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Compare Bulgaria (2001) - Iran (2001)
Compare Bulgaria (2001) z Iran (2001)
| Bulgaria (2001) | Iran (2001) | |
 |  | |
| 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 | 28 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan); Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi, Azarbayjan-e Sharqi, Bushehr, Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan, Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh va Buyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan |
| Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years:
32.97% (male 11,150,053; female 10,654,884) 15-64 years: 62.38% (male 20,765,001; female 20,488,672) 65 years and over: 4.65% (male 1,617,045; female 1,453,310) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets | wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar |
| Airports | 215 (2000 est.) | 317 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | 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.) |
total:
117 over 3,047 m: 38 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 1,524 to 2,437 m: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 24 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
87 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 75 (2000 est.) |
total:
200 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 122 under 914 m: 60 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total:
110,910 sq km land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
total:
1.648 million sq km land: 1.636 million sq km water: 12,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly larger than Alaska |
| Background | 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. | Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling shah was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces subsequently crushed westernizing liberal elements. Militant Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979 and held it until 20 January 1981. During 1980-88, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq over disputed territory. The key current issue is how rapidly the country should open up to the modernizing influences of the outside world. |
| Birth rate | 8.06 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.1 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$4.85 billion expenditures: $4.92 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$27 billion expenditures: $27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
| Capital | Sofia | Tehran |
| Climate | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers | mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast |
| Coastline | 354 km | 2,440 km; note - Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km) |
| Constitution | adopted 12 July 1991 | 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria |
conventional long form:
Islamic Republic of Iran conventional short form: Iran local long form: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran local short form: Iran former: Persia |
| Currency | lev (BGL) | Iranian rial (IRR) |
| Death rate | 14.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $10.4 billion (2000 est.) | $7.5 billion (2000 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
none; note - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
none; note - Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy; address: Iranian Interests Section, Pakistani Embassy, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007; telephone: [1] (202) 965-4990 |
| Disputes - international | - | Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written agreements settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway; Iran occupies two islands in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE: Lesser Tunb (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and Greater Tunb (called Tunb al Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran); Iran jointly administers with the UAE an island in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by Iran) - over which Iran has taken steps to exert unilateral control since 1992, including access restrictions and a military build-up on the island; the UAE has garnered significant diplomatic support in the region in protesting these Iranian actions; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan |
| Economic aid - recipient | $1 billion (1999 est.) | $116.5 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | 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. | Iran's economy is a mixture of central planning, state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures. President KHATAMI has continued to follow the market reform plans of former President RAFSANJANI and has indicated that he will pursue diversification of Iran's oil-reliant economy although he has made little progress toward that goal. The strong oil market in 1996 helped ease financial pressures on Iran and allowed for Tehran's timely debt service payments. Iran's financial situation tightened in 1997 and deteriorated further in 1998 because of lower oil prices. The subsequent zoom in oil prices in 1999-2000 afforded Iran fiscal breathing room but does not solve Iran's structural economic problems, including the encouragement of foreign investment. |
| Electricity - consumption | 33.182 billion kWh (1999) | 95.84 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 2.2 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 1.7 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 36.217 billion kWh (1999) | 103.054 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
51.52% hydro: 8.35% nuclear: 40.12% other: 0.01% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
93.16% hydro: 6.84% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Black Sea 0 m highest point: Musala 2,925 m |
lowest point:
Caspian Sea -28 m highest point: Qolleh-ye Damavand 5,671 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 | air pollution, especially in urban areas, from vehicle emissions, refinery operations, and industrial effluents; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; oil pollution in the Persian Gulf; inadequate supplies of potable water |
| 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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
| Ethnic groups | Bulgarian 83%, Turk 8.5%, Roma 2.6%, Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Gagauz, Circassian, others (1998) | Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1% |
| Exchange rates | 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 |
