1997 Edition

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-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental 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

12,370 sq km (1993 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 (all with Serbia), Turkey 240 km

Land use

arable land: 37% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 16% forests and woodland: 35% other: 10% (1993 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

Age structure

0-14 years: 17% (male 720,499; female 685,258) 15-64 years: 67% (male 2,769,288; female 2,823,431) 65 years and over: 16% (male 558,028; female 734,484) (July 1997 est.)

Birth rate

8.05 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate

13.38 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Ethnic groups

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

Infant mortality rate

13.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Languages

Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 71.65 years male: 68.06 years female: 75.44 years (1997 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1992 est.)

Nationality

noun: Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian

Net migration rate

-0.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Population

8,290,988 (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate

-0.63% (1997 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

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years : 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.14 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Administrative divisions

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

Constitution

adopted 12 July 1991

Country name

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

Data code

BU

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Avis T. BOHLEN (22 July 1996) embassy : 1 Saborna Street, Sofia mailing address: Embassy Sofia, Department of State, Washington, DC 50521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 980-52-41 through 48

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Snezhana Damianova BOTUSHAROVA chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone : [1] (202) 387-7969

Executive branch

chief of state: President Petar STOYANOV (since 22 January 1997); Vice President Todor KAVALDZHIEV (since 22 January 1997) head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Ivan Kostov (since 19 May 1997); Deputy Prime Ministers Aleksandur BOZHKOV (since 12 February 1997 Evgeniy BAKURDZHIEV (since 21 May 1997), Veselin METODIEV (since 21 May 1997) 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 27 October and 3 November 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) appointed by the president election results: Petar STOYANOV elected president; percent of vote - Petar STOYANOV 59.73%

FAX

[1] (202) 234-7973 consulate(s): New York

[359] (2) 981-89-77

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

emerging democracy

Independence

22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)

International organization participation

ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMOT, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, 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 National Assembly or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats; members are popularly elected to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 19 April 1997 (next to be held NA 2001) election results : percent of vote by party - UDF 52%, BSP 22%, ANS 7%, Euro-left 5.5%, BBB 4.95%; seats by party - UDF 137, BSP 58, ANS 19, Euro-left 14, BBB 12

National capital

Sofia

National holiday

Independence Day, 3 March (1878)

Political parties and leaders

Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Georgi PURVANOV, chairman]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF (an alliance of pro-Democratic parties) [Ivan KOSTOV]; Euro-left [Alexander TOMOV]; Alliance for National Salvation or ANS (coalition led mainly by Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]); Bulgarian Business Bloc or BBB [George GANCHEV]

Political pressure groups and leaders

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Agriculture - products

grain, oilseed, vegetables, fruits, tobacco; livestock

Budget

revenues: $3 billion expenditures : $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.)

Currency

1 lev (Lv) = 100 stotinki

Debt - external

$9.3 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid

NA

Economy - overview

One of the poorest countries of central Europe, Bulgaria has slowly continued the process of moving from its old command economy towards a market-oriented economy. Slow advancement on economic reforms pitched the economy into crisis in 1996, marked by a banking system in turmoil, a depreciating currency, inflation of 311% and contracting production and foreign trade. Foreign exchange reserves dwindled to extremely low levels ($518 million), while dramatically hiked interest rates added to the domestic debt burden and stifled growth. GDP fell by 10% in 1996, after experiencing 2.6% growth in 1995. Privatization of state-owned industries stagnated, although the first auction of a mass privatization program was undertaken in late 1996. Lagging progress on structural reforms led to postponement of IMF disbursements under a $580 million standby loan agreed to in July. In November 1996, the IMF proposed a currency board as Bulgaria's best chance to restore confidence in the lev, eliminate discretionary spending, and avoid hyperinflation. The government has pledged to sell some of the country's most attractive state assets to the highest foreign bidders in 1997. The Bulgarian economy is projected to have another year of negative growth (minus 5%), and inflation near 700% in 1997, assuming introduction of a currency board in July of 1997.

Electricity - capacity

12.09 million kW (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita

4,491 kWh (1995 est.)

Electricity - production

36.07 billion kWh (1994)

Exchange rates

leva (Lv) per US$1 - 483.4 (1996), 70.7 (1995), 54.2 (1994), 27.1 (1993), 23.3 (1992)

Exports

total value: $4.2 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.) 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% (1995) partners: OECD 50.0% (EU 37.2%); CIS and Central and Eastern Europe 32.4%; Arab countries 5.8%; other 11.8% (1995)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $39.9 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 12.6% industry: 35.7% services: 51.7% (1994)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $4,630 (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

-10% (1996 est.)

Imports

total value: $4.1 billion (c.i.f., 1996 est.) 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% (1995) partners : OECD 45.5% (EU 38.1%); CIS and Central and Eastern European countries 41.1%; Arab countries 1.8%; other 11.6% (1995)

Industrial production growth rate

-6.5% (1996 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate - consumer price index

311% (1996)

Labor force

total: 3.57 million (1996 est.) by occupation : industry 41%, agriculture 18%, other 41% (1992)

Unemployment rate

12.5% (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.)

Airports

355 (1994 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 116 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m : 17 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 under 914 m: 88 (1994 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 239 2,438 to 3,047 m : 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 226 (1994 est.)

Highways

total: 36,777 km paved: 33,798 km (including 314 km of expressways) unpaved : 2,979 km (1995 est.)

Merchant marine

total: 99 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,063,367 GRT/1,596,438 DWT ships by type: bulk 45, cargo 25, chemical tanker 4, container 2, oil tanker 12, passenger-cargo 1, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 6, short-sea passenger 1 note : Bulgaria owns an additional 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 151,855 DWT operating under the registries of Liberia and Malta (1996 est.)

Pipelines

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

Ports and harbors

Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin

Railways

total : 4,292 km standard gauge: 4,047 km 1.435-m gauge (2,650 km electrified; 917 double track) other gauge: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (1995)

Waterways

470 km (1987)

Military branches

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

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$418.6 million (1996)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

2.0% to 2.5% (1996)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 2,052,731 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males: 1,711,729 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - military age

19 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males: 62,908 (1997 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; significant producer of amphetamines, much of which are consumed in the Middle East ______________________________________________________________________ BURKINA FASO