Bulgaria (2002) | Chad (2002) | |
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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 | 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture); Batha, Biltine, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti, Chari-Baguirmi, Guera, Kanem, Lac, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mayo-Kebbi, Moyen-Chari, Ouaddai, Salamat, Tandjile
note: instead of 14 prefectures, there may be a new administrative structure of 28 departments (departments, singular - department), and 1 city*; Assongha, Baguirmi, Bahr El Gazal, Bahr Koh, Batha Oriental, Batha Occidental, Biltine, Borkou, Dababa, Ennedi, Guera, Hadjer Lamis, Kabia, Kanem, Lac, Lac Iro, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mandoul, Mayo-Boneye, Mayo-Dallah, Monts de Lam, N'djamena*, Ouaddai, Salamat, Sila, Tandjile Oriental, Tandjile Occidental, Tibesti |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 14.6% (male 572,961; female 543,004)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 2,569,199; female 2,648,461) 65 years and over: 16.9% (male 540,109; female 747,603) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 47.8% (male 2,162,732; female 2,135,354)
15-64 years: 49.4% (male 2,108,134; female 2,340,189) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 103,683; female 147,145) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets | cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels |
Airports | 215 (2001) | 49 (2001) |
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 (2002) |
total: 7
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 87
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 75 (2002) |
total: 43
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
Area | total: 110,910 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
total: 1.284 million sq km
land: 1,259,200 sq km water: 24,800 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly more than three times the size of California |
Background | The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Bulgaria regained its independence 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 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. 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. | Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of ethnic warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. The government eventually suppressed or came to terms with most political-military groups, settled a territorial dispute with Libya on terms favorable to Chad, drafted a democratic constitution, and held multiparty presidential and National Assembly elections in 1996 and 1997 respectively. In 1998 a new rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which continued to escalate throughout 2000. A peace agreement, signed in January 2002 between the government and the rebels, provides for the demobilization of the rebels and their reintegration into the political system. Despite movement toward democratic reform, power remains in the hands of a northern ethnic oligarchy. |
Birth rate | 8.05 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 47.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $5.57 billion
expenditures: $5.68 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $198 million
expenditures: $218 million, including capital expenditures of $146 million |
Capital | Sofia | N'Djamena |
Climate | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers | tropical in south, desert in north |
Coastline | 354 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | adopted 12 July 1991 | passed by referendum 31 March 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria |
conventional long form: Republic of Chad
conventional short form: Chad local long form: Republique du Tchad local short form: Tchad |
Currency | lev (BGL) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 14.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 15.06 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $10.3 billion (2001 est.) | $1.1 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador James William PARDEW
embassy: 1 Suborna Street, Sofia 1000 mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100 FAX: [359] (2) 981-89-77 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher E. GOLDTHWAIT
embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena telephone: [235] (51) 70-09 FAX: [235] (51) 56-54 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Elena POPTODOROVA
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 Hassaballah Abdelhadi Ahmat SOUBIANE
chancery: 2002 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 462-4009 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1937 |
Disputes - international | because of a shift in the Danube course since the last correction of the boundary in 1920, a joint Bulgarian-Romanian team will recommend sovereignty changes to several islands and redefine the boundary | Lake Chad Commission urges signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, the site of continuing armed clashes; Nigeria requests and Chad rejects redemarcation of boundary, which lacks clear demarcation in sections and has caused several cross-border incidents; Chadian rebels from Aozou reside in Libya |
Economic aid - recipient | $300 million (2000 est.) | $238.3 million (1995); note - $125 million committed by Taiwan (August 1997); $30 million committed by African Development Bank |
Economy - overview | Bulgaria, a former communist country striving to enter the European Union, has experienced macroeconomic stability and positive growth rates since a major economic downturn in 1996 led to the fall of the then socialist government. A $300 million stand-by agreement negotiated with the IMF at the end of 2001 will help the government maintain economic stability as it seeks to overcome high rates of poverty and unemployment and, at the same time, cut the budget deficit and contain inflation. | Chad's primarily agricultural economy will be boosted by major oilfield and pipeline projects that began in 2000. Over 80% of Chad's population relies on subsistence farming and stock raising for their livelihood. Cotton, cattle, and gum arabic provide the bulk of Chad's export earnings, but Chad will begin to export oil in 2004. Chad's economy has long been handicapped by its land-locked position, high energy costs, and a history of instability. Chad relies on foreign assistance and foreign capital for most public and private sector investment projects. A consortium led by two US companies is investing $3.7 billion to develop oil reserves estimated at 1 billion barrels in southern Chad. |
