Bulgaria (2001) | Malawi (2007) | |
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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 | 27 districts; Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Kasungu, Likoma, Lilongwe, Machinga (Kasupe), Mangochi, Mchinji, Mulanje, Mwanza, Mzimba, Ntcheu, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Phalombe, Rumphi, Salima, Thyolo, Zomba |
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: 46.1% (male 3,143,724/female 3,130,937)
15-64 years: 51.2% (male 3,491,114/female 3,474,209) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 155,954/female 207,243) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets | tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses, groundnuts, Macadamia nuts; cattle, goats |
Airports | 215 (2000 est.) | 39 (2007) |
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: 6
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2007) |
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: 33
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 16 (2007) |
Area | total:
110,910 sq km land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
total: 118,480 sq km
land: 94,080 sq km water: 24,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
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. | Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule under President Hastings Kamuzu BANDA the country held multiparty elections in 1994, under a provisional constitution which came into full effect the following year. Current President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA, elected in May 2004 after a failed attempt by the previous president to amend the constitution to permit another term, struggled to assert his authority against his predecessor, culminating in MUTHARIKA quitting the political party on whose ticket he was elected into office. MUTHARIKA subsequently started his own party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and has continued with a halting anti-corruption campaign against abuses carried out under the previous regime. Increasing corruption, population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, and the spread of HIV/AIDS pose major problems for the country. |
Birth rate | 8.06 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 42.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$4.85 billion expenditures: $4.92 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $1.016 billion
expenditures: $1.097 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Sofia | name: Lilongwe
geographic coordinates: 13 59 S, 33 47 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers | sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November) |
Coastline | 354 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | adopted 12 July 1991 | 18 May 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria |
conventional long form: Republic of Malawi
conventional short form: Malawi local long form: Dziko la Malawi local short form: Malawi former: British Central African Protectorate, Nyasaland Protectorate, Nyasaland |
Currency | lev (BGL) | - |
Death rate | 14.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.25 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $10.4 billion (2000 est.) | $468 million (2006 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Alan EASTHAM
embassy: Area 40, Plot 24, Kenyatta Road mailing address: P. O. Box 30016, Lilongwe 3, Malawi telephone: [265] (1) 773 166 FAX: [265] (1) 770 471 |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Hawa NDILOWE
chancery: 1156 15th Street, NW, Suite 320, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 721-0270 FAX: [1] (202) 721-0288 |
Disputes - international | - | disputes with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant |
Economic aid - recipient | $1 billion (1999 est.) | $575.3 million (2005) |
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. | Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's least developed countries. The economy is predominately agricultural, with about 85% of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture accounts for about one-third of GDP and four-fifths of export revenues. The performance of the tobacco sector is key to short-term growth as tobacco accounts for more than half of exports. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. In 2006, Malawi was approved for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. The government faces many challenges, including developing a market economy, improving educational facilities, facing up to environmental problems, dealing with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS, and satisfying foreign donors that fiscal discipline is being tightened. In 2005, President MUTHARIKA championed an anticorruption campaign. Since 2005 President MUTHARIKA'S government has exhibited improved financial discipline under the guidance of Finance Minister Goodall GONDWE. |
Electricity - consumption | 33.182 billion kWh (1999) | 1.299 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 2.2 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 1.7 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 36.217 billion kWh (1999) | 1.397 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
51.52% hydro: 8.35% nuclear: 40.12% other: 0.01% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Black Sea 0 m highest point: Musala 2,925 m |
lowest point: junction of the Shire River and international boundary with Mozambique 37 m
highest point: Sapitwa (Mount Mlanje) 3,002 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 | deforestation; land degradation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of spawning grounds endangers fish populations |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Bulgarian 83%, Turk 8.5%, Roma 2.6%, Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Gagauz, Circassian, others (1998) | Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European |
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 |
Malawian kwachas per US dollar - 135.96 (2006), 108.894 (2005), 108.898 (2004), 97.433 (2003), 76.687 (2002) |
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: President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA (since 24 May 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA (since 24 May 2004) cabinet: 46-member Cabinet named by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 20 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2009) election results: Bingu wa MUTHARIKA elected president; percent of vote - Bingu wa MUTHARIKA 35.9%, John TEMBO 27.1%, Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA 25.7%, Brown MPINGANJIRA 8.7%, Justin MALEWEZI 2.5% |
Exports | $4.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels | tobacco 53%, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products, apparel |
Exports - partners | Italy 14%, Turkey 10%, Germany 9%, Greece 8%, Yugoslavia 8%, Belgium 6%, France 5%, US 4% (2000) | South Africa 12.6%, Germany 9.7%, Egypt 9.6%, US 9.5%, Zimbabwe 8.5%, Russia 5.4%, Netherlands 4.4% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 black (top), red, and green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $48 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
