Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Prime Minister

(pronounced "SIM-e-ohn SAX KO-berg GOE-tha")

"Although I am pragmatic and realistic, I will take the liberty of dreaming of a richer, stronger, more secure, fairer and more moral Bulgaria. The road will be hard but my government and I are confident in our success."

Bulgaria is situated in the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its territory covers 110,910 sq km (42,811 sq mi). It shares borders with Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Yugoslavia, and Romania. To the east lies the Black Sea. About three-quarters of the countryside is mountainous. The country's total population was estimated in 2002 at 7.7 million. Of this number, ethnic Bulgarians comprise 83.6%; ethnic Turks9.5%; Roma 4.6%; and other groups 2.3%. Most Bulgarians (83.8%) belong to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Other religions practiced in Bulgaria are Islam (12.1%), Roman Catholicism (1.7%), and Judaism (0.8%). Most people speak Bulgarian, a Slavic language written in the Cyrillic alphabet. The...