Bulgaria

Internet country code

.bg

Internet hosts

53,421 (2004)

Internet users

630,000 (2002)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001)

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: country code - 359; 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

2,868,200 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular

2,597,500 (2002)

Television broadcast stations

39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001)

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

revenues: $8.121 billion expenditures: $8.121 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)

Currency

lev (BGL)

Currency code

BGN

Current account balance

$-1.666 billion (2003)

Debt - external

$12.05 billion (2003)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

26.4 (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 strong growth since a major economic downturn in 1996 led to the fall of the then socialist government. As a result, the government became committed to economic reform and responsible fiscal planning. A $300 million stand-by agreement negotiated with the IMF at the end of 2001 has supported government efforts to overcome high rates of poverty and unemployment.

Electricity - consumption

32.52 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports

6.79 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports

830 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - production

41.38 billion kWh (2001)

Exchange rates

leva per US dollar - 1.7327 (2003), 2.077 (2002), 2.1847 (2001), 2.1233 (2000), 1.8364 (1999) 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

$7.337 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

Italy 14.1%, Germany 10.9%, Greece 10.5%, Turkey 9.2%, France 5.1%, US 4.5% (2003)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $57.13 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 11.4% industry: 30% services: 58.6% (2003)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

4.3% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 4.5% highest 10%: 22.8% (1997)

Imports

$9.723 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities

fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles

Imports - partners

Germany 14.4%, Russia 12.6%, Italy 10.3%, Greece 6.7%, Turkey 6.2%, France 5.7% (2003)

Industrial production growth rate

6.3% (2003 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)

2.3% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

19.6% of GDP (2003)

Labor force

3.333 million (2003 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

5.804 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports

5.8 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - production

4 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

3.724 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Oil - consumption

94,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports

NA (2001)

Oil - imports

NA (2001)

Oil - production

603 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

8.1 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Population below poverty line

13.4% (2002 est.)

Public debt

48% of GDP (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold

$6.705 billion (2003)

Unemployment rate

14.3% (2003)

Area

total: 110,910 sq km land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 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-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulfur 94

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, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km, Turkey 240 km

Land use

arable land: 40.02% permanent crops: 1.92% other: 58.06% (2001)

Location

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

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 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: 16 Kozyak Street, Sofia 1407 mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, 5740 Sofia Place, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100 FAX: [359] (2) 937-5230

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Elena B. POPTODOROVA chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-0174 FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973 consulate(s): New York

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), Lidiya SHULEVA (since 24 July 2001), and Plamen PANAYOTOV (since 17 July 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and 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 and elected by the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly 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 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire)

International organization participation

ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, 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%, UDF 18.18%, CfB 17.15%, MRF 7.45%; seats by party - NMS2 120, UDF 51, CfB 48, MRF 21; note - seating as of January 2005 - NMS2 98, CfB 49, UtDF 28, MRF 20, UDF 14, New Time 13, BANU 11, independents 7

National holiday

Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)

Political parties and leaders

Bulgarian Agrarian National Union-People's Union or BANU [Anastasia MOZER]; Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB (coalition of parties dominated by BSP) [Sergei STANISHEV]; Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria or DSB [Ivan KOSTOV]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II or NMS2 [Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA]; New Time [Emil KOSHLUKOV]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Nadezhda MIKHAYLOVA]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces or UtDF (a coalition of center-right parties dominated by DSB)

Political pressure groups and leaders

Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; 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. Northern Bulgaria attained autonomy in 1878 and all of Bulgaria became independent in 1908. Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria 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 the EU. The country joined NATO in 2004.

Military branches

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$356 million (FY02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

2.6% (2003)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 1,829,203 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 1,530,657 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - military age and obligation

18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 9 months (2004)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males: 52,811 (2004 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 14.4% (male 553,801; female 526,856) 15-64 years: 68.5% (male 2,533,784; female 2,615,968) 65 years and over: 17.1% (male 535,954; female 751,610) (2004 est.)

Birth rate

9.65 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate

14.25 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Ethnic groups

Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

less than 0.1% - note: no country specific models provided (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

100 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

346 (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 21.31 deaths/1,000 live births male: 25.15 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)

Languages

Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 71.75 years male: 68.14 years female: 75.59 years (2004 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.6% male: 99.1% female: 98.2% (2003 est.)

Median age

total: 40.5 years male: 38.4 years female: 42.4 years (2004 est.)

Nationality

noun: Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian

Net migration rate

-4.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Population

7,517,973 (July 2004 est.)

Population growth rate

-0.92% (2004 est.)

Religions

Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, Jewish 0.1%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 3.4% (1998)

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: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.37 children born/woman (2004 est.)

Disputes - international

none

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

212 (2003 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 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 85 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 72 (2004 est.)

Heliports

1 (2003 est.)

Highways

total: 37,286 km paved: 35,049 km (including 324 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,237 km (2000)

Merchant marine

total: 60 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 757,972 GRT/1,115,238 DWT by type: bulk 37, cargo 7, chemical tanker 4, container 2, petroleum tanker 3, rail car carrier 2, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea/passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 registered in other countries: 45 (2004 est.)

Pipelines

gas 2,425 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2004)

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 (2003)

Waterways

470 km (2004)