Compare Bulgaria (2008) - Portugal (2004)

Compare Bulgaria (2008) z Portugal (2004)

	Bulgaria (2008)	Portugal (2004)

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	18 districts (distritos, singular - distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regioes autonomas, singular - regiao autonoma); Aveiro, Acores (Azores), Beja, Braga, Braganca, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa, Madeira, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu
Age structure	0-14 years: 13.9% (male 521,117/female 496,022) 15-64 years: 68.7% (male 2,472,424/female 2,556,102) 65 years and over: 17.4% (male 523,660/female 753,533) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 16.7% (male 916,106; female 840,574) 15-64 years: 66.4% (male 3,454,970; female 3,535,108) 65 years and over: 16.9% (male 735,407; female 1,041,980) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	vegetables, fruits, tobacco, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets; livestock	grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, beef, dairy products
Airports	214 (2007)	66 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 131 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 95 (2007)	total: 42 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 83 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 72 (2007)	total: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 22 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 110,910 sq km land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km	total: 92,391 sq km land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Tennessee	slightly smaller than Indiana
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. Northern Bulgaria attained autonomy in 1878 and all of Bulgaria became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1908. Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria 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. The country joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007.	Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil as a colony. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year, Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal is a founding member of NATO and entered the EC (now the EU) in 1986.
Birth rate	9.62 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	10.9 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $16.62 billion expenditures: $15.18 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $64.81 billion expenditures: $69.09 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Capital	name: Sofia geographic coordinates: 42 41 N, 23 19 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October	Lisbon
Climate	temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers	maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south
Coastline	354 km	1,793 km
Constitution	adopted 12 July 1991	25 April 1976; revised 30 October 1982, 1 June 1989, 5 November 1992, 3 September 1997, 12 December 2001, and 24 July 2004
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria local long form: Republika Balgariya local short form: Balgariya	conventional long form: Portuguese Republic conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal
Currency	-	euro (EUR) note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries
Death rate	14.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	10.37 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$29.29 billion (30 June 2007)	$250.7 billion (2003 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador John Ross BEYRLE embassy: 16 Kozyak Street, Sofia 1407 mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, US Department of State, 5740 Sofia Place, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100 FAX: [359] (2) 937-5320	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Adrienne S. O'NEAL embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon mailing address: Apartado 4258, 1507 Lisboa Codex; PSC 83, APO AE 09726 telephone: [351] (21) 727-3300 FAX: [351] (21) 726-9109 consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores)
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) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York	chief of mission: Ambassador Pedro Manuel Dos Reis Alves CATARINO chancery: 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-8610 FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726 consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San Francisco consulate(s): Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island)
Disputes - international	none	some Portuguese groups assert dormant claims to territories ceded to Spain around the town of Olivenza
Economic aid - donor	-	ODA, $271 million (1995)
Economic aid - recipient	$742 million (2005-06 est.)	-
Economy - overview	Bulgaria, a former communist country that entered the EU on 1 January 2007, has experienced strong growth since a major economic downturn in 1996. Successive governments have demonstrated commitment to economic reforms and responsible fiscal planning, but have failed so far to rein in rising inflation and large current account deficits. Bulgaria has averaged more than 6% growth since 2004, attracting significant amounts of foreign direct investment, but corruption in the public administration, a weak judiciary, and the presence of organized crime remain significant challenges.	Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past decade, successive governments have privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors. The country qualified for the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and began circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU member economies. Economic growth has been above the EU average for much of the past decade, but fell back in 2001-03. GDP per capita stands at 70% of that of the leading EU economies. A poor educational system, in particular, has been an obstacle to greater productivity and growth. Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a target for foreign direct investment. The coalition government faces tough choices in its attempts to boost Portugal's economic competitiveness and to keep the budget deficit within the 3% EU ceiling.