Electricity - consumption | 34.42 billion kWh (2000) | 85.56 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 1.5 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 38.84 billion kWh (2000) | 92 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 48%
hydro: 8% nuclear: 44% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 m |
lowest point: Djourab Depression 160 m
highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 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 | inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, 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-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | Bulgarian 83.6%, Turk 9.5%, Roma 4.6%, other 2.3% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (1998) | 200 distinct groups; in the north and center: Arabs, Gorane (Toubou, Daza, Kreda), Zaghawa, Kanembou, Ouaddai, Baguirmi, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Hausa, Boulala, and Maba, most of whom are Muslim; in the south: Sara (Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye), Moundang, Moussei, Massa, most of whom are Christian or animist; about 1,000 French citizens live in Chad |
Exchange rates | leva per US dollar - 2.2147 (January 2002), 2.1847 (2001), 2.1233 (2000), 1.8364 (1999), 1,760.36 (1998), 1,681.88 (1997)
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 |
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Georgi PURVANOV (since 22 January 2002); Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002)
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA (since 24 July 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Nikolay VASILEV (since 24 July 2001), Kostadin PASKALEV (since 24 July 2001), and Lidiya SHULEVA (since 24 July 2001) 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 11 November and 18 November 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by the president; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister election results: Georgi PURVANOV elected president; percent of vote - Georgi PURVANOV 54.13%, Petar STOYANOV 45.87% |
chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY (since 4 December 1990)
head of government: Prime Minister Haroun KABADI (since 12 June 2002) cabinet: Council of State, members appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote to serve five-year term; if no candidate receives at least 50% of the total vote, the two candidates receiving the most votes must stand for a second round of voting; last held 20 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY reelected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY 63%, Ngarlegy YORONGAR 16%, Saleh KEBZABO 7% note: government coalition - MPS, UNDR, and URD |
Exports | $5.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | $172 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels | cotton, cattle, gum arabic |
Exports - partners | Italy 14%, Turkey 10%, Germany 9%, Greece 8%, Serbia and Montenegro 8% (2001) | Portugal 38%, Germany 12%, Thailand, Costa Rica, South Africa, France, Nigeria (2001) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the flags of Andorra and Moldova, both of which have a national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $50.6 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8.9 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 14%
industry: 29% services: 58% (2001) |
agriculture: 38%
industry: 13% services: 49% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,030 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.4% (2002 est.) | 8% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 43 00 N, 25 00 E | 15 00 N, 19 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia | landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the Sahel |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 37,288 km
paved: 33,786 km (including 324 km of expressways) unpaved: 3,502 km (2001) |
total: 33,400 km
paved: 450 km unpaved: 32,950 km note: probably no more than 8,000 km of the total receive maintenance, the remainder being desert tracks (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 23% (1997) |
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; some money laundering of drug-related proceeds through financial institutions | - |
Imports | $6.9 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | $223 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles | machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | Russia 19.9%, Germany 15.3%, Italy 9.6%, France 6.0% (2001) | France 40%, Cameroon 13%, Nigeria 12%, India 5% (1999) |
Independence | 3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire) | 11 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2002 est.) | 5% (1995) |
Industries | electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel | cotton textiles, meatpacking, beer brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials |
Infant mortality rate | 14.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 93.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.9% (2002 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, Australia Group, 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, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 200 (2001) | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 8,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 200 sq km (1998 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; Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate Courts |
Labor force | 3.83 million (2000 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.) | agriculture more than 80% (subsistence farming, herding, and fishing) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,808 km
