1987 Edition

Boundary disputes

none; Macedonia question with Greece and Yugoslavia

Climate

temperate; cold, damp winters, hot, dry summers

tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers

Coastline

354 km

Comparative area

slightly larger than Ohio

about the size of Colorado

Environment

subject to earthquakes, landslides; deforestation

recent droughts and desertification severely affecting marginal agricultural activities, population distribution, economy; overgrazing; deforestation

Extended economic zone

200 nm

Land boundaries

1,883 km total

3,307 km total

Land use

34% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures; 35% forest and woodland; 10% other; includes 11% irrigated

10% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 87% meadows and pastures; 26% forest and woodland; 27% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Special notes

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

landlocked

Terrain

mostly mountains with lowlands in north and south

mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in south

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

125 km Stara pSOFIA Zagora, Piovdiv - Blagoevgrad

110,910 km?; land area: 110,550 km?

274,200 km?; land area: 273,800 km?

Ethnic divisions

85.3% Bulgarian, 8.5% Turk, 2.6% Gypsy, 2.5% Macedonian, 0.3% Armenian, 0.2% Russian, 0.6% other

more than 50 tribes; principal tribe is Mossi (about 2.5 million); other important groups are Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, and Fulani

Infant mortality rate

20.2/1,000 (1983)

182/1,000 (1984)

Labor force

4,113,546 (1983); 34% industry, 22% agriculture, 44% other

90% agriculture; 10% industry, commerce, services, and government; about 30,000 are wage earners; about 20% of male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment

Language

Bulgarian; secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown

French (official); tribal languages belong to Sudanic family, spoken by 50% of the population

Life expectancy

men 69, women 74

42

Literacy

95% (est.)

7%

Nationality

noun—Bulgarian(s); adjective—Bulgarian

noun—Burkinabe; adjective— Burkinabe

Organized labor

four principal trade union groups represent less than 1% of population

Population

8,960,749 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 0.08%

8,276,272 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.42%

Religion

regime promotes atheism; religious background of population is 85% Bulgarian Orthodox, 18% Muslim, 0.8% Jewish, 0.7% Roman Catholic, 0.5% Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other

65% indigenous beliefs, about 25% Muslim, 10% Christian (mainly Catholic)

Administrative divisions

27 okrugs (districts); capital city of Sofia has equivalent status

30 provinces; 250 departments

Branches

legislative (National Assembly); judiciary, Supreme Court

President is an army officer; military council of unknown number; 21-member military and civilian Cabinet; judiciary

Capital

Sofia

Ouagadougou

Communists

932,055 party members (April 1986) Mass organizations and front groups: Fatherland Front, Dimitrov Communist Youth Union, Central Council of Trade Unions, National Committee for Defense of Peace, Union of Fighters Against Fascism and Capitalism, Committee of Bulgarian Women, All-National Committee for Bulgarian-Soviet Friendship

small Communist party front group; some sympathizers

Elections

held every five years for National Assembly; last election held in June 1986; more than 99% of electorate voted Political parties and leaders: Bulgarian Communist Party, Todor Zhivkov, General Secretary; Bulgarian National Agrarian Union, a puppet party, Petur Tanchev, secretary of Permanent Board

political process suspended; no talk of returning to constitutional rule Politica] parties and leaders: all political parties banned following November 1980 coup

Government leaders

Todor Khristov ZHIVKOV, Chairman, State Council (President and Chief of State; since July 1971); Georgi Ivanov ATANASOV, Chairman, Council of Ministers (Premier; since March 1986)

Cdr. Thomas SANKARA, President (since August 1983)

Legal system

based on civil law system, with Soviet law influence; new constitution adopted in 1971; judicial review of legislative acts in the State Council; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

based on French civil law system and customary law

Member of

CEMA, FAO, IAEA, ICAO, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMO, IPU, ITC, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO; Warsaw Pact, International Organization of Journalists, International Medical Association, International Radio and Television Organization

AfDB, CEAO, EAMA, ECA, EIB (associate), Entente, FAO, GATT, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB—Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, NAM, Niger River Commission, OAU, OCAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday

National Liberation Day, 9 September

Independence Day, 4 August

Official name

People’s Republic of Bulgaria

Burkina Faso (since August 1984)

Other political or pressure groups

committees for the defense of the revolution, watchdog/ political action groups established by current regime throughout the country in both organizations and communities