Electricity - consumption	37.4 billion kWh (2006)	41.48 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	7.8 billion kWh (2006)	3.479 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2006)	3.743 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	45.7 billion kWh (2006)	44.32 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Musala 2,925 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on Ilha do Pico in the Azores 2,351 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	soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas
Environment - international agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001 census)	homogeneous Mediterranean stock; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000; since 1990 East Europeans have entered Portugal
Exchange rates	leva per US dollar - 1.4366 (2007), 1.5576 (2006), 1.5741 (2005), 1.5751 (2004), 1.7327 (2003)	euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Georgi PARVANOV (since 22 January 2002); Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Sergei STANISHEV (since 16 August 2005); Deputy Prime Ministers Ivaylo KALFIN, Daniel VULCHEV, and Emel ETEM (since 16 August 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 22 and 29 October 2006 (next to be held in 2011); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by the president and elected by the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly election results: Georgi PARVANOV reelected president; percent of vote - Georgi PARVANOV 77.3%, Volen SIDEROV 22.7%; Sergei STANISHEV elected prime minister, result of legislative vote - 168 to 67	chief of state: President Jorge SAMPAIO (since 9 March 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Pedro SANTANA LOPES (since 17 July 2004); note - Prime Minister Jose Manuel DURAO BARROSO resigned 5 July 2004 to take over the Presidency of the European Commission; Prime Minister Pedro SANTANA LOPES and his government resigned 11 December 2004, but will stay on in a caretaker capacity until February 2005 elections cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister note: there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 January 2001 (next to be held NA January 2006); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Jorge SAMPAIO reelected president; percent of vote - Jorge SAMPAIO (Socialist) 55.8%, Joaquim FERREIRA Do Amaral (Social Democrat) 34.5%, Antonio ABREU (Communist) 5.1%
Exports	51,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)	28,830 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities	clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels	clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides
Exports - partners	Turkey 12%, Italy 10.4%, Germany 10%, Greece 8.2%, Belgium 6.8%, France 4.3% (2006)	Spain 22.7%, Germany 15.2%, France 12.9%, UK 10.5%, US 5.8%, Italy 4.8%, Belgium 4.6% (2003)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red note: the national emblem, formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe, has been removed	two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the dividing line
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $181.8 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 8.1% industry: 31.3% services: 60.7% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 5.8% industry: 30.7% services: 63.2% (2003)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $18,000 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.1% (2007 est.)	-1.3% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	43 00 N, 25 00 E	39 30 N, 8 00 W
Geography - note	strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia	Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
Heliports	4 (2007)	-
Highways	-	total: 68,732 km paved: 59,110 km (including 1441 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,622 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.9% highest 10%: 25.4% (2005)	lowest 10%: 3.1% highest 10%: 28.4% (1995 est.)
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	gateway country for Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market (especially from Brazil); transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe; consumer of Southwest Asian heroin
Imports	138,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)	357,300 bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials	machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products
Imports - partners	Germany 15%, Italy 10.6%, Turkey 7.2%, Greece 6.3%, China 5%, France 4.9%, Romania 4.5% (2006)	Spain 29.1%, Germany 14.7%, France 9.9%, Italy 6.4%, UK 4.9%, Netherlands 4.6% (2003)
Independence	3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire)	1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (independent republic proclaimed)
Industrial production growth rate	5.5% (2007 est.)	0.4% (2003 est.)
Industries	electricity, gas, water; food, beverages, tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel	textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism
Infant mortality rate	total: 19.16 deaths/1,000 live births male: 22.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 5.13 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7.8% (2007 est.)	3.3% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC	AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Irrigated land	5,880 sq km (2003)	6,320 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 or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura)
Labor force	3.44 million (2007 est.)	5.409 million (2003)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 8.5% industry: 33.6% services: 57.9% (2nd qtr. 2006 est.)	agriculture 10%, industry 30%, services 60% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 1,808 km border countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia 318 km, Turkey 240 km	total: 1,214 km border countries: Spain 1,214 km
Land use	arable land: 29.94% permanent crops: 1.9% other: 68.16% (2005)	arable land: 21.75% permanent crops: 7.81% other: 70.44% (2001)
Languages	Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)	Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used)
Legal system	civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations	civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; 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 25 June 2005 (next to be held in June 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - CfB 31.1%, NMS2 19.9%, MRF 12.7%, ATAKA 8.2%, UDF 7.7%, DSB 6.5%, BPU 5.2%, other 8.7%; seats by party - CfB 83, NMS2 53, MRF 33, UDF 20, ATAKA 17, DSB 17, BPU 13, independents 4; note - seats by party as of January 2008 - CfB 82, NMS2 36, MRF 34, UDF 16, DSB 16, Bulgarian New Democracy 16, BPU 13, ATAKA 11, independents 16	unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 17 March 2002 (next to be held 20 February 2005); note - President SAMPAIO called for early elections after dissolving Parliament on 10 December 2004 because he lacked confidence in the four-month center-right government election results: percent of vote by party - PSD 40.1%, PS 37.8%, PP 8.7%, PCP/PEV 6.9%, The Left Bloc 2.7%; seats by party - PSD 105, PS 96, PP 14, PCP/PEV 12, The Left Bloc 3
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 72.57 years male: 68.95 years female: 76.4 years (2007 est.)	total population: 77.35 years male: 74.06 years female: 80.85 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.2% male: 98.7% female: 97.7% (2001 census)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93.3% male: 95.5% female: 91.3% (2003 est.)
