1996 Edition

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)

Location

43 00 N, 25 00 E -- Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey Flag ----

Area

comparative area

slightly larger than Tennessee

land area

110,550 sq km

total area

110,910 sq km

Climate

temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers

Coastline

354 km

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

international agreements

party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Law of the Sea

natural hazards

earthquakes, landslides

Geographic coordinates

43 00 N, 25 00 E

Geographic note

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

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

10 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Greece 494 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km (all with Serbia), Turkey 240 km

total

1,808 km

Land use

arable land

34%

forest and woodland

35%

meadows and pastures

18%

other

10%

permanent crops

3%

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 resources

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

Terrain

mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast

highest point

Musala 2,925 m

lowest point

Black Sea 0 m

Age structure

0-14 years: 17% (male 769,025; female 732,119) 15-64 years: 68% (male 2,891,197; female 2,923,440) 65 years and over: 15% (male 561,944; female 735,032) (July 1996 est.)

Birth rate

8.33 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

13.55 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

15.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Languages

Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown

Life expectancy at birth

female

75.12 years (1996 est.)

male

67.07 years

total population

71 years

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1992 est.)

female

97%

male

99%

total population

98%

Nationality

adjective

Bulgarian

noun

Bulgarian(s)

Net migration rate

9.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

8,612,757 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate

0.46% (1996 est.)

Religions

Bulgarian Orthodox 85%, Muslim 13%, Jewish 0.8%, Roman Catholic 0.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 0.5%

Sex ratio

all ages

0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years

1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female

Total fertility rate

1.17 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Administrative divisions

9 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast); Burgas, Grad Sofiya, Khaskovo, Lovech, Montana, Plovdiv, Ruse, Sofiya, Varna

Capital

Sofia

Constitution

adopted 12 July 1991

Data code

BU

Diplomatic representation in US

chancery

1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission

Ambassador Snezhana Damianova BOTUSHAROVA

telephone

[1] (202) 387-7969

Executive branch

cabinet

Council of Ministers elected by the National Assembly

chief of state

President Zhelyu Mitev ZHELEV (since 1 August 1990, when he was elected by the National Assembly); president and vice president elected for five-year terms by popular vote; election last held NA January 1992 (next to be held NA 1997); results - Zhelyu ZHELEV elected by popular vote; Vice President (vacant)

head of government

Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Zhan VIDENOV (since 25 January 1995) appointed by the president; Deputy Prime Ministers Doncho KONAKCHIEV (since 25 January 1995), Atanas PAPAKIZOV (since NA), Rumen GECHEV (since 25 January 1995), Svetoslav SHIVAROV (since 25 January 1995)

FAX

[1] (202) 234-7973

[359] (2) 80-19-77

Flag

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)

Independence

22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)

International organization participation

ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOT, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant), ZC

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, chairman appointed for a seven-year term by the president; Constitutional Court, 12 justices appointed or elected for a nine-year term

Legal system

based on civil law system with Soviet law influence; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

unicameral

Name of country

conventional long form

Republic of Bulgaria

conventional short form

Bulgaria

National Assembly (Narodno Sobranie)

last held 18 December 1994 (next to be held NA 1997); results - BSP 43.5%, UDF 24.2%, PU 6.5%, MRF 5.4%, BBB 4.7%; seats - (240 total) BSP 125, UDF 69, PU 18, MRF 15, BBB 13

National holiday

Independence Day, 3 March (1878)

Other political or pressure groups

Democratic Alliance for the Republic (DAR); New Union for Democracy (NUD); Ecoglasnost; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; Fatherland Union; Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP); Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (KNSB); Bulgarian Agrarian National Union - United (BZNS); Bulgarian Democratic Center; "Nikola Petkov" Bulgarian Agrarian National Union; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Union of Macedonian Societies (IMRO-UMS); numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas

Political parties and leaders

Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), Zhan VIDENOV, chairman; Union of Democratic Forces (UDF - an alliance of pro-Democratic parties), Ivan KOSTOV; People's Union (PU), Stefan SAVOV; Movement for Rights and Freedoms (mainly ethnic Turkish party) (MRF), Ahmed DOGAN; Bulgarian Business Bloc (BBB), George GANCHEV

