Compare Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2008) - Bulgaria (2007)

Compare Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2008) z Bulgaria (2007)

	Ashmore and Cartier Islands (2008)	Bulgaria (2007)

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: 5 sq km land: 5 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and Cartier Island	total: 110,910 sq km land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km
Area - comparative	about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC	slightly larger than Tennessee
Background	These uninhabited islands came under Australian authority in 1931; formal administration began two years later. Ashmore Reef supports a rich and diverse avian and marine habitat; in 1983, it became a National Nature Reserve. Cartier Island, a former bombing range, is now a marine reserve.	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: $12.86 billion expenditures: $11.73 billion (2006 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	tropical	temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers
Coastline	74.1 km	354 km
Constitution	-	adopted 12 July 1991
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands	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	-	$26.63 billion (2006 est.)
Dependency status	territory of Australia; administered by the Australian Attorney-General's Department	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of Australia)	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	none (territory of Australia)	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	Indonesian groups challenge Australia's claim to these islands; Australia closed parts of the Ashmore and Cartier Reserve to Indonesian traditional fishing and placed restrictions on certain catches	none
Economic aid - recipient	-	$742 million (2005-06 est.)
Economy - overview	no economic activity	Bulgaria, a former communist country that entered the EU on 1 January 2007, has experienced macroeconomic stability and strong growth since a major economic downturn in 1996 led to the fall of the then socialist government. As a result, the government became committed to economic reform and responsible fiscal planning. Minerals, including coal, copper, and zinc, play an important role in industry. In 1997, macroeconomic stability was reinforced by the imposition of a fixed exchange rate of the lev against the German D-mark - the currency is now fixed against the euro - and the negotiation of an IMF standby agreement. Low inflation and steady progress on structural reforms improved the business environment; Bulgaria has averaged 5.1% growth since 2000 and has begun to attract significant amounts of foreign direct investment. Corruption in the public administration, a weak judiciary, and the presence of organized crime remain the largest challenges for Bulgaria.
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: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 3 m	lowest point: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Musala 2,925 m
Environment - current issues	NA	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 - 1.5576 (2006), 1.5741 (2005), 1.5751 (2004), 1.7327 (2003), 2.077 (2002)
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 PURVANOV reelected president; percent of vote - Georgi PURVANOV 77.3%, Volen SIDEROV 22.7%; Sergei STANISHEV elected prime minister, result of legislative vote - 168 to 67
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	the flag of Australia is used	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: 8.5% industry: 31.5% services: 60% (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	6.1% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	12 14 S, 123 05 E	43 00 N, 25 00 E
Geography - note	Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established in August 1983	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	-	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	-	11.3% (Third Quarter)
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)	-	7.3% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	-	ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EU (new member), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, 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	0 sq km	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	-	3.416 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 8.5% industry: 33.6% services: 57.9% (2nd qtr. 2006 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	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: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (all grass and sand) (2005)	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	the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia and the laws of the Northern Territory of Australia, where applicable, apply	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
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 Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean, midway between northwestern Australia and Timor island	Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey
Map references	Southeast Asia	Europe
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation	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 - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force	-
Military branches	-	Bulgarian Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Bulgarian Air Forces (Bulgarski Voennovazdyshni Sily, BVVS) (2006)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	2.6% (2005 est.)
National holiday	-	Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)
Nationality	-	noun: Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian
Natural hazards	surrounded by shoals and reefs that can pose maritime hazards	earthquakes, landslides
Natural resources	fish	bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land
Net migration rate	-	-3.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
People - note	the landing of illegal immigrants from Indonesia's Rote Island has become an ongoing problem	-
Pipelines	-	gas 2,505 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2006)
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 People's Union or BPU (coalition of UFD, IMRO, and BANU); Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; 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 Simeon II or NMS2 [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	no indigenous inhabitants note: Indonesian fishermen are allowed access to the lagoon and fresh water at Ashmore Reef's West Island	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	low with sand and coral	mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast
Total fertility rate	-	1.39 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	9.6% (2006 est.)
Waterways	-	470 km (2007)

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