| Background |
The Bulgars, a Central
Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants
in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state.
In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine
Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the
end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the
Ottoman Turks. Bulgaria regained its independence 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 multiparty 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
water: 360 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km |
| Land boundaries |
total: 1,808 km
border countries: Greece 494 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro
318 km, Turkey 240 km |
| Coastline |
354 km |
| Climate |
temperate; cold, damp winters;
hot, dry summers |
| Elevation extremes |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 m |
| Land use |
arable land: 39%
permanent crops: 1.8%
other: 59.2% (1998 est.) |
| Irrigated land |
8,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Natural hazards |
earthquakes, landslides |
Environment
- international agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air
Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile
Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine
Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, 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-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 |
7,621,337 (July 2002 est.) |
| Age structure |
0-14 years: 14.6% (male 572,961;
female 543,004)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 2,569,199; female 2,648,461)
65 years and over: 16.9% (male 540,109; female 747,603)
(2002 est.) |
| Population growth rate |
-1.11% (2002 est.) |
| Birth rate |
8.05 births/1,000 population
(2002 est.) |
| Death rate |
14.42 deaths/1,000 population
(2002 est.) |
| Net migration rate |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate |
total population: 71.5 years
female: 75.22 years (2002 est.)
male: 67.98 years |
| Total fertility rate |
1.13 children born/woman (2002
est.) |
HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate |
0.01% (2002 est.) |
| Nationality |
noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian |
| Ethnic groups |
Bulgarian 83.6%, Turk 9.5%,
Roma 4.6%, other 2.3% (including Macedonian, Armenian,
Tatar, Circassian) (1998) |
| Religions |
Bulgarian Orthodox 83.8%, Muslim
12.1%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, Jewish 0.1%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian,
and other 2.3% (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 |
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 |
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 Georgi
PURVANOV (since 22 January 2002); Vice President Angel
MARIN (since 22 January 2002)
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers
(Prime Minister) Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA (since 24 July
2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Nikolay VASILEV (since 24
July 2001), Kostadin PASKALEV (since 24 July 2001), and
Lidiya SHULEVA (since 24 July 2001)
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 11 November and 18 November 2001 (next to be
held NA 2006); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime
minister) nominated by the president; deputy prime ministers
nominated by the prime minister
election results: Georgi PURVANOV elected president; percent
of vote - Georgi PURVANOV 54.13%, Petar STOYANOV 45.87% |
| 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 - NMS2 42.74%,
UtdDF 18.18%, CFB 17.15%, MRF 7.45%; seats by party -
NMS2 120, UtdDF 51, CFB 48, MRF 21; note - seating as
of March 2003 - NMS2 110, UtdDF 50, CFB 48, MRF 20, independents
12 |
| 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 |
Bulgarian Socialist Party or
BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB
(coalition of parties dominated by BSP) [Sergei STANISHEV];
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or VMRO
[Krasimir KARAKACHANOV]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms
or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II
or NMS2 [Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA]; People's Union or
PU (includes Bulgarian Agrarian National Union and Democratic
Party) [Anastasiya MOZER]; St. George's Day [Lyuben DILOV,
Jr.]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Ekaterina NADEZHDA];
Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United
Democratic Forces or UtdDF (a coalition between the UDF
and PU, dominated by the former) |
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, Australia Group, 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, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE,
PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UPU, WCL,
WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO,
ZC |
|
| Economy – overview |
Bulgaria, a former communist
country striving to enter the European Union, has experienced
macroeconomic stability and positive growth rates since
a major economic downturn in 1996 led to the fall of the
then socialist government. A $300 million stand-by agreement
negotiated with the IMF at the end of 2001 will help the
government maintain economic stability as it seeks to
overcome high rates of poverty and unemployment and, at
the same time, cut the budget deficit and contain inflation. |
| GDP - real growth rate |
3.4% (2002 est.) |
GDP -
composition by sector |
agriculture: 14%
industry: 29%
services: 58% (2001) |
Population
below poverty line |
35% (2000 est.) |
Inflation
rate (consumer prices) |
5.9% (2002 est.) |
| Labor force |
3.83 million (2000 est.) |
Labor
force - by occupation |
agriculture 26%, industry 31%,
services 43% (1998 est.) |
| Industries |
electricity, gas and water;
food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment,
base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum,
nuclear fuel |
| Electricity – production |
38.84 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity
- production by source |
fossil fuel: 48%
hydro: 8%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 44% |
| Electricity – exports |
3.2 billion kWh (2000) |
| Agriculture – products |
vegetables, fruits, tobacco,
livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets |
| Exports |
$5.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Exports – commodities |
|
| Exports – partners |
Italy 14%, Turkey 10%, Germany
9%, Greece 8%, Serbia and Montenegro 8% (2001) |
| Imports |
$6.9 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Imports – commodities |
fuels, minerals, and raw materials;
machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and
plastics; food, textiles |
| Imports – partners |
Russia 19.9%, Germany 15.3%,
Italy 9.6%, France 6.0% (2001) |
| Currency |
lev (BGL) |
| Currency code |
BGN |
|
| Telephones - main lines
in use |
3,186,731 (2001) *raising rapidly |
Telephones
- mobile cellular |
Near 1,800,000 *raising rapidly |
| 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) |
| Radios |
Near 5.1 million (est. 2002) |
| Televisions |
Near 4.5 million (est. 2002) |
| Internet country code |
.bg |
Internet
Service Providers (ISPs) |
More than 400
*raising rapidly |
| Internet users |
Over 1,000,000 * raising rapidly |
|
| Railways |
total: 4,294 km
standard gauge: 4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,710 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (2002) |
| Highways |
total: 37,288 km
paved: 33,786 km (including 324 km of expressways)
unpaved: 3,502 km (2001) |
| Waterways |
470 km (1987) |
| Pipelines |
petroleum products 525 km;
natural gas 1,500 km (1999) *new developments underway |
| Ports and harbors |
Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse,
Varna, Vidin |
| Merchant marine |
total: 77 ships (1,000 GRT
or over) totaling 881,758 GRT/1,312,833 DWT
ships by type: bulk 43, cargo 15, chemical tanker 4, container
2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, railcar carrier
2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea
passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 (2002 est.) |
| Airports |
3 Major Civil International
Airports: Sofia, Varna, Bourgas *new developments underway
|
|
Military
branches |
Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense
Forces (subordinate to Ministry of Defense), Internal
Forces (subordinate to Ministry of Interior), Civil Defense
Forces (subordinate to the president) |
Military
manpower - military age |
19 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military
manpower – availability |
males age 15-49: 1,873,052
(2002 est.) |
Military
manpower - fit for military service |
males age 15-49: 1,566,816
(2002 est.) |
Military
expenditures - dollar figure |
$356 million (FY02) |
Military
expenditures - percent of GDP |
2.7% (FY02) |
|
| Illicit drugs |
Major European transshipment
point for Southwest Asian heroin and, to a lesser degree,
South American cocaine for the European market; limited
producer of precursor chemicals; some money laundering
of drug-related proceeds through financial institutions.
*steady developments in reducing this crime are done by
the Government |
|
English
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