British Virgin Islands (2006) | Bulgaria (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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: 20.5% (male 2,403/female 2,331)
15-64 years: 74.3% (male 8,811/female 8,340) 65 years and over: 5.3% (male 636/female 577) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
15.11% (male 597,765; female 567,030) 15-64 years: 68.17% (male 2,588,805; female 2,665,736) 65 years and over: 16.72% (male 543,665; female 744,494) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets |
Airports | 3 (2006) | 215 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
128 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: 92 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
87 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 75 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke |
total:
110,910 sq km land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. | Bulgaria earned its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, but having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, it 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 multi-party 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. Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on a path toward eventual integration into NATO and the EU - with which it began accession negotiations in 2000. |
Birth rate | 14.89 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 8.06 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $204.7 million
expenditures: $180.4 million; including capital expenditures of $33.8 million (1997) |
revenues:
$4.85 billion expenditures: $4.92 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Road Town
geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Sofia |
Climate | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 80 km | 354 km |
Constitution | 1 June 1977, amended in 2000 | adopted 12 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
conventional long form:
Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria |
Currency | - | lev (BGL) |
Death rate | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 14.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $36.1 million (1997) | $10.4 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Richard M. MILES embassy: 1 Suborna Street, Sofia mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 980-52-41 FAX: [359] (2) 981-89-77 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Philip DIMITROV chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-7969 FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973 consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | none | - |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $1 billion (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. Tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster US economy. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959. | Bulgaria, a former communist country struggling to enter the European market economy, suffered a major economic downturn in 1996 and 1997, with triple digit inflation and GDP contraction of 10.6% and 6.9%. The current government - which took office in May 1997 after pre-term parliamentary elections - stabilized the economy and promoted growth by implementing a currency board, practicing sound financial policies, invigorating privatization, and pursuing structural reforms. Additionally, strong assistance from international financial institutions - most notably the IMF which approved a three-year Extended Fund Facility worth approximately $900 million in September 1998 - played a critical role in turning the economy around. After several years of tumult, Bulgaria's economy has stabilized. Its better-than-expected economic performance in 1999 - despite the impact of the Kosovo conflict, the 1998 Russian financial crisis, and structural reforms - and strong growth in 2000 portends solid growth over the next few years; this assumes continued fiscal restraint, additional structural reforms, aid from abroad, and prosperous times in the EU economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 32.13 million kWh (2003) | 33.182 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 2.2 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 1.7 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 34.55 million kWh (2003) | 36.217 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
51.52% hydro: 8.35% nuclear: 40.12% other: 0.01% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
lowest point:
Black Sea 0 m highest point: Musala 2,925 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) | 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-Marine Living Resources, 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 |
Ethnic groups | black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed | Bulgarian 83%, Turk 8.5%, Roma 2.6%, Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Gagauz, Circassian, others (1998) |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | leva per US dollar - 2.0848 (January 2001), 2.1233 (2000), 1.8364 (1999), 1,760.36 (1998), 1,681.88 (1997), 177.89 (1996)
note: on 5 July 1999, the lev was redenominated; the post-5 July 1999 lev is equal to 1,000 of the pre-5 July 1999 lev |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
head of government: Chief Minister Dr. Orlando D. SMITH (since 17 June 2003) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
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 Minister Petur ZHOTEV (since 21 December 1999) 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% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $4.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels |
Exports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2004) | Italy 14%, Turkey 10%, Germany 9%, Greece 8%, Yugoslavia 8%, Belgium 6%, France 5%, US 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) | 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) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $48 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
agriculture:
15% industry: 29% services: 56% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $6,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2002 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 30 N, 64 30 W | 43 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
36,724 km paved: 33,786 km (including 314 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,938 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
3.4% highest 10%: 22.5% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering | 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 |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $5.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery | fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles |
Imports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2004) | Russia 24%, Germany 14%, Italy 8%, Greece 5%, France 5%, Romania 4%, Turkey 3%, US 3% (2000) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 10.8% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center | electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel |
Infant mortality rate | total: 16.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 19.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
14.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2005) | 10.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU | 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, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 26 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 12,370 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction | 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 | 12,770 (2004) | 3.83 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 0.6%
industry: 40% services: 59.4% |
agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
1,808 km border countries: Greece 494 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Yugoslavia 318 km, Turkey 240 km |
Land use | arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005) |
arable land:
43% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 14% forests and woodland: 38% other: 3% (1999 est.) |
Languages | English (official) | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown |
Legal system | English law | civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 16 May 2003 (next to be held in 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5 |
unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - National Movement for Simeon II 120, UDF 51, BSP 48, DPS 21 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.68 years
male: 75.56 years female: 77.84 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
71.2 years male: 67.72 years female: 74.89 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 98% (1999) |
Location | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 1 (North Korea 1) (2006) | total:
81 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 938,706 GRT/1,440,374 DWT ships by type: bulk 44, cargo 16, chemical tanker 4, container 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 6, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense Forces, Internal Troops |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $344 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.4% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,891,498 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
1,581,697 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
56,104 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Territory Day, 1 July | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) |
Nationality | noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
noun:
Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) | earthquakes, landslides |
Natural resources | NEGL | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 9.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -4.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1,500 km (1999) |
Political parties and leaders | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] | Alliance for National Salvation or ANS (coalition led mainly by Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF) [Ahmed DOGAN]; Bulgarian Business Bloc or BBB [Georgi GANCHEV]; Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Georgi PURVANOV, chairman]; Democratic Left or DL (bloc led by BSP, includes Ecoglasnost Political Club and Bulgarian Agrarian National Union) [leader NA]; Euro-left [Aleksandur TOMOV]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or UMRO [Aleksander KARAKACHNOV]; Kingdom of Bulgaria Federation [leader NA]; Movement for Rights and Freedom or DPS [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II [Simeon II, former king]; New Civic Party for Bulgaria [Bogomil BONEV]; People's Union or PU (includes Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union and Democratic Party) [Anastasiya MOZER]; St. George's Day [Lyuben DILOV]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF (an alliance of pro-democratic parties) [Ivan KOSTOV] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | agrarian movement; Bulgarian Democratic Center; Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Democratic Alliance for the Republic or DAR; New Union for Democracy or NUD; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas |
Population | 23,098 (July 2006 est.) | 7,707,495 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 35% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.97% (2006 est.) | -1.14% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 24, FM 93, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 4.51 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
4,294 km standard gauge: 4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,710 km electrified; 917 km double track) narrow gauge: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (1998) |
Religions | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) | Bulgarian Orthodox 83.5%, Muslim 13%, Roman Catholic 1.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Jewish 0.8%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 1% (1998) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.1 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
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: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; submarine cable to Bermuda |
general assessment:
extensive but antiquated domestic: more than two-thirds of the lines are residential; telephone service is available in most villages; 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: 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 | 11,700 (2002) | 3.255 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,000 (2002) | 596,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) | 96 (plus 1,030 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.72 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.13 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.6% (1997) | 17.7% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | 470 km (1987) |