Bulgaria is a Republic in south eastern Europe, bounded to the north by Romania, to the west by Serbia and Macedonia, to the south by Greece and Turkey and to the east by the Black Sea. According to the last census of 2011, the population of the country is approximately 7.3 million.  The majority define themselves as Bulgarian (~77%). The constitution of Bulgaria does not specify any religion as official, however, indicates Orthodox Christianity as the traditional religion. Thereby, according to the latest census of 2011, 59.4% of the people have self-defined themselves as Orthodox Christians. The biggest minority religion is Islam, indicated by 7.8% of the population, primarily of the Turkish minority (constituting 8.8% of the population in the country), but also by Bulgarian Muslims and 1/5 of the Roma ethnic group followed by Roman Catholicism by 0.7%, Protestantism by 0.9% while the remaining 31% have declared themselves as non-believers. The capital city is Sofia. 

Bulgaria has been a member of the European Union ("EU") since January 1st 2007 and has some of the most favourable taxes in the EU including a 10% corporate income tax rate; 0% in high-unemployment areas; 10% flat tax rate on personal income; two year VAT exemption for imports of equipment for investment projects over 5 million Euro; depreciation of two years for computers and new manufacturing equipment; opportunity for R&D expenditure write-offs and 5% withholding tax on dividends and liquidation quotas (0% for EU tax residents). Bulgaria is also a full member of the Central European Free Trade Association. The local currency, the BGN Lev, has been pegged to the Euro (1.95583 BGN/€) since 1999.  It is planned to adopt the Euro as the official currency after 2012.

Since 1989, when the country began democratic reforms, Bulgaria has undergone major economic, political, and social transformation. Over the past several years, Bulgaria has made impressive progress towards long-term stability and sustained growth. As a result of sound macroeconomic policies and deep structural reforms, average output growth exceeded 6% per year from 2004 to 2008. However, the economy experienced strong inflationary pressures averaging 9.8% in 2007 and 12.5% in 2008. The global financial crisis started to apply downward pressure on growth and employment in the last quarter of 2008.  During the course of 2009, the grim forecasts for the effects of the global crisis on the Bulgarian economy largely materialized.  Although suffering less than the worse hit countries, Bulgaria recorded its worst economic results since the 1997 meltdown.  GDP shrank by around 5% and unemployment jumped.  Consumer spending and foreign investment dropped dramatically and depressed growth in 2010 to 0.3%.  Unemployment remains high around 10%. 

Educational standards within the country are high. Mineral exploration and mining were important under the communist regime, resulting in a large pool of well qualified technical staff and operating personnel.

Bulgaria is well serviced by facilities and infrastructure. Large towns have the normal facilities provided in western European countries. The country is served by an extensive network of paved roads, except in the most mountainous districts. There is also a comprehensive rail network.