border countries: Greece 494 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km, Turkey 240 km |
total: 5,968 km
border countries: Cameroon 1,094 km, Central African Republic 1,197 km, Libya 1,055 km, Niger 1,175 km, Nigeria 87 km, Sudan 1,360 km |
Land use | arable land: 39%
permanent crops: 1.8% other: 59.2% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 2.78%
permanent crops: 0.02% other: 97.2% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects |
Legal system | civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 - NMS2 42.74%, UtdDF 18.18%, CFB 17.15%, MRF 7.45%; seats by party - NMS2 120, UtdDF 51, CFB 48, MRF 21; note - seating as of March 2003 - NMS2 110, UtdDF 50, CFB 48, MRF 20, independents 12 |
bicameral according to constitution, consists of a National Assembly (155 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and a Senate (not yet created and size unspecified, members to serve six-year terms, one-third of membership renewable every two years)
elections: National Assembly - last held 21 April 2002 (next to be held in NA April 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MPS 110, RDP 12, FAR 9, RNDP 5, URD 5, UNDR 3, others 11 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.5 years
male: 67.98 years female: 75.22 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 51.27 years
male: 49.22 years female: 53.4 years (2002 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 French or Arabic
total population: 40% male: 49% female: 31% (1998) |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey | Central Africa, south of Libya |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 77 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 881,758 GRT/1,312,833 DWT
ships by type: bulk 43, cargo 15, chemical tanker 4, container 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (subordinate to Ministry of Defense), Internal Forces (subordinate to Ministry of Interior), Civil Defense Forces (subordinate to the president) | Armed Forces (including National Army, Air Force, and Gendarmerie), Rapid Intervention Force, National and Nomadic Guard (GNNT), Presidential Security Guard, Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $356 million (FY02) | $31 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.7% (FY02) | 1.9% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,873,052 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,881,769 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,566,816 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 985,094 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age (2002 est.) | 20 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 56,104 (2002 est.) | males: 82,003 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) | Independence Day, 11 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian |
noun: Chadian(s)
adjective: Chadian |
Natural hazards | earthquakes, landslides | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues |
Natural resources | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land | petroleum (unexploited but exploration under way), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad) |
Net migration rate | -4.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1,500 km (1999) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB (coalition of parties dominated by BSP) [Sergei STANISHEV]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or VMRO [Krasimir KARAKACHANOV]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II or NMS2 [Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA]; People's Union or PU (includes Bulgarian Agrarian National Union and Democratic Party) [Anastasiya MOZER]; St. George's Day [Lyuben DILOV, Jr.]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Ekaterina NADEZHDA]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces or UtdDF (a coalition between the UDF and PU, dominated by the former) | Federation Action for the Republic or FAR [Ngarlejy YORONGAR]; National Rally for Development and Progress or RNDP [Mamadou BISSO]; National Union for Development and Renewal or UNDR [Saleh KEBZABO]; National Union for Renewal and Democracy or UNRD [leader NA]; Party for Liberty and Democracy or PLD [Ibni Oumar Mahamat SALEH]; Patriotic Salvation Movement or MPS [Mahamat Saleh AHMAT, chairman] (originally in opposition but now the party in power and the party of the president); Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Lal Mahamat CHOUA]; Union for Democracy and the Republic or UDR [Jean Bawoyeu ALINGUE]; Union for Renewal and Democracy or URD [Gen. Wadal Abdelkader KAMOUGUE]; Viva Rally for Development and Progress or Viva RNDP [Delwa Kassire COUMAKOYE] |
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 | 7,621,337 (July 2002 est.) | 8,997,237 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 35% (2000 est.) | 80% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | -1.11% (2002 est.) | 3.27% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001) | AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 5 (2002) |
Radios | 4.51 million (1997) | 1.67 million (1997) |
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 (2002) |
0 km |
Religions | Bulgarian Orthodox 83.8%, Muslim 12.1%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, Jewish 0.1%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 2.3% (1998) | Muslim 51%, Christian 35%, animist 7%, other 7% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 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: primitive system
domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,186,731 (2001) | 9,700 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.054 million (2001) | 5,500 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast | broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south |
Total fertility rate | 1.13 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.5 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 18% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 470 km (1987) | 2,000 km |