1999 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1999 (Internet Archive)
Introduction
Background
A Slavic state, Bulgaria achieved independence in 1908 after 500 years of Ottoman rule. Bulgaria fought on the losing side in both World Wars. After World War II it fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. Communist domination ended in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, and Bulgaria began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy. In addition to the problems of structural economic reform, particularly privatization, Bulgaria faces the serious issues of keeping inflation under control and unemployment, combatting corruption, and curbing black-market and mafia-style crime.
Geography
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, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, 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-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto 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
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 16% (male 674,643; female 641,943) 15-64 years: 68% (male 2,744,634; female 2,800,816) 65 years and over: 16% (male 570,766; female 761,970) (1999 est.)
Birth rate
8.71 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate
13.2 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Ethnic groups
Bulgarian 85%, Turk 9%, other 6%
Infant mortality rate
12.37 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Languages
Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 72.27 years male: 68.72 years female: 76.03 years (1999 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
-0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Population
8,194,772 (July 1999 est.)
Population growth rate
-0.52% (1999 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: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.23 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
9 provinces (oblasti, singular--oblast); Burgas, Grad Sofiya, Khaskovo, Lovech, Montana, Plovdiv, Ruse, Sofiya, Varna
Capital
Sofia
Constitution
adopted 12 July 1991
Country name
conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria
Data code
BU
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) nominated by the president; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister election results: Petar STOYANOV elected president; percent of vote--Petar STOYANOV 59.73%
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
republic
Independence
22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)
International organization participation
ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUA, NAM (guest), NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Philip DIMITROV chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 consulate(s): New York Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Avis T. BOHLEN embassy: 1 Saborna Street, Sofia mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5740
Judicial branch
Supreme Court, chairman appointed for a seven-year term by the president; Constitutional Court, 12 justices appointed or elected for nine-year terms Political parties and leaders: Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP (coalition led mainly by Movement for Rights and Freedoms or DPS cochairmen] Political pressure groups and leaders: Democratic Alliance for the Republic or DAR; New Union for Democracy or NUD; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Bulgarian Agrarian National Union--United or BZNS; Bulgarian Democratic Center; "Nikola Petkov" Bulgarian Agrarian National Union; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or IMRO; agrarian movement; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas
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 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 holiday
Independence Day, 3 March (1878)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Economy
Agriculture--products
grain, oilseed, vegetables, fruits, tobacco; livestock
Budget
revenues: $4.1 billion expenditures: $3.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.)
Currency
1 lev (Lv) = 100 stotinki
Debt--external
$9.3 billion (1998 est.)
Economic aid--recipient
$NA
Economy--overview
In April 1997, the current ruling Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) government won pre-term parliamentary elections and introduced an IMF currency board system which succeeded in stabilizing the economy. The triple digit inflation of 1996 and 1997 has given way to an official consumer price increase of 1% in 1998. Following declines in GDP in both 1996 and 1997, the economy grew an officially estimated 4% in 1998. In September 1998, the IMF approved a three-year Extended Fund Facility, which provides credits worth approximately $864 million, designed to support Bulgaria's reform efforts. The government's structural reform program includes: (a) privatization and, where appropriate, liquidation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs); (b) liberalization of agricultural policies, including creating conditions for the development of a land market; (c) reform of the country's social insurance programs; and, (d) reforms to strengthen contract enforcement and fight crime and corruption.
Electricity--consumption
41.08 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports
2.045 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--imports
1.55 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--production
41.575 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source
fossil fuel: 51.17% hydro: 6.1% nuclear: 42.73% other: 0% (1996)
Exchange rates
leva (Lv) per US$1--1,685.10 (January 1999), 1,760.36 (1998), 1,681.88 (1997), 177.89 (1996), 67.17 (1995), 54.13 (1994) note: the official rate is pegged to the euro as of 1 January 1999
Exports
$4.5 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports--commodities
machinery and equipment; metals, minerals, and fuels; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles (1997)
Exports--partners
Italy 12%, Germany 10%, Turkey, Greece, Russia (1997)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
purchasing power parity--$33.6 billion (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector
agriculture: 26% industry: 29% services: 45% (1997 est.)
GDP--per capita
purchasing power parity?$4,100 (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate
4% (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 3.3% highest 10%: 24.7% (1992)
Imports
$4.6 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Imports--commodities
fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles (1997)
Imports--partners
Russia 28%, Germany 11%, Italy, Greece, US (1997)
Industrial production growth rate
NA%
Industries
machine building and metal working, food processing, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, ferrous and nonferrous metals
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
1% (1998 est.)
Labor force
3.57 million (1996 est.)
Labor force--by occupation
NA
Population below poverty line
NA%
Unemployment rate
12.2% (1998 est.)
Communications
Radio broadcast stations
AM 24, FM 93, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios
NA
Telephone system
almost two-thirds of the lines are residential 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
33 (in addition, there are two relays of Russian program OK-1 and two relays of TV-5 Europe) (1997)
Televisions
2.1 million (May 1990 est.)
Transportation
Airports
61 (1998 est.) Airports--with paved runways: total: 56 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 under 914 m: 25 (1998 est.) Airports--with unpaved runways: total: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (1998 est.)
Highways
total: 36,724 km paved: 33,786 km (including 314 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,938 km (1997 est.)
Merchant marine
total: 89 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,005,092 GRT/1,508,614 DWT ships by type: bulk 44, cargo 20, chemical tanker 4, container 2, oil tanker 8, passenger-cargo 1, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 6, short-sea passenger 1 (1998 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 km double track) narrow gauge: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (1995)
Waterways
470 km (1987)
Military and Security
Military branches
Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Troops, Internal Troops
Military expenditures--dollar figure
$226.8 million (1997)
Military expenditures--percent of GDP
2.2% (1997)
Military manpower--availability
males age 15-49: 2,028,930 (1999 est.) Military manpower--fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,693,597 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--military age
19 years of age
Military manpower--reaching military age annually
males: 59,887 (1999 est.)
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international
twenty bilateral agreements remain unsigned in a dispute over Bulgarian nonrecognition of Macedonian as a language distinct from Bulgarian
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