sea, sloping gradually to a plateau in the north that ends at the country's principal river, the Danube.

Parts of the southern side of the range are fringed by a series of narrow plains, notably the Thracian Plain, an important agricultural region. In the southwest the Rila Mountains rise to a maximum elevation of 2925 m (9596 ft) at Musala, the highest peak in the Balkans. Most wildlife is confined to the mountainous southwest. Forests cover approximately one-third of Bulgaria. The main resources are agricultural, but the country also has a wealth of minerals, mainly iron ore and coal.

The People of Bulgaria:
Bulgaria's population is 8,290,988 (1997 estimate). About 85 percent of the people are ethnic Bulgarians and nearly 10 percent are Turkish. Bulgarian is the official language. Almost 90 percent of the people belong to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Some 71 percent of the people live in urban centers such as Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna. Bulgaria's literacy rate is 98 percent, and education is free and compulsory for children from ages 7 through 16.

Culture:
Over the centuries, Bulgarian culture has been influenced by Byzantine, Greek, Russian, and Western cultures. Art and architecture have been prominent since the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century). Some of the best sculpture, wood carvings, etchings, and paintings are based on traditional culture and native subjects. Bulgarian literature gained international notice beginning in the 19th century.