Suffrage

universal and compulsory over age 18

none

Type

Communist state

military; established by coup on 4 August 1983

Agriculture

mainly self-sufficient; main crops—grain, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, sheep, hogs, poultry, cheese, sunflower seeds

cash crops—peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, cotton; food crops—sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock; food deficiency

Aid

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF (1970-84), $1.8 billion; US authorized, including Ex-Im (FY70-85), $223 million; Communist countries (1970-85), $64 million

Budget

revenues, $220 million; current expenditures, $148 million; development expenditures, $16] million (1983)

Crude steel

2.9 million metric tons produced (1985), 324 kg per capita

Electric power

11,298,000 kW capacity; 45,000 million kWh produced, 4,956 kWh per capita (1986)

73,000 kW capacity; 159 million kWh produced, 22 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$ 13.8 billion (f.o.b., 1986 est.); 54% machinery and equipment; 19% agricultural products; 10% fuels, mineral raw materials, and metals; 10% manufactured consumer goods; 7% other

$110 million (f.o.b., 1983); livestock (on the hoof), peanuts, shea nut products, cotton, sesame

Fiscal year

calendar year

calendar year

Fishing

catch 121,000 metric tons (1983)

catch 7,000 metric tons (1983 est.)

GDP

$1.1 billion, $170 per capita; real growth, - 1.3% (1983)

GNP

$57.8 billion, $6,460 per capita; real growth rate, — 0.8% (1985)

Imports

$14.1 billion (f.0.b., 1986 est.); 47% fuels and minerals, 33% machinery and equipment, 5% chemicals, 4% manufactured consumer goods, 11% other (1982)

$230 million (f.0.b., 1983); textiles, food, and other consumer goods, transport equipment, machinery, fuels Major trade partners; lvory Coast and Ghana; overseas trade mainly with France and other EC countries; preferential tariff to EC and franc zone countries

Major industries

food processing, machine and metal building, electronics, chemicals

agricultural processing plants, brewery, bottling, and brick plants; a few other light industries

Major trade partners

56% USSR, 19% other Communist countries, 25% nonCommunist countries

Monetary conversion rate

0.95 leva=US$1 (July 1986)

about 331.24 Communauté Financiére Africaine (CFA) francs=US$1 (November 1986)

Natural resources

bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, lignite, lumber

manganese, limestone, marble, gold, antimony, copper, nickel, bauxite, lead, phosphates

Shortages

some raw materials; scattered energy and food shortages in 1985

Airfields

380 total; 15 with runways 2,500 m or longer

56 total, 51 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 6 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

65 major transport aircraft

Freight carried

rail—82.9 million metric tons, 18.1 billion metric tons/km; highway—914 million metric tons, 17.1 billion metric tons/km; waterway—4.0 million metric tons, 2.0 billion metric tons/km (1985)

Highways

36,336 km total; 33,042 km hard surface (including 211 km superhighways); 3,294 km earth roads (1984)

16,500 km total; 1,300 km paved, 7,400 km improved, 7,800 km unimproved Civil] air: 1 major transport aircraft

Inland waterways

471 km (1981)

Pipelines

crude, 193 km; refined product, 418 km; natural gas, 1,400 km

Ports

3 major (Varna, Varna West, Burgas), 6 minor; principal river ports are Ruse and Lom

Railroads

4,278 km total; all government owned (1984); about 4,083 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 245 km narrow gauge; 823 km double track; 2,053 km electrified

1,173 km Ouagadougou to Abidjan (Ivory Coast line); 516 km 1.000meter gauge, single track in Burkina

Telecommunications

15 AM, 14 FM, 13 TV stations; 1 Soviet TV relay; 2,002,000 TV sets; 2,100,000 receiver sets; at least 1 satellite ground station

all services only fair; radio-relay, wire, radio communication stations in use; 13,900 telephones (under 0.2 per 100 popl.); 2 AM, 2 FM, 2 TV stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT station

Branches

Bulgarian People’s Army, Frontier Troops, Air and Air Defense Forces, Bulgarian Navy

Army, Air Force

Military budget

est. for fiscal year ending 831 December 1986, 1.2 billion leva; 6.0% of total budget Burkina 200km

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1984, $26.9 million; about 18.1% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 2,156,000; 1,808,000 fit for military service; 65,000 reach military age (19) annually

males 15-49, 1,772,000; 905,000 fit for military service; no conscription