Bulgaria (2008)

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Bulgaria 2008 year


Administrative divisions	28 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast); Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Khaskovo, Kurdzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Shumen, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofiya, Sofiya-Grad, Stara Zagora, Turgovishte, Varna, Veliko Turnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Yambol
Age structure	0-14 years: 13.9% (male 521,117/female 496,022) 15-64 years: 68.7% (male 2,472,424/female 2,556,102) 65 years and over: 17.4% (male 523,660/female 753,533) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	vegetables, fruits, tobacco, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets; livestock
Airports	214 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 131 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 95 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 83 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 72 (2007)
Area	total: 110,910 sq km land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Tennessee
Background	The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Northern Bulgaria attained autonomy in 1878 and all of Bulgaria became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1908. 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 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multiparty election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. The country joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007.
Birth rate	9.62 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $16.62 billion expenditures: $15.18 billion (2007 est.)
Capital	name: Sofia geographic coordinates: 42 41 N, 23 19 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Climate	temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers
Coastline	354 km
Constitution	adopted 12 July 1991
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria local long form: Republika Balgariya local short form: Balgariya
Death rate	14.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$29.29 billion (30 June 2007)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador John Ross BEYRLE embassy: 16 Kozyak Street, Sofia 1407 mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, US Department of State, 5740 Sofia Place, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100 FAX: [359] (2) 937-5320
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Elena B. POPTODOROVA chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-0174 FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York
Disputes - international	none
Economic aid - recipient	$742 million (2005-06 est.)
Economy - overview	Bulgaria, a former communist country that entered the EU on 1 January 2007, has experienced strong growth since a major economic downturn in 1996. Successive governments have demonstrated commitment to economic reforms and responsible fiscal planning, but have failed so far to rein in rising inflation and large current account deficits. Bulgaria has averaged more than 6% growth since 2004, attracting significant amounts of foreign direct investment, but corruption in the public administration, a weak judiciary, and the presence of organized crime remain significant challenges.
Electricity - consumption	37.4 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - exports	7.8 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2006)
Electricity - production	45.7 billion kWh (2006)
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-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001 census)
Exchange rates	leva per US dollar - 1.4366 (2007), 1.5576 (2006), 1.5741 (2005), 1.5751 (2004), 1.7327 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Georgi PARVANOV (since 22 January 2002); Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Sergei STANISHEV (since 16 August 2005); Deputy Prime Ministers Ivaylo KALFIN, Daniel VULCHEV, and Emel ETEM (since 16 August 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 22 and 29 October 2006 (next to be held in 2011); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by the president and elected by the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly election results: Georgi PARVANOV reelected president; percent of vote - Georgi PARVANOV 77.3%, Volen SIDEROV 22.7%; Sergei STANISHEV elected prime minister, result of legislative vote - 168 to 67
Exports	7.8 billion kWh (2006)
Exports	$19.77 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports	0 cu m (2005 est.)
Exports	51,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities	clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels
Exports - partners	Turkey 12%, Italy 10.4%, Germany 10%, Greece 8.2%, Belgium 6.8%, France 4.3% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red note: the national emblem, formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe, has been removed
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 8.1% industry: 31.3% services: 60.7% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.1% (2007 est.)
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
Heliports	4 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.9% highest 10%: 25.4% (2005)
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; some money laundering of drug-related proceeds through financial institutions
Imports	0 kWh (2006)
Imports	$28.79 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports	5.179 billion cu m (2005)
Imports	138,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials
Imports - partners	Germany 15%, Italy 10.6%, Turkey 7.2%, Greece 6.3%, China 5%, France 4.9%, Romania 4.5% (2006)
Independence	3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire)
Industrial production growth rate	5.5% (2007 est.)
Industries	electricity, gas, water; food, beverages, tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel
