2000 Edition

Background

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 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, and Bulgaria began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on a path toward eventual integration into the EU and NATO.

Area

land

110,550 sq km

total

110,910 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

highest point

Musala 2,925 m

lowest point

Black Sea 0 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

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

43%

forests and woodland

38%

other

3% (1999 est.)

permanent crops

2%

permanent pastures

14%

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: 16% (male 623,285; female 591,655) 15-64 years: 68% (male 2,610,573; female 2,685,190) 65 years and over: 16% (male 546,029; female 739,962) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

8.06 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

14.63 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

Bulgarian 83%, Turk 8.5%, Roma 2.6%, Macedonia, Armenian, Tatar, Gagauz, Circassian, others (1998)

Infant mortality rate

15.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown

Life expectancy at birth

female

74.56 years (2000 est.)

male

67.45 years

total population

70.91 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

98% (1999)

male

99%

total population

98%

Nationality

adjective

Bulgarian

noun

Bulgarian(s)

Net migration rate

-5.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

7,796,694 (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

-1.16% (2000 est.)

Religions

Bulgarian Orthodox 83.5%, Muslim 13%, Roman Catholic 1.5%, Jewish 0.8%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 1% (1998)

Sex ratio

at birth

1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female

total population

0.94 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.13 children born/woman (2000 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

Country name

conventional long form

Republic of Bulgaria

conventional short form

Bulgaria

Data code

BU

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Ambassador Richard MILES

embassy

1 Saborna Street, Sofia

mailing address

American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5740

telephone

(2) 980-52-41 through 48

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission

Ambassador Philip DIMITROV

telephone

(202) 387-0174, 387-0365, 483-1386

Executive branch

cabinet

Council of Ministers elected by the National Assembly

chief of state

President Petar STOYANOV (since 22 January 1997); Vice President Todor KAVALDZHIEV (since 22 January 1997)

election results

Petar STOYANOV elected president; percent of vote - Petar STOYANOV 59.73%

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

head of government

Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Ivan KOSTOV (since 19 May 1997); Deputy Prime Minister Petur ZHOTEV (since 21 December 1999)

FAX

(202) 234-7973

(2) 981-89-77

consulate(s)

New York

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

parliamentary democracy

Independence

22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)

International organization participation

ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, 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, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, 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 nine-year terms

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)

election results

percent of vote by party - UtdDF 52%, BSP 22%, ANS 7%, Euro-left 5.5%, BBB 4.95%; seats by party - UtdDF 137, BSP 58, ANS 19, Euro-left 14, BBB 12; note - seating as of May 1997: UtdDF 126, DL 58, ANS 19, Euro-left 17, PU 11, independents 9

elections

last held 19 April 1997 (next to be held NA 2001)

National holiday

Independence Day, 3 March (1878)

Political parties and leaders

Alliance for National Salvation or ANS (coalition led mainly by Movement for Rights and Freedoms or DPS) ; Bulgarian Business Bloc or BBB ; Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP ; Democratic Left of DL ; Euro-left ; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or DPS (member of LDU) ; People's Union or PU ; Union of Democratic Forces or UtdDF (an alliance of pro-democratic parties)

Political pressure groups and leaders

agrarian movement; Bulgarian Agrarian National Union - United or BZNS; Bulgarian Democratic Center; Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Democratic Alliance for the Republic or DAR; Gergiov Den; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or IMRO; New Union for Democracy or NUD; "Nikola Petkov" Bulgarian Agrarian National Union; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

expenditures

$5.06 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)

revenues

$4.69 billion

Currency

1 lev (Lv) = 100 stotinki

Debt - external

$10 billion (1999 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 6.2% in 1999. Following declines in GDP in both 1996 and 1997, the economy grew an officially estimated 3.5% in 1998 and 2.5% in 1999. In September 1998, the IMF approved a three-year Extended Fund Facility, which provides credits worth approximately $900 million, designed to support Bulgaria's reform efforts. In 1999, an unfavorable international environment - primarily caused by the Kosovo conflict - and structural reforms slowed economic growth, but forecasters are predicting accelerated growth over the next several years. 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

35.493 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports

2 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports

1.76 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production

38.423 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

52.34%

hydro

7.35%

nuclear

40.31%

other

0% (1998)

Exchange rates

leva (Lv) per US$1 - 1.9295 (January 2000), 1.8364 (1999), 1,760.36 (1998), 1,681.88 (1997), 177.89 (1996), 67.17 (1995)

note

on 5 July 1999 the lev was re-denominated; the post-5 July 1999 lev is equal to 1,000 of the pre-5 July 1999 leva

Exports

$3.8 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Exports - commodities

machinery and equipment; metals, minerals, and fuels; chemicals and plastics; food, tobacco, clothing (1998)

Exports - partners

Italy 13%, Germany 10%, Greece 9%, Turkey 8%, Russia (1998)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $34.9 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

21%

industry

29%

services

50% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $4,300 (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

2.5% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 3.3% highest 10%: 24.7% (1992)

Imports

$5.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Imports - commodities

fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles (1998)

Imports - partners

Russia 20%, Germany 14%, Italy 8%, Greece 6%, US 4% (1998)

Industrial production growth rate

-3% (1999 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

6.2% (1999 est.)

Labor force

3.82 million (1998 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Unemployment rate

15% (1999 est.)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

20 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 24, FM 93, shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios

4.51 million (1997)

Telephone system

more than 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; a more modern digital cable trunk line now connects switching centers in most of the regions, the others being connected by digital microwave

international

direct dialing to 58 countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 2 Intelsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions)

Telephones - main lines in use

3.186 million (1999)

Telephones - mobile cellular

300,000 (1999)

Television broadcast stations

33 (1999)

Televisions

3.31 million (1997)

Airports

216 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total

129 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 93 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

87 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 75 (1999 est.)

Highways

paved

33,818 km (including 319 km of expressways)

total

36,759 km

unpaved

2,941 km (1998 est.)

Merchant marine

ships by type

bulk 43, cargo 18, chemical tanker 4, container 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 7, rail car carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off 5, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 (1999 est.)

total

85 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 947,711 GRT/1,449,416 DWT

Pipelines

petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1,500 km (1999)

Ports and harbors

Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin

Railways

narrow gauge

245 km 0.760-m gauge (1998)

standard gauge

4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,710 km electrified; 917 km double track)

total

4,294 km

Waterways

470 km (1987)

Military - note

the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense has begun a new downsizing, modernization, and reform program (PLAN 2004) that will result in the adoption of a smaller force structure of around 50,000 personnel, based upon a Rapid Reaction Force and two additional corps headquarters, all with subordinate brigades

Military branches

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

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$379 million (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

2.7% (FY99)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 1,913,857 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 1,599,379 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - military age

19 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males

57,461 (2000 est.)

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

BURKINA FASO