ABSTRACT
Located in southeastern Europe, north of Turkey and Greece and south of Romania, in 1988 Bulgaria's estimated population was 8.97 million people. Its land area is 110,900 square kilometres (42,800 square miles). Bulgaria, one of the oldest states in Europe, has a history which dates back to AD 681 when the central Asian Bulgars conquered part of the Balkan Peninsula and founded the First Bulgarian Kingdom. The Bulgars adopted the language and many of the customs of the conquered Slavs. Medieval Bulgaria was one of Europe's major military and cultural powers and Bulgaria flourished as a centre of Slavic culture and learning.
