Bulgaria

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

200 (2001)

Internet country code

.bg

Internet users

585,000 (2001)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001)

Radios

4.51 million (1997)

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)

Telephones - main lines in use

3,186,731 (2001)

Telephones - mobile cellular

1.054 million (2001)

Television broadcast stations

39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001)

Televisions

3.31 million (1997)

Agriculture - products

vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets

Budget

revenues: $5.57 billion expenditures: $5.68 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Currency

lev (BGL)

Currency code

BGN

Debt - external

$10.3 billion (2001 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

26 (2001)

Economic aid - recipient

$300 million (2000 est.)

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.

Electricity - consumption

34.42 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports

3.2 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports

1.5 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production

38.84 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 48% hydro: 8% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 44%

Exchange rates

leva per US dollar - 2.2147 (January 2002), 2.1847 (2001), 2.1233 (2000), 1.8364 (1999), 1,760.36 (1998), 1,681.88 (1997) 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

Exports

$5.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities

clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels

Exports - partners

Italy 14%, Turkey 10%, Germany 9%, Greece 8%, Serbia and Montenegro 8% (2001)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $50.6 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 14% industry: 29% services: 58% (2001)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

3.4% (2002 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 5% highest 10%: 23% (1997)

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)

Industrial production growth rate

2% (2002 est.)

Industries

electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel

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.)

Population below poverty line

35% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate

18% (2002 est.)

Area

total: 110,910 sq km water: 360 sq km land: 110,550 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly larger than Tennessee

Climate

temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers

Coastline

354 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Musala 2,925 m

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-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

Geographic coordinates

43 00 N, 25 00 E

Geography - note

strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia

Irrigated land

8,000 sq km (1998 est.)

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

Land use

arable land: 39% permanent crops: 1.8% other: 59.2% (1998 est.)

Location

Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

contiguous zone: 24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM

Natural hazards

earthquakes, landslides

Natural resources

bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land

Terrain

mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast

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

Capital

Sofia

Constitution

adopted 12 July 1991

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador James William PARDEW embassy: 1 Suborna Street, Sofia 1000 mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100 FAX: [359] (2) 981-89-77

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Elena POPTODOROVA consulate(s): New York FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973 telephone: [1] (202) 387-7969 chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

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%

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)

Government type

parliamentary democracy

Independence

3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire)

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

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)

Legal system

civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

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

National holiday

Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

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.

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 expenditures - dollar figure

$356 million (FY02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

2.7% (FY02)

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 manpower - military age

19 years of age (2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males: 56,104 (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.)

Birth rate

8.05 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate

14.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Ethnic groups

Bulgarian 83.6%, Turk 9.5%, Roma 4.6%, other 2.3% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (1998)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.01% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

less than 100 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

346 (2000)

Infant mortality rate

14.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Languages

Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 71.5 years female: 75.22 years (2002 est.) male: 67.98 years

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 98% (1999)

Nationality

noun: Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian

Net migration rate

-4.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Population

7,621,337 (July 2002 est.)

Population growth rate

-1.11% (2002 est.)

Religions

Bulgarian Orthodox 83.8%, Muslim 12.1%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, Jewish 0.1%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 2.3% (1998)

Sex ratio

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.)

Total fertility rate

1.13 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Disputes - international

because of a shift in the Danube course since the last correction of the boundary in 1920, a joint Bulgarian-Romanian team will recommend sovereignty changes to several islands and redefine the boundary

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

Airports

215 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 128 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 92 (2002) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 87 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 75 (2002)

Heliports

1 (2002)

Highways

total: 37,288 km paved: 33,786 km (including 324 km of expressways) unpaved: 3,502 km (2001)

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.)

Pipelines

petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1,500 km (1999)

Ports and harbors

Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin

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)

Waterways

470 km (1987)