Mhm. <a href="http://windowtobulgaria.blogspot.com/2010/12/and-saddest-place-in-world-relative-to.html" rel="nofollow">Brian asked the same question yesterday</a>. Measly paid jobs and chronic pessimism are just one part of the explanation. I think this may have something to do with how one excelled in life during Socialism. I'm too young to know it first hand, but basically it all came down to having the right kind of background and the necessary connections. It was the kind of mentality that one excelled not because one was smart or capable, but because one was a party member and had friends or relatives in high places. This bred pessimism and lack of motivation, since one knew that whatever one did or wished for came only second to some other peoples' wishes, who were obviously more equal than others. I have no idea how the statistical data was gathered and what people participated in the survey. Maybe the sample wasn't representative for Bulgaria's population and say only people between 30 and 50 had been questioned, so the answers turned out extremely negative. Who knows?