Bulgaria

Internet country code

.bg

Internet hosts

298,781 (2007)

Internet users

1.87 million (2006)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001)

Telephone system

general assessment: an extensive but antiquated telecommunications network inherited from the Soviet era; quality has improved; the Bulgaria Telecommunications Company's fixed-line monopoly terminated in 2005 when alternative fixed-line operators were given access to its network; a drop in fixed-line connections in recent years has been offset by a sharp increase in mobile-cellular telephone use fostered by multiple service providers domestic: 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; submarine cable provides connectivity to Ukraine and Russia; a combination submarine cable and land fiber-optic system provides connectivity to Italy, Albania, and Macedonia; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 2 Intelsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (2007)

Telephones - main lines in use

2.399 million (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular

8.253 million (2006)

Television broadcast stations

39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001)

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

revenues: $12.86 billion expenditures: $11.73 billion (2006 est.)

Currency (code)

lev (BGL)

Current account balance

$-5.01 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external

$26.63 billion (2006 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

31.6 (2005)

Economic aid - recipient

$742 million (2005-06 est.)

Economy - overview

Bulgaria, a former communist country that entered the EU on 1 January 2007, 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. Minerals, including coal, copper, and zinc, play an important role in industry. In 1997, macroeconomic stability was reinforced by the imposition of a fixed exchange rate of the lev against the German D-mark - the currency is now fixed against the euro - and the negotiation of an IMF standby agreement. Low inflation and steady progress on structural reforms improved the business environment; Bulgaria has averaged 5.1% growth since 2000 and has begun to attract significant amounts of foreign direct investment. Corruption in the public administration, a weak judiciary, and the presence of organized crime remain the largest challenges for Bulgaria.

Electricity - consumption

37.4 billion kWh (2006)

Electricity - exports

7.8 billion kWh (2006)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2006)

Electricity - production

45.7 billion kWh (2006)

Exchange rates

leva per US dollar - 1.5576 (2006), 1.5741 (2005), 1.5751 (2004), 1.7327 (2003), 2.077 (2002)

Exports

$15.06 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

Turkey 12%, Italy 10.4%, Germany 10%, Greece 8.2%, Belgium 6.8%, France 4.3% (2006)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP (official exchange rate)

$28.01 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$79.05 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 8.5% industry: 31.5% services: 60% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$10,700 (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

6.1% (2006 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.9% highest 10%: 25.4% (2005)

Imports

$21.87 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

Germany 15%, Italy 10.6%, Turkey 7.2%, Greece 6.3%, China 5%, France 4.9%, Romania 4.5% (2006)

Industrial production growth rate

11.3% (Third Quarter)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

7.3% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

26.2% of GDP (2006 est.)

Labor force

3.416 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 8.5% industry: 33.6% services: 57.9% (2nd qtr. 2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$10.32 billion (2006)

Natural gas - consumption

5.179 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports

5.179 billion cu m (2005)

Natural gas - production

407,000 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

5.703 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Oil - consumption

131,400 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports

51,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - imports

138,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - production

3,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

15 million bbl (1 January 2006)

Population below poverty line

14.1% (2003 est.)

Public debt

26.2% of GDP (2006 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$11.78 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$345.8 million (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$20.86 billion (2006 est.)

Unemployment rate

9.6% (2006 est.)

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-Sulfur 94, 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, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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

5,880 sq km (2003)

Land boundaries

total: 1,808 km border countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia 318 km, Turkey 240 km

Land use

arable land: 29.94% permanent crops: 1.9% other: 68.16% (2005)

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

name: Sofia geographic coordinates: 42 41 N, 23 19 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Constitution

adopted 12 July 1991

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria local long form: Republika Balgariya local short form: Balgariya

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador John Ross BEYRLE embassy: 16 Kozyak Street, Sofia 1407 mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, US Department of State, 5740 Sofia Place, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100 FAX: [359] (2) 937-5320

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) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York

