Bulgaria (2002) | Reunion (2006) | |
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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 | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
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: 29.8% (male 120,147/female 114,589)
15-64 years: 64% (male 248,895/female 255,156) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 19,847/female 28,950) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 215 (2001) | 2 (2006) |
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: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 87
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 75 (2002) |
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Area | total: 110,910 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 8.05 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 18.9 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $5.57 billion
expenditures: $5.68 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $554.7 million
expenditures: $554.7 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
Capital | Sofia | name: Saint-Denis
geographic coordinates: 20 52 S, 55 28 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April) |
Coastline | 354 km | 207 km |
Constitution | adopted 12 July 1991 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria |
conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | lev (BGL) | - |
Death rate | 14.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $10.3 billion (2001 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $300 million (2000 est.) | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.) |
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. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrated the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 34.42 billion kWh (2000) | 1.107 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 1.5 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 38.84 billion kWh (2000) | 1.19 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 48%
hydro: 8% nuclear: 44% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 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 | NA |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | Bulgarian 83.6%, Turk 9.5%, Roma 4.6%, other 2.3% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (1998) | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
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 |
euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Pierre-Henry MACCIONI (since 28 August 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Nassimah DINDAR (since NA March 2004) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | $5.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3% |
Exports - partners | Italy 14%, Turkey 10%, Germany 9%, Greece 8%, Serbia and Montenegro 8% (2001) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2004) |
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) | unofficial, local flag designed to emphasize solidarity among the people of Reunion; the field is divided vertically with three narrow stripes of blue, white, and red along the hoist edge representing the French national flag; the remainder of the field is divided diagonally into four triangles colored (clockwise from the hoist side) blue, golden yellow, red, and green; in the center, the apexes of the triangles are surmounted by a white disk; the only official flag is the national flag of France |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $50.6 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 14%
industry: 29% services: 58% (2001) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.4% (2002 est.) | 2.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 43 00 N, 25 00 E | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 37,288 km
paved: 33,786 km (including 324 km of expressways) unpaved: 3,502 km (2001) |
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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.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Russia 19.9%, Germany 15.3%, Italy 9.6%, France 6.0% (2001) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2004) |
Independence | 3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Industries | electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | 14.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 7.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.9% (2002 est.) | NA% |
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 | InOC, UPU, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 200 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 8,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 120 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) | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 3.83 million (2000 est.) | 299,000 (2002) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.) | agriculture: 13%
industry: 12% services: 75% (2000) |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 39%
permanent crops: 1.8% other: 59.2% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 13.94%
permanent crops: 1.59% other: 84.47% (2005) |
Languages | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French law |
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 |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held in 2001 (next to be held in 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRC 1, UDF 1, UMP 1; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 3, PS 1, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.5 years
male: 67.98 years female: 75.22 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 74.18 years
male: 70.78 years female: 77.75 years (2006 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: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Europe | World |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
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.) |
registered in other countries: 1 (Bahamas 1) (2006) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
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) | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $356 million (FY02) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.7% (FY02) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,873,052 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,566,816 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 56,104 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | earthquakes, landslides | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -4.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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) | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Elie HOARAU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Michel VERGOZ]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP |
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.) | 787,584 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 35% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -1.11% (2002 est.) | 1.34% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 4.51 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) |
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Religions | Bulgarian Orthodox 83.8%, Muslim 12.1%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, Jewish 0.1%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 2.3% (1998) | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 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: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,186,731 (2001) | 300,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.054 million (2001) | 579,200 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 1.13 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.45 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 18% (2002 est.) | 31% (2002) |
Waterways | 470 km (1987) | - |