Infant mortality rate	total: 19.16 deaths/1,000 live births male: 22.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7.8% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Irrigated land	5,880 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Administrative Court; Supreme Court of Cassation; Constitutional Court (12 justices appointed or elected for nine-year terms); Supreme Judicial Council (consists of the chairmen of the two Supreme Courts, the Chief Prosecutor, and 22 other members; responsible for appointing the justices, prosecutors, and investigating magistrates in the justice system; members of the Supreme Judicial Council elected for five-year terms, 11 elected by the National Assembly and 11 by bodies of the judiciary)
Labor force	3.44 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 8.5% industry: 33.6% services: 57.9% (2nd qtr. 2006 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 1,808 km border countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia 318 km, Turkey 240 km
Land use	arable land: 29.94% permanent crops: 1.9% other: 68.16% (2005)
Languages	Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)
Legal system	civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 25 June 2005 (next to be held in June 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - CfB 31.1%, NMS2 19.9%, MRF 12.7%, ATAKA 8.2%, UDF 7.7%, DSB 6.5%, BPU 5.2%, other 8.7%; seats by party - CfB 83, NMS2 53, MRF 33, UDF 20, ATAKA 17, DSB 17, BPU 13, independents 4; note - seats by party as of January 2008 - CfB 82, NMS2 36, MRF 34, UDF 16, DSB 16, Bulgarian New Democracy 16, BPU 13, ATAKA 11, independents 16
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 72.57 years male: 68.95 years female: 76.4 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.2% male: 98.7% female: 97.7% (2001 census)
Location	Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey
Map references	Europe
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 71 ships (1000 GRT or over) 833,153 GRT/1,194,660 DWT by type: bulk carrier 37, cargo 14, chemical tanker 4, container 6, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 3 (Germany 1, Ireland 1, Russia 1) registered in other countries: 39 (Comoros 1, Malta 15, Mongolia 2, Panama 1, Slovakia 7, St Vincent and The Grenadines 13) (2007)
Military branches	Bulgarian Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Bulgarian Air Forces (Bulgarski Voennovazdyshni Sily, BVVS) (2008)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.6% (2005 est.)
National holiday	Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)
Nationality	noun: Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian
Natural hazards	earthquakes, landslides
Natural resources	bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land
Net migration rate	-3.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 2,500 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders	ATAKA (Attack Coalition) (coalition of parties headed by the Attack National Union); Attack National Union [Volen SIDEROV]; Bulgarian Agrarian National Union-People's Union or BANU [Anastasia MOZER]; Bulgarian New Democracy [Borislav RALCHEV]; Bulgarian People's Union or BPU (coalition of UFD, IMRO, and BANU); Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria or GERB [Boyko BORISOV]; Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB (coalition of parties dominated by BSP) [Sergei STANISHEV]; Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria or DSB [Ivan KOSTOV]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or IMRO [Krasimir KARAKACHANOV]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Stability and Progress or NDSV [Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA]; New Time [Emil KOSHLUKOV]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Petar STOYANOV]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces or UtDF (a coalition of center-right parties dominated by UDF)
Political pressure groups and leaders	Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas
Population	7,322,858 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	14.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	-0.837% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001)
Railways	total: 4,294 km standard gauge: 4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,710 km electrified) narrow gauge: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, other Christian 1.2%, other 4% (2001 census)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.051 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.967 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.695 male(s)/female total population: 0.924 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: an extensive but antiquated telecommunications network inherited from the Soviet era; quality has improved; the Bulgaria Telecommunications Company's fixed-line monopoly terminated in 2005 when alternative fixed-line operators were given access to its network; a drop in fixed-line connections in recent years has been offset by a sharp increase in mobile-cellular telephone use fostered by multiple service providers domestic: a fairly modern digital cable trunk line now connects switching centers in most of the regions; the others are connected by digital microwave radio relay international: country code - 359; submarine cable provides connectivity to Ukraine and Russia; a combination submarine cable and land fiber-optic system provides connectivity to Italy, Albania, and Macedonia; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 2 Intelsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use	2.399 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	8.253 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001)
Terrain	mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast
Total fertility rate	1.39 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	8% (2007 est.)
Waterways	470 km (2007)

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