Almost 60% of the Bulgarians defined themselves as "happy", according to the "European Values Study 2008" poll, whose results were presented in Sofia on Sunday.

The poll in Bulgaria was administered by the Bulgarian Sociological Association, the Sofia University "St. Kliment of Ohrid", the Sociology Institute at the National Academy of Sciences, and the "Marketing" Agency.

The sociologists explained that the number of the persons who felt proud of being Bulgarian was on the rise, and that Bulgaria was no longer the Eastern European state with the greatest nostalgia for socialism.

On the downside, however, the levels of disappointment from the public institutions and the development of the democratic system of government have increased dramatically.

54% of the respondents have stated they had no trust whatsoever in the political parties compared to only 26% in 1999. 51,3% of them have no trust in the Parliament, and 47,1% - in the government.

The police have lost the trust of 24,4% of the Bulgarians, compared to only 13% in 1999. The situation with the education system is similar - 16% have no trust in it compared to 6,9% in 1999.

The only public institutions in which the Bulgarians have greater confidence are the Orthodox Church and the European Commission.

According to the poll, 60% of the Bulgarians approve of families, who live together without marriage.

The European Values Study is conducted in 44 European states every nine years.

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