Executive branch

chief of state: President Georgi PARVANOV (since 22 January 2002); Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Sergei STANISHEV (since 16 August 2005); Deputy Prime Ministers Ivaylo KALFIN, Daniel VULCHEV, and Emel ETEM (since 16 August 2005) 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 a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 22 and 29 October 2006 (next to be held in 2011); 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 reelected president; percent of vote - Georgi PURVANOV 77.3%, Volen SIDEROV 22.7%; Sergei STANISHEV elected prime minister, result of legislative vote - 168 to 67

Flag description

three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; note - the national emblem, formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe, has been removed

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 (new member), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, 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 with reservations

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 25 June 2005 (next to be held in June 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - CfB 31.1%, NMS2 19.9%, MRF 12.7%, ATAKA 8.2%, UDF 7.7%, DSB 6.5%, BPU 5.2%, other 8.7%; seats by party - CfB 83, NMS2 53, MRF 33, UDF 20, ATAKA 17, DSB 17, BPU 13, independents 4

National holiday

Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)

Political parties and leaders

ATAKA (Attack Coalition) (coalition of parties headed by the Attack National Union); Attack National Union [Volen SIDEROV]; Bulgarian Agrarian National Union-People's Union or BANU [Anastasia MOZER]; Bulgarian People's Union or BPU (coalition of UFD, IMRO, and BANU); 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]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or IMRO [Krasimir KARAKACHANOV]; 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 [Petar STOYANOV]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces or UtDF (a coalition of center-right parties dominated by UDF)

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 from the Ottoman Empire 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. The country joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007.

Manpower available for military service

males age 18-49: 1,661,211 females age 18-49: 1,660,982 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 18-49: 1,302,037 females age 18-49: 1,365,126 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually

males age 18-49: 51,023 females age 18-49: 48,651 (2005 est.)

Military branches

Bulgarian Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Bulgarian Air Forces (Bulgarski Voennovazdyshni Sily, BVVS) (2006)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

2.6% (2005 est.)

Military service age and obligation

18-27 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 9 months; as of May 2006, 67% of the Bulgarian Army comprised of professional soldiers; conscription into the Army to end as of 1 January 2008; Air and Air Defense Forces and Naval Forces became fully professional at the end of 2006; Bulgarian Armed Forces encountered difficulties meeting conscript quotas in April 2007 (2007)

Age structure

0-14 years: 13.9% (male 521,117/female 496,022) 15-64 years: 68.7% (male 2,472,424/female 2,556,102) 65 years and over: 17.4% (male 523,660/female 753,533) (2007 est.)

Birth rate

9.62 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate

14.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Ethnic groups

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

100 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

346 (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 19.16 deaths/1,000 live births male: 22.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Languages

Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72.57 years male: 68.95 years female: 76.4 years (2007 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.2% male: 98.7% female: 97.7% (2001 census)

Median age

total: 40.9 years male: 38.8 years female: 43.1 years (2007 est.)

Nationality

noun: Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian

Net migration rate

-3.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Population

7,322,858 (July 2007 est.)

Population growth rate

-0.837% (2007 est.)

Religions

Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, other Christian 1.2%, other 4% (2001 census)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.051 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.967 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.695 male(s)/female total population: 0.924 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.39 children born/woman (2007 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

214 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 131 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 95 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 83 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 72 (2007)

Heliports

4 (2007)

Merchant marine

total: 71 ships (1000 GRT or over) 833,153 GRT/1,194,660 DWT by type: bulk carrier 37, cargo 14, chemical tanker 4, container 6, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 3 (Germany 1, Ireland 1, Russia 1) registered in other countries: 39 (Comoros 1, Malta 15, Mongolia 2, Panama 1, Slovakia 7, St Vincent and The Grenadines 13) (2007)

Pipelines

gas 2,505 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2006)

Ports and terminals

Burgas, Varna

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 (2006)

Roadways

total: 44,033 km paved: 43,593 km (includes 333 km of expressways) unpaved: 440 km (2004)

Waterways

470 km (2007)