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Type of government

emerging democracy

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission

Ambassador (vacant)

embassy

1 Saborna Street, Sofia

mailing address

Unit 1335, APO AE 09213-1335

telephone

[359] (2) 88-48-01 through 05

Agriculture

grain, oilseed, vegetables, fruits, tobacco; livestock

Budget

expenditures

$4.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994)

revenues

$3.8 billion

Currency

1 lev (Lv) = 100 stotinki

Economic aid

note

$700 million in balance of payments support from Western nations (1994)

recipient

ODA, $39 million (1993)

Economic overview

One of the poorest countries of central Europe, Bulgaria has continued the difficult process of moving from its old command economy to a modern, market-oriented economy. GDP rose a moderate 2.4% in 1995; inflation was down sharply; and unemployment fell from an estimated 16% to 12%. Despite this progress, structural reforms necessary to underpin macroeconomic stabilization were not pursued vigorously. Mass privatization of state-owned industry continued to move slowly, although privatization of small-scale industry, particularly in the retail and service sectors, accelerated. The Bulgarian economy will continue to grow in 1996, but economic reforms will remain politically difficult as the population has become weary of the process.

Electricity

capacity

11,500,000 kW

consumption per capita

4,342 kWh (1994)

production

38.1 billion kWh

Exchange rates

leva (Lv) per US$1 - 70.5 (December 1995), 54.2 (1994), 27.1 (1993), 23.3 (1992), 18.4 (1991); note - floating exchange rate since February 1991

Exports

$4.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994)

commodities

machinery and equipment 12.8%; agriculture and food 21.9%; textiles and apparel 14%; metals and ores 19.7%; chemicals 16.9%; minerals and fuels 9.3%

partners

former CEMA countries 35.7%; OECD 46.6% (EU 33.5%); Arab countries 5.1%; other 12.6%

External debt

$10.4 billion (1995)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $43.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture

12%

industry

36%

services

52% (1994)

GDP per capita

$4,920 (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate

2.4% (1995 est.)

Illicit drugs

important transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and, to a lesser degree, South American cocaine transiting the Balkan route; limited producer of precursor chemicals

Imports

$4 billion (c.i.f., 1994)

commodities

fuels, minerals, and raw materials 30.1%; machinery and equipment 23.6%; textiles and apparel 11.6%; agricultural products 10.8%; metals and ores 6.8%; chemicals 12.3%; other 4.8%

partners

former CEMA countries 40.3%; OECD 48.3% (EU 34.1%); Arab countries 1.7%; other 9.7%

Industrial production growth rate

2% (1995)

Industries

machine building and metal working, food processing, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, ferrous and nonferrous metals

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

35% (1995)

Labor force

3.1 million

by occupation

industry 41%, agriculture 18%, other 41% (1992)

Unemployment rate

11.9% (1995 est.)

Branches

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Troops, Internal Troops

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $352 million, 2.5% of GDP (1995)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49

2,155,332

males fit for military service

1,797,318

males reach military age (19) annually

64,568 (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 20, FM 15, shortwave 0

Radios

NA

Telephone system

almost two-thirds of the lines are residential; 67% of Sofia households have telephones (November 1988 est.)

domestic

extensive but antiquated transmission system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; telephone service is available in most villages

international

direct dialing to 36 countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean Region); Intelsat available through a Greek earth station

Telephones

2,773,293 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations

29 (Russian repeater in Sofia 1)

Televisions

2.1 million (May 1990 est.) Defense

Airports

total

355

with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

10

with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m

17

with paved runways over 3 047 m

1

with paved runways under 914 m

88

with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

1

with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m

2

with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m

10

with unpaved runways under 914 m

226 (1994 est.)

Highways

paved

33,904 km (including 276 km of expressways)

total

36,932 km

unpaved

3,028 km (1992 est.)

Merchant marine

note

Bulgaria owns an additional 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 135,016 DWT operating under the registries of Liberia and Malta (1995 est.)

ships by type

bulk 45, cargo 27, chemical tanker 4, container 2, oil tanker 13, passenger-cargo 1, railcar carrier 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 6, short-sea passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 1

total

103 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,084,090 GRT/1,596,735 DWT

Pipelines

crude oil 193 km; petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1,400 km (1992)

Ports

Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin

Railways

other

245 km 0.760-m gauge (1995)

standard gauge

4,047 km 1.435-m gauge (2,650 km electrified; 917 double track)

total

4,292 km

Waterways

470 km (1987)