##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Bulgaria (2003) - Turkmenistan (2005)
Compare Bulgaria (2003) z Turkmenistan (2005)
| Bulgaria (2003) | Turkmenistan (2005) | |
 |  | |
| 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 | 5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Balkanabat), Dashoguz Welayaty, Lebap Welayaty (Turkmenabat), Mary Welayaty
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 14.2% (male 549,142; female 520,057)
15-64 years: 68.8% (male 2,551,548; female 2,632,978) 65 years and over: 17% (male 535,165; female 749,039) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 35.7% (male 909,113/female 860,128)
15-64 years: 60.2% (male 1,462,198/female 1,516,836) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 78,119/female 125,687) (2005 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets | cotton, grain; livestock |
| Airports | 216 (2002) | 53 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 128
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 20 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 92 (2002) |
total: 23
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 88
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 74 (2002) |
total: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 26 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 110,910 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: negl. |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly larger than 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. | Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President NIYAZOV retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects were to be expanded. The Turkmenistan Government is actively seeking to develop alternative petroleum transportation routes in order to break Russia's pipeline monopoly. |
| Birth rate | 8.02 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 27.68 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $5.57 billion
expenditures: $5.68 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $3.05 billion
expenditures: $3.05 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
| Capital | Sofia | Ashgabat |
| Climate | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers | subtropical desert |
| Coastline | 354 km | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) |
| Constitution | adopted 12 July 1991 | adopted 18 May 1992 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic |
| Currency | lev (BGL) | - |
| Death rate | 14.34 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $10.3 billion (yearend 2002) | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 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, 5740 Sofia Place, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100 FAX: [359] (2) 981-89-77 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Tracey A. JACOBSON
embassy: 9 Pushkin (1984) Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000 mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-7070 telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45 FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Elena B. POPTODOROVA
chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-0174 FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973 consulate(s): New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Mered Bairamovich ORAZOV
chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697 |
| Disputes - international | joint boundary commission is rectifying boundary with Romania based on shifts in Danube since last delimitation in 1920 | cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; bilateral talks continue with Azerbaijan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; demarcation of land boundary with Kazakhstan has started but Caspian seabed delimitation remains stalled |
| Economic aid - recipient | $300 million (2000 est.) | $16 million from the US (2001) |
| Economy - overview | Bulgaria, a former communist country striving to enter the European Union, has experienced macroeconomic stability and strong growth since a major economic downturn in 1996 led to the fall of the then socialist government. As a result, the government became committed to economic reform and responsible fiscal planning. A $300 million stand-by agreement negotiated with the IMF at the end of 2001 has supported government efforts to overcome high rates of poverty and unemployment. | Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton; formerly it was the world's tenth-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to a nearly 46% decline in cotton exports. With an authoritarian ex-Communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. In 1998-2004, Turkmenistan suffered from the continued lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time, however, total exports rose by perhaps 30% in 2003 and 19% in 2004, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt, the government's irrational use of oil and gas revenues, and its unwillingness to adopt market-oriented reforms. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In particular, the rate of GDP growth is uncertain. |
| Electricity - consumption | 32.52 billion kWh (2001) | 8.908 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 6.79 billion kWh (2001) | 1.136 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - imports | 830 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 41.38 billion kWh (2001) | 11.41 billion kWh (2004 est.) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 47.8%
hydro: 8.1% nuclear: 44.1% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 m |
lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m)
highest point: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 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 | contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salination, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea; 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | Bulgarian 83.6%, Turk 9.5%, Roma 4.6%, other 2.3% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (1998) | Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) |
| Exchange rates | leva per US dollar - 2.08 (2002), 2.18 (2001), 2.12 (2000), 1.84 (1999), 1.76 (1998)
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 |
Turkmen manats per US dollar - 10,100 (2004), 10,034 (2003), 10,098 (2002), 5,200 (2001)
note: in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 21,000 manats to the dollar |
| 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), and Lidiya SHULEVA (since 24 July 2001), Plamen PANAYOTOV (since 17 July 2003) 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 and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 during a session of the People's Council (Halk Maslahaty) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held in 2008 when NIYAZOV turns 70 and is constitutionally ineligible to run); note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the People's Council on 28 December 1999; deputy chairmen of the cabinet of ministers are appointed by the president election results: Saparmurat NIYAZOV elected president without opposition; percent of vote - Saparmurat NIYAZOV 99.5% |
| Exports | NA (2001) | NA |
| Exports - commodities | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels | gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles |
| Exports - partners | Italy 15.5%, Germany 9.6%, Turkey 9.4%, Greece 9.2%, France 5.3%, US 4.8% (2002) | Ukraine 46.6%, Iran 17.3%, Turkey 4.2%, Italy 4.1% (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) | green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on the UN flag; a white crescent moon and five white stars appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $49.23 billion (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 13.7%
industry: 28.5% services: 57.9% (2001) |
agriculture: 28.5%
industry: 42.7% services: 28.8% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,500 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,700 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.8% (2002 est.) | IMF estimate: 7.5%
note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are notoriously unreliable (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 43 00 N, 25 00 E | 40 00 N, 60 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia | landlocked; the western and central low-lying, desolate portions of the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum) desert, which occupies over 80% of the country; eastern part is plateau |
