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Guide
Introduction
| |
| Background: |
Bulgaria earned its
independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, but having fought on the
losing side in both World Wars, it fell within the Soviet sphere of
influence and became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination
ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multi-party election since
World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward
political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation,
unemployment, corruption, and crime. Today, reforms and democratization
keep Bulgaria on a path toward eventual integration into NATO and the EU
- with which it began accession negotiations in 2000. |
| Location: |
Southeastern Europe,
bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
43 00 N, 25 00 E |
| Area: |
total: 110,910
sq km
land: 110,550 sq km
water: 360 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly larger than
Tennessee |
| Land
boundaries: |
total: 1,808 km
border countries: Greece 494 km, The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Yugoslavia 318 km, Turkey
240 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous zone:
24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
temperate; cold, damp
winters; hot, dry summers |
| Terrain: |
mostly mountains with
lowlands in north and southeast |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 m |
| Natural
resources: |
bauxite, copper, lead, zinc,
coal, timber, arable land |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 43%
permanent crops: 2%
permanent pastures: 14%
forests and woodland: 38%
other: 3% (1999 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
12,370 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
earthquakes, landslides |
| Environment
- current issues: |
air pollution from industrial
emissions; rivers polluted from raw sewage, heavy metals, detergents;
deforestation; forest damage from air pollution and resulting acid rain;
soil contamination from heavy metals from metallurgical plants and
industrial wastes |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to: Air
Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Geography
- note: |
strategic location near
Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and
Asia |
| Population: |
7,707,495 (July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
15.11% (male 597,765; female 567,030)
15-64 years: 68.17% (male 2,588,805; female 2,665,736)
65 years and over: 16.72% (male 543,665; female 744,494)
(2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
-1.14% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
8.06 births/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
14.53 deaths/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-4.9 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.06
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
14.65 deaths/1,000 live
births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
71.2 years
male: 67.72 years
female: 74.89 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.13 children born/woman
(2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.01% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
less than 100 (1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Bulgarian 83%, Turk 8.5%,
Roma 2.6%, Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Gagauz, Circassian, others
(1998) |
| Religions: |
Bulgarian Orthodox 83.5%,
Muslim 13%, Roman Catholic 1.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Jewish 0.8%,
Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 1% (1998) |
| Languages: |
Bulgarian, secondary
languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown |
| Literacy: |
definition: age
15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 99%
female: 98% (1999) |
| Country
name: |
conventional long form:
Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria |
| Government
type: |
parliamentary democracy |
| Administrative
divisions: |
28 provinces (oblasti,
singular - oblast); Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Khaskovo,
Kurdzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven,
Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Shumen, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofiya,
Sofiya-Grad, Stara Zagora, Turgovishte, Varna, Veliko Turnovo, Vidin,
Vratsa, Yambol |
| Independence: |
3 March 1878 (from Ottoman
Empire) |
| National
holiday: |
Liberation Day, 3 March
(1878) |
| Constitution: |
adopted 12 July 1991 |
| Legal
system: |
civil law and criminal law
based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of state:
President Petar STOYANOV (since 22 January 1997); Vice President Todor
KAVALDZHIEV (since 22 January 1997)
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers
(Prime Minister) Ivan KOSTOV (since 19 May 1997); Deputy Prime Minister
Petur ZHOTEV (since 21 December 1999)
cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the National
Assembly
elections: president and vice president elected on the same
ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 27
October and 3 November 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); chairman of the
Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by the president; deputy
prime ministers nominated by the prime minister
election results: Petar STOYANOV elected president; percent
of vote - Petar STOYANOV 59.73% |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral National Assembly
or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve
four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 June 2001 (next to be held NA June
2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - National Movement for Simeon II 120, UDF 51, BSP 48, DPS 21 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme Administrative Court;
Supreme Court of Cassation; Constitutional Court (12 justices appointed
or elected for nine-year terms); Supreme Judicial Council (consists of
the chairmen of the two Supreme Courts, the Chief Prosecutor, and 22
other members; responsible for appointing the justices, prosecutors, and
investigating magistrates in the justice system; members of the Supreme
Judicial Council elected for five-year terms, 11 elected by the National
Assembly and 11 by bodies of the judiciary) |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Alliance for National
Salvation or ANS (coalition led mainly by Movement for Rights and
Freedoms or MRF) [Ahmed DOGAN]; Bulgarian Business Bloc or BBB [Georgi
GANCHEV]; Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Georgi PURVANOV, chairman];
Democratic Left or DL (bloc led by BSP, includes Ecoglasnost Political
Club and Bulgarian Agrarian National Union) [leader NA]; Euro-left [Aleksandur
TOMOV]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or UMRO [Aleksander
KARAKACHNOV]; Kingdom of Bulgaria Federation [leader NA]; Movement for
Rights and Freedom or DPS [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II
[Simeon II, former king]; New Civic Party for Bulgaria [Bogomil BONEV];
People's Union or PU (includes Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union and
Democratic Party) [Anastasiya MOZER]; St. George's Day [Lyuben DILOV];
Union of Democratic Forces or UDF (an alliance of pro-democratic
parties) [Ivan KOSTOV] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
agrarian movement; Bulgarian
Democratic Center; Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria
or CITUB; Democratic Alliance for the Republic or DAR; New Union for
Democracy or NUD; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional,
ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas |
| International
organization participation: |
ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI,
CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS
(observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE,
UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Philip DIMITROV
chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 387-7969
FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973
consulate(s): New York |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Richard M. MILES
embassy: 1 Suborna Street, Sofia
mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of
State, Washington, DC 20521-5740
telephone: [359] (2) 980-52-41
FAX: [359] (2) 981-89-77 |
| Flag
description: |
three equal horizontal bands
of white (top), green, and red; the national emblem formerly on the
hoist side of the white stripe has been removed - it contained a rampant
lion within a wreath of wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and
above a ribbon bearing the dates 681 (first Bulgarian state established)
and 1944 (liberation from Nazi control) |
| Economy
- overview: |
Bulgaria, a former communist
country struggling to enter the European market economy, suffered a
major economic downturn in 1996 and 1997, with triple digit inflation
and GDP contraction of 10.6% and 6.9%. The current government - which
took office in May 1997 after pre-term parliamentary elections -
stabilized the economy and promoted growth by implementing a currency
board, practicing sound financial policies, invigorating privatization,
and pursuing structural reforms. Additionally, strong assistance from
international financial institutions - most notably the IMF which
approved a three-year Extended Fund Facility worth approximately $900
million in September 1998 - played a critical role in turning the
economy around. After several years of tumult, Bulgaria's economy has
stabilized. Its better-than-expected economic performance in 1999 -
despite the impact of the Kosovo conflict, the 1998 Russian financial
crisis, and structural reforms - and strong growth in 2000 portends
solid growth over the next few years; this assumes continued fiscal
restraint, additional structural reforms, aid from abroad, and
prosperous times in the EU economy. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $48
billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
5% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$6,200 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 29%
services: 56% (2000 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
35% (2000 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 22.5% (1995) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
10.4% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
3.83 million (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 26%, industry
31%, services 43% (1998 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
17.7% (2000 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $4.85
billion
expenditures: $4.92 billion, including capital expenditures
of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Industries: |
electricity, gas and water;
food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals,
chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
10.8% (2000 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
36.217 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
51.52%
hydro: 8.35%
nuclear: 40.12%
other: 0.01% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
33.182 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
2.2 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
1.7 billion kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
vegetables, fruits, tobacco,
livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets |
| Exports: |
$4.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000
est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
clothing, footwear, iron and
steel, machinery and equipment, fuels |
| Exports
- partners: |
Italy 14%, Turkey 10%,
Germany 9%, Greece 8%, Yugoslavia 8%, Belgium 6%, France 5%, US 4%
(2000) |
| Imports: |
$5.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000
est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
fuels, minerals, and raw
materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and
plastics; food, textiles |
| Imports
- partners: |
Russia 24%, Germany 14%,
Italy 8%, Greece 5%, France 5%, Romania 4%, Turkey 3%, US 3% (2000) |
| Debt
- external: |
$10.4 billion (2000 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$1 billion (1999 est.) |
| Exchange
rates: |
leva per US dollar - 2.0848
(January 2001), 2.1233 (2000), 1.8364 (1999), 1,760.36 (1998), 1,681.88
(1997), 177.89 (1996)
note: on 5 July 1999, the lev was redenominated; the post-5
July 1999 lev is equal to 1,000 of the pre-5 July 1999 lev |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
3.255 million (2000) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
596,000 (2000) |
| Telephone
system: |
general assessment:
extensive but antiquated
domestic: more than two-thirds of the lines are
residential; telephone service is available in most villages; a fairly
modern digital cable trunk line now connects switching centers in most
of the regions, the others are connected by digital microwave radio
relay
international: direct dialing to 58 countries; satellite
earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 2 Intelsat
(Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 24, FM 93, shortwave 2
(1998) |
| Radios: |
4.51 million (1997) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
96 (plus 1,030 repeaters)
(1995) |
| Televisions: |
3.31 million (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.bg |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
26 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
200,000 (2000) |
| Railways: |
total: 4,294 km
standard gauge: 4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,710 km
electrified; 917 km double track)
narrow gauge: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (1998) |
| Highways: |
total: 36,724 km
paved: 33,786 km (including 314 km of expressways)
unpaved: 2,938 km (1999) |
| Pipelines: |
petroleum products 525 km;
natural gas 1,500 km (1999) |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse,
Varna, Vidin |
| Merchant
marine: |
total: 81 ships
(1,000 GRT or over) totaling 938,706 GRT/1,440,374 DWT
ships by type: bulk 44, cargo 16, chemical tanker 4,
container 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 6, railcar carrier 2,
refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea passenger 1,
specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports: |
215 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total: 128
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 92 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 87
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 10
under 914 m: 75 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Army, Navy, Air and Air
Defense Forces, Civil Defense Forces, Internal Troops |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
19 years of age |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age 15-49:
1,891,498 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 15-49:
1,581,697 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males: 56,104
(2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$344 million (FY00) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
2.4% (FY00) |
| Illicit
drugs: |
major European trans
|
|