Iranian rials per US dollar - 1,754.71 (January 2001), 1,764.43 (2000), 1,725.93 (1999), 1,751.86 (1998), 1,752.92 (1997), 1,750.76 (1996)
note: Iran has three officially recognized exchange rates; the averages for 1999 are as follows: the official floating rate of 1,750 rials per US dollar, the "export" rate of 3,000 rials per US dollar, and the variable Tehran Stock Exchange rate, which averages 7,863 rials per US dollar; the market rate averages 8,615 rials per US dollar |
| 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 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% |
chief of state:
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989) head of government: President (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani (since 3 August 1997); First Vice President Dr. Mohammad Reza AREF-YAZDI (since NA August 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval elections: leader of the Islamic Revolution appointed for life by the Assembly of Experts; president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 8 June 2001 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani reelected president; percent of vote - (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani 77% |
| Exports | $4.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $25 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels | petroleum 85%, carpets, fruits and nuts, iron and steel, chemicals |
| Exports - partners | Italy 14%, Turkey 10%, Germany 9%, Greece 8%, Yugoslavia 8%, Belgium 6%, France 5%, US 4% (2000) | Japan, Italy, UAE, South Korea, France, China |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 21 March - 20 March |
| 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) | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red; the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah) in red is centered in the white band; ALLAH AKBAR (God is Great) in white Arabic script is repeated 11 times along the bottom edge of the green band and 11 times along the top edge of the red band |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $48 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $413 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
15% industry: 29% services: 56% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
24% industry: 28% services: 48% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,200 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 43 00 N, 25 00 E | 32 00 N, 53 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia | - |
| Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | 11 (2000 est.) |
| Highways | total:
36,724 km paved: 33,786 km (including 314 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,938 km (1999) |
total:
140,200 km paved: 49,440 km (including 470 km of expressways) unpaved: 90,760 km (1998 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.4% highest 10%: 22.5% (1995) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
| 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 | despite substantial interdiction efforts, Iran remains a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe; domestic consumption of narcotics remains a persistent problem and Iranian press reports estimate that there are at least 1.2 million drug users in the country |
| Imports | $5.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $15 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles | industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies |
| Imports - partners | Russia 24%, Germany 14%, Italy 8%, Greece 5%, France 5%, Romania 4%, Turkey 3%, US 3% (2000) | Germany, South Korea, Italy, UAE, France, Japan |
| Independence | 3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire) | 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 10.8% (2000 est.) | 4.4% (nonoil) (1999) |
| Industries | electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel | petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments |
| Infant mortality rate | 14.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 29.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10.4% (2000 est.) | 16% (2000 est.) |
| 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, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | CCC, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 26 (2000) | 8 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 12,370 sq km (1993 est.) | 94,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
| 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) | Supreme Court |
| Labor force | 3.83 million (2000 est.) | 17.3 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (1998) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.) | agriculture 33%, industry 25%, services 42% (1999 est.) |
| Land boundaries | 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 |
total:
5,440 km border countries: Afghanistan 936 km, Armenia 35 km, Azerbaijan-proper 432 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 179 km, Iraq 1,458 km, Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, Turkmenistan 992 km |
| Land use | arable land:
43% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 14% forests and woodland: 38% other: 3% (1999 est.) |
arable land:
10% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 27% forests and woodland: 7% other: 55% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown | Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2% |
| Legal system | civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government |
| Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami (290 seats, note - changed from 270 seats with the 18 February 2000 election; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 18 February-NA April 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - reformers 170, conservatives 45, and independents 10; 65 seats were up for runoff election on 5 May 2000 (reformers 52, conservatives 10, independents 3) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.2 years male: 67.72 years female: 74.89 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
69.95 years male: 68.61 years female: 71.37 years (2001 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 98% (1999) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 72.1% male: 78.4% female: 65.8% (1994 est.) |
| Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey | Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan |
| Map references | Europe | Middle East |
| Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: natural prolongation exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements or median lines in the Persian Gulf territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | 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.) |
total:
152 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,097,977 GRT/7,131,688 DWT ships by type: bulk 49, cargo 38, chemical tanker 4, combination bulk 1, container 10, liquefied gas 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, petroleum tanker 32, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 9, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Singapore 1 (2000 est.) |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense Forces, Internal Troops | Islamic Republic of Iran regular forces (includes Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces), Revolutionary Guards (includes Ground, Air, Navy, Qods, and Basij-mobilization-forces), Law Enforcement Forces |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $344 million (FY00) | $5.787 billion (FY98/99) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.4% (FY00) | 2.9% (FY98/99) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,891,498 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
18,319,328 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,581,697 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
10,872,407 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age | 21 years of age |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
56,104 (2001 est.) |
males:
823,040 (2001 est.) |
| National holiday | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) | Republic Day, 1 April (1979) |
| Nationality | noun:
Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian |
noun:
Iranian(s) adjective: Iranian |
| Natural hazards | earthquakes, landslides | periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes along western border and in the northeast |
| Natural resources | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur |
| Net migration rate | -4.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -4.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1,500 km (1999) | crude oil 5,900 km; petroleum products 3,900 km; natural gas 4,550 km |
| Political parties and leaders | 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] | the following organizations appeared to have achieved considerable success at elections to the sixth Majlis in early 2000: Assembly of the Followers of the Imam's Line, Freethinkers' Front, Islamic Iran Participation Front, Moderation and Development Party, Servants of Construction Party, Society of Self-sacrificing Devotees |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 | active student groups include the pro-reform "Organization for Strengthening Unity" and "the Union of Islamic Student Societies'; groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Ansar-e Hizballah, Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam, and the Islamic Coalition Association; opposition groups include the Liberation Movement of Iran and the Nation of Iran party; armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government include Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's Fedayeen, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan; the Society for the Defense of Freedom |
| Population | 7,707,495 (July 2001 est.) | 66,128,965 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 35% (2000 est.) | 53% (1996 est.) |
| Population growth rate | -1.14% (2001 est.) | 0.72% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin | Abadan (largely destroyed in fighting during 1980-88 war), Ahvaz, Bandar 'Abbas, Bandar-e Anzali, Bushehr, Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni, Bandar-e Lengeh, Bandar-e Mahshahr, Bandar-e Torkaman, Chabahar (Bandar Beheshti), Jazireh-ye Khark, Jazireh-ye Lavan, Jazireh-ye Sirri, Khorramshahr (limited operation since November 1992), Now Shahr |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 24, FM 93, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998) |
| Radios | 4.51 million (1997) | 17 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) |
total:
5,600 km broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge standard gauge: 5,506 km 1.435-m gauge (146 km electrified) note: broad gauge track is employed at the borders with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan which have broad-gauge rail systems (2001) |
| Religions | Bulgarian Orthodox 83.5%, Muslim 13%, Roman Catholic 1.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Jewish 0.8%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 1% (1998) | Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 10%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 1% |
| 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: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 15 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment:
inadequate but currently being modernized and expanded with the goal of not only improving the efficiency and increasing the volume of the urban service but also bringing telephone service to several thousand villages, not presently connected domestic: as a result of heavy investing in the telephone system since 1994, the number of long-distance channels in the microwave radio relay trunk has grown substantially; many villages have been brought into the net; the number of main lines in the urban systems has approximately doubled; and thousands of mobile cellular subscribers are being served; moreover, the technical level of the system has been raised by the installation of thousands of digital switches international: HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE with access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion to Georgia and Azerbaijan; satellite earth stations - 9 Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat; Internet service available but limited to electronic mail to promote Iranian culture |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 3.255 million (2000) | 6.313 million (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 596,000 (2000) | 265,000 (August 1998) |
| Television broadcast stations | 96 (plus 1,030 repeaters) (1995) | 28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast | rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts |
| Total fertility rate | 1.13 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.02 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 17.7% (2000 est.) | 14% (1999 est.) |
| Waterways | 470 km (1987) | 904 km
note: the Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 m and is in use |
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