The Republic of Bulgaria is located at the South-eastern part of Europe, on the Balkan peninsula, covering a territory of about 111 000 sq. km. To the north it borders Romania – 609 km. (of which 470 km. are occupied by the Danube river), to the west – Serbia – 341 km., to the southwest – Macedonia – 165 km., to the south – Greece – 493 km., and to the southeast – Turkey – 259 km. To the east it borders the Black sea – 378 km.

Climate – moderate continental, in the southern parts – temperate Mediterranean. The average temperature in January ranges from -2 to 2 Сº in the plains and to -10 Сº in the mountains, in July usually goes up to 19-25 Сº in the plains and about 10 Сº in the high parts of the mountains. The rainfalls are from about 450-600 mm in the plains, up to 1300 mm in the mountains. The main rivers are – The Danube (470 km, border with Romania), Ogosta, Iskar, Vit, Osam, Yantra (all of them tributaries of the Danube River), Kamchiya, Maritza, Mesta, Struma. Plant life – deciduous and conifer forests covering 30% of the country territory. At altitude 1700m – mountain meadows and pastures.

Population – 5 560 000 citizens (July 2005). Population density – 74.3 people per sq.m. Natural growth – 5. Average lifespan: men – 68 years, women – 75 years.

Ethnic groups – Bulgarians – 85.8%, Turks – 9.7%, Gypsies – 3.4%, Russians – 0.3%, Armenians – 0.2%, others – 0.6%.  

Official language – Bulgarian.

Confessional structure – Christians – 87.0% (from them Orthodox – 98.8%, Catholics – 0.6%, Uniats – 0.1%, Protestants – 0.3%, Armenian-Gregorians – 0.2%); Muslims – 12.7% (from them Sunnites – 92.9%, Shiites – 7.1%); others – 0.3%. About 2 million Bulgarians live abroad, primarily in Ukraine, Moldavia, Russia, Romania, Greece, Macedonia, USA, Canada and others. Population in the cities – 73%.

Capital – Sofia (1 530 000 residents). Larger cities – Plovdiv (430 000 residents), Varna (389 000 residents), Burgas (240 000 residents), Russe (170 000 residents), Stara Zagora (150 000 residents), Pleven (130 000 residents), Sliven (110 000 residents), Dobrich (100 000 residents).

State structure – parliamentary republic, headed by President elected for 5 years. Constantly operating legislative body –parliament consisting of 240 members, elected for a period of 4 years. Executive authority – Council of Ministers (government), presided by Prime Minister.

Currency  - lev (Lv) = 100 stotinki

Facts about Bulgarians and everything Bulgarian – Bulgarians have fascinating folklore music and beautiful folk dances popular throughout the world. A Bulgarian folklore song performed by Valia Balkanska has traveled in space on the board of "Voyager". The folklore choir “The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices” which performs traditional for the culture songs is famous all over the world. Our national musical instruments are back pipe, kaval, gadulka.

 Football is the most popular sport in Bulgaria. The greatest success ever in this sport was the 4^th place on the world championship in USA in 1994. The most renowned football player is Hristo Stoichkov who became known from “Barcelona”.

In general the Bulgarians are pretty tolerant people. According to representative sociological surveys more than 90% of the people have friends confessing different religions. In comparison to the other Balkan nations Bulgarians are more tenacious but less aggressive. They are friendly and benevolent to foreigners. Hospitality is their distinguishing feature.

One peculiarity regarding Bulgaria (sometimes quite crucial) is the particular way of head nodding when indicating “yes” or “no” – just on the contrary to all other people on earth. So before shooting somebody who have angered you with his nodding first ask him: ‘Are you Bulgarian?’

Why should I invest in Bulgaria?  - Bulgaria has everything for everyone!!! From the unique breathtaking nature combining  the fantastic sand beaches of the  Black Sea and world class ski resorts to its centuries-long history (passing from Neolithic, Thracian, Roman, Byzantine, Proto-Bulgarian and Slavic civilizations) and dynamic modern life. All these natural resources favour the investment process in the Bulgarian real estate market, especially in terms of foreign investment initiatives. The still cheap prices of the Bulgarian properties are another great incentive for making the ideal investment in a Bulgarian villa or second home, a house, or another type of property. If you really want to own property abroad, do not miss the advantageous opportunity - BULGARIA is the right choice and NOW is the right time FOR YOU to invest in real estate!!!

Useful links:

 http://www.bulgariatravel.org/ - travel around Bulgaria   

http://weather.bg/index.php - weather in Bulgaria

http://www.omda.bg/indexb.htm - the fairy tale Bulgaria

http://www.bgmaps.com/ - map of Bulgaria

http://www.government.bg/ - govenment of Bulgaria

http://www.bg-parks.net/ - parks in Bulgaria