Bulgaria has the lowest income per capita in the group of Eastern European countries with the exception of Macedonia and Albania is one of the conclusions of the Millenium Development Goal Initial Report, Bulgaria 2003.

Incomes in Bulgaria are approximately 10 times lower than in the EU countries and twice as low as the other acceding countries and unemployment is approximately two times higher than in EU countries, according to the report.

Another conclusion of the report is that a Bulgarian wome earns 72 cents for evry dollar a Bulgarian man earns. Also, many people believe that a larger participation of women in governance is not necessary.

The millennium development goals for Bulgaria are to halve extreme poverty and malnutrition, improve primary and secondary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, limit the spread of HIV/AIDS, syphilis and tuberculosis, ensure environmental sustainability and develop a partnership for development.

The deadline for the achievement of the above goals is set for 2015.

UNDP takes a leading role in global and local coordination efforts for MDG advocacy, monitoring, and implementation. The purpose of the MDG Report is to raise public awareness, promote debate on development challenges for Bulgaria and forge stronger alliances between government, civil society, media, private sector and the general public for overcoming these challenges.

The official launch of the Millennium Development Goal Initial Report, Bulgaria 2003, took place March 27. Deputy Prime Minister and Social Minister Lidia Shuleva and United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative Marta Ruedas presented the report.

The report is illustrated with photos from students who participated in a contest titled "Millennium Challenges and Bulgaria". A special video clip on the MDG and UN role was presented at the beginning of the event.