| Heliports | 1 (2002) | 1 (2004 est.) |
| Highways | total: 37,286 km
paved: 35,049 km (including 324 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,237 km (2000) |
total: 24,000 km
paved: 19,488 km unpaved: 4,512 km (1999 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4.5%
highest 10%: 22.8% (1997) |
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1998) |
| 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 | transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan |
| Imports | NA (2001) | NA |
| Imports - commodities | fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles | machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | Russia 14.6%, Germany 14.4%, Italy 11.4%, Greece 6.1%, France 5.7%, Turkey 5% (2002) | US 11.8%, Russia 9.7%, UAE 9.2%, Ukraine 9%, Turkey 8.6%, Germany 8%, France 5%, Georgia 4.6%, Iran 4.5% (2004) |
| Independence | 3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire) | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2002 est.) | official government estimate: 22% (2003 est.) |
| Industries | electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 13.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.43 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 73.08 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 76.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 69.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.9% (2002 est.) | 9% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, 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, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 200 (2001) | - |
| Irrigated land | 8,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 17,500 sq km (2003 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 (judges are appointed by the president) |
| Labor force | 3.83 million (2000 est.) | 2.32 million (2003 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.) | agriculture 48.2%, industry 13.8%, services 37% (2003 est.) |
| 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: 3,736 km
border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km |
| Land use | arable land: 39%
permanent crops: 1.8% other: 59.2% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 3.72%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 96.14% (2001) |
| Languages | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% |
| Legal system | civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
| 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 |
under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 2,500 delegates, some of whom are elected by popular vote and some of whom are appointed; meets at least yearly) and a unicameral Parliament or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003; Mejlis - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009) election results: Mejlis - DPT 100%; seats by party - DPT 50; note - all 50 elected officials are members of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan and are preapproved by President NIYAZOV note: in late 2003, a new law was adopted, reducing the powers of the Mejlis and making the Halk Maslahaty the supreme legislative organ; the Halk Maslahaty can now legally dissolve the Mejlis, and the president is now able to participate in the Mejlis as its supreme leader; the Mejlis can no longer adopt or amend the constitution, or announce referendums or its elections; since the president is both the "Chairman for Life" of the Halk Maslahaty and the supreme leader of the Mejlis, the 2003 law has the effect of making him the sole authority of both the executive and legislative branches of government |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.8 years
male: 68.26 years female: 75.56 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 61.39 years
male: 58.02 years female: 64.93 years (2005 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6% male: 99.1% female: 98.2% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.8% male: 99.3% female: 98.3% (1995 est.) |
| Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan |
| Map references | Europe | Asia |
| Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 69 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 829,421 GRT/1,252,496 DWT
ships by type: bulk 42, cargo 10, chemical tanker 4, container 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, railcar carrier 2, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,873 GRT/8,345 DWT
by type: cargo 3, combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2005) |
| 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) | Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (2004) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $356 million (FY02) | $90 million (FY99) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.7% (FY02) | 3.4% (FY99) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,854,049 (2003 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,551,485 (2003 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 54,107 (2003 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) |
| Nationality | noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian |
noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmen |
| Natural hazards | earthquakes, landslides | NA |
| Natural resources | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt |
| Net migration rate | -4.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -0.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 2,425 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2003) | gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004) |
| 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]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Nadezhda MIKHAYLOVA]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces or UtdDF (a coalition between the UDF and other center-right parties) | Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries; the two most prominent opposition groups-in-exile have been Gundogar and Erkin; Gundogar was led by former Foreign Minister Boris SHIKHMURADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the wake of the 25 November 2002 assassination attempt on President NIYAZOV; Erkin is led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based out of Moscow; the Union of Democratic Forces, a coalition of opposition-in-exile groups, is based in Europe |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | agrarian movement; Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas | NA |
| Population | 7,537,929 (July 2003 est.) | 4,952,081 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 12.6% (2001 est.) | 58% (2003 est.) |
| Population growth rate | -1.09% (2003 est.) | 1.81% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin | Turkmenbasy |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001) | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) |
| 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) |
total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2004) |
| Religions | Bulgarian Orthodox 83.8%, Muslim 12.1%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, Jewish 0.1%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 2.3% (1998) | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% |
| 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: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 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: poorly developed
domestic: NA international: country code - 993; linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; a new telephone link from Ashgabat to Iran has been established; a new exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat; satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 3,186,731 (2001) | 374,000 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.054 million (2001) | 52,000 (2004) |
| Television broadcast stations | 39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001) | 4 (government owned and programmed) (2004) |
| Terrain | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast | flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west |
| Total fertility rate | 1.13 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.41 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 18% (2002 est.) | 60% (2004 est.) |
| Waterways | 470 km (1987) | 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003) |
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