15% industry: 29% services: 56% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 36.1%
industry: 18.8% services: 45.1% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,200 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 8.5% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 43 00 N, 25 00 E | 13 30 S, 34 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia | landlocked; Lake Nyasa, some 580 km long, is the country's most prominent physical feature |
Government - note | - | no party has a majority in the fractured legislature |
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%:
3.4% highest 10%: 22.5% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% (2004) |
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 | - |
Imports | $5.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles | food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment |
Imports - partners | Russia 24%, Germany 14%, Italy 8%, Greece 5%, France 5%, Romania 4%, Turkey 3%, US 3% (2000) | South Africa 34.6%, India 8.1%, Zambia 7.8%, US 6.4%, Tanzania 5.8%, Germany 4.6%, China 4.3% (2006) |
Independence | 3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire) | 6 July 1964 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 10.8% (2000 est.) | 6.4% (2006 est.) |
Industries | electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel | tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods |
Infant mortality rate | 14.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 92.1 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 96.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 87.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10.4% (2000 est.) | 14% (2006 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 | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 26 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 12,370 sq km (1993 est.) | 560 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) | Supreme Court of Appeal; High Court (chief justice appointed by the president, puisne judges appointed on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission); magistrate's courts |
Labor force | 3.83 million (2000 est.) | 4.5 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.) | agriculture: 90%
industry and services: 10% (2003 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: 2,881 km
border countries: Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km |
Land use | arable land:
43% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 14% forests and woodland: 38% other: 3% (1999 est.) |
arable land: 20.68%
permanent crops: 1.18% other: 78.14% (2005) |
Languages | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown | Chichewa 57.2% (official), Chinyanja 12.8%, Chiyao 10.1%, Chitumbuka 9.5%, Chisena 2.7%, Chilomwe 2.4%, Chitonga 1.7%, other 3.6% (1998 census) |
Legal system | civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; 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 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 National Assembly (193 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UDF 74, MCP 60, independents 24, RP 16, others 18, vacancies 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.2 years male: 67.72 years female: 74.89 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 42.98 years
male: 43.35 years female: 42.61 years (2007 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: 62.7% male: 76.1% female: 49.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey | Southern Africa, east of Zambia |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
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.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense Forces, Internal Troops | Malawi Armed Forces: Army (includes Air Wing and Naval Detachment) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $344 million (FY00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.4% (FY00) | 1.3% (2006) |
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 | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) | Independence Day (Republic Day), 6 July (1964) |
Nationality | noun:
Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian |
noun: Malawian(s)
adjective: Malawian |
Natural hazards | earthquakes, landslides | NA |
Natural resources | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land | limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite |
Net migration rate | -4.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1,500 km (1999) | - |
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] | Alliance for Democracy or AFORD; Congress for National Unity or CONU; Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [Bingu wa MUTHARIKA]; Malawi Congress Party or MCP [John TEMBO]; Malawi Democratic Party or MDP [Kampelo KALUA]; Malawi Forum for Unity and Development or MAFUNDE [George MNESA]; Mgwirizano Coalition or MC [Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA] (coalition of MAFUNDE, MDP, MGODE, NUP, PETRA, PPM, RP); Movement for Genuine Democratic Change or MGODE [Sam Kandodo BANDA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Brown MPINGANJIRA]; National Unity Party or NUP [Harry CHIUME]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Aleke BANDA]; People's Transformation Movement or PETRA [Kamuzu CHIBAMBO]; Republican Party or RP [Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA]; United Democratic Front or UDF |
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 | NA |
Population | 7,707,495 (July 2001 est.) | 13,603,181
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 35% (2000 est.) | 53% (2004) |
Population growth rate | -1.14% (2001 est.) | 2.383% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 24, FM 93, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 9, FM 5 (plus 15 repeater stations), shortwave 2 (plus one shortwave station on standby) (2001) |
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) |
total: 797 km
narrow gauge: 797 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
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) | Christian 79.9%, Muslim 12.8%, other 3%, none 4.3% (1998 census) |
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: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.004 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.005 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.753 male(s)/female total population: 0.997 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 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: NA
domestic: system employs open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations international: country code - 265; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean, 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.255 million (2000) | 102,700 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 596,000 (2000) | 429,300 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 96 (plus 1,030 repeaters) (1995) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast | narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.13 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.74 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 17.7% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 470 km (1987) | 700 km (on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire River) (2007) |