Location	Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey	Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain
Map references	Europe	Europe
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Merchant marine	total: 71 ships (1000 GRT or over) 833,153 GRT/1,194,660 DWT by type: bulk carrier 37, cargo 14, chemical tanker 4, container 6, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 3 (Germany 1, Ireland 1, Russia 1) registered in other countries: 39 (Comoros 1, Malta 15, Mongolia 2, Panama 1, Slovakia 7, St Vincent and The Grenadines 13) (2007)	total: 122 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 872,557 GRT/1,236,025 DWT by type: bulk 12, cargo 49, chemical tanker 19, container 8, liquefied gas 7, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger 6, petroleum tanker 7, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 5, short-sea/passenger 5, vehicle carrier 2 foreign-owned: Australia 1, Belgium 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 7, Germany 21, Greece 2, Guadeloupe 1, Iceland 1, Italy 16, Japan 1, Malta 1, Norway 7, Panama 1, Spain 18, Switzerland 7, Ukraine 1, United Kingdom 1 registered in other countries: 24 (2004 est.)
Military branches	Bulgarian Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Bulgarian Air Forces (Bulgarski Voennovazdyshni Sily, BVVS) (2008)	Army, Navy (PON; including Marines), Air Force (FAP), Republican Guard (including Fiscal Guard)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$3,497.8 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.6% (2005 est.)	2.3% (2003)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 2,628,892 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 2,107,502 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 72,821 (2004 est.)
National holiday	Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)	Portugal Day, 10 June (1580); note - also called Camoes Day, the day that revered national poet Luis de Camoes (1524-80) died
Nationality	noun: Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian	noun: Portuguese (singular and plural) adjective: Portuguese
Natural hazards	earthquakes, landslides	Azores subject to severe earthquakes
Natural resources	bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land	fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower
Net migration rate	-3.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	3.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	gas 2,500 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2007)	gas 1,099 km; oil 8 km; refined products 174 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	ATAKA (Attack Coalition) (coalition of parties headed by the Attack National Union); Attack National Union [Volen SIDEROV]; Bulgarian Agrarian National Union-People's Union or BANU [Anastasia MOZER]; Bulgarian New Democracy [Borislav RALCHEV]; Bulgarian People's Union or BPU (coalition of UFD, IMRO, and BANU); Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria or GERB [Boyko BORISOV]; Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB (coalition of parties dominated by BSP) [Sergei STANISHEV]; Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria or DSB [Ivan KOSTOV]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or IMRO [Krasimir KARAKACHANOV]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Stability and Progress or NDSV [Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA]; New Time [Emil KOSHLUKOV]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Petar STOYANOV]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces or UtDF (a coalition of center-right parties dominated by UDF)	Green Ecologist Party or PEV [Heloisa APOLONIA]; Popular Party or PP [Paulo PORTAS]; Portuguese Communist Party or PCP [Jeronimo de SOUSA]; Portuguese Socialist Party or PS [Jose SOCRATES Carvalho Pinto de Sousa]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Pedro Miguel SANTANA LOPES]; The Left Bloc or BE [Franciso Anacleto LOUCA]
Political pressure groups and leaders	Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas	NA
Population	7,322,858 (July 2007 est.)	10,524,145 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	14.1% (2003 est.)	NA
Population growth rate	-0.837% (2007 est.)	0.41% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Aveiro, Funchal (Madeira Islands), Horta (Azores), Leixoes, Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Praia da Vitoria (Azores), Setubal, Viana do Castelo
Radio broadcast stations	AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001)	AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), 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 (2006)	total: 2,850 km broad gauge: 2,576 km 1.668-m gauge (623 km electrified) narrow gauge: 274 km 1.000-m gauge (2003)
Religions	Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, other Christian 1.2%, other 4% (2001 census)	Roman Catholic 94%, Protestant (1995)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.051 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.967 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.695 male(s)/female total population: 0.924 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: an extensive but antiquated telecommunications network inherited from the Soviet era; quality has improved; the Bulgaria Telecommunications Company's fixed-line monopoly terminated in 2005 when alternative fixed-line operators were given access to its network; a drop in fixed-line connections in recent years has been offset by a sharp increase in mobile-cellular telephone use fostered by multiple service providers domestic: 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: country code - 359; submarine cable provides connectivity to Ukraine and Russia; a combination submarine cable and land fiber-optic system provides connectivity to Italy, Albania, and Macedonia; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 2 Intelsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (2007)	general assessment: Portugal's telephone system has achieved a state-of-the-art network with broadband, high-speed capabilities and a main line telephone density of 53% domestic: integrated network of coaxial cables, open-wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic satellite earth stations international: country code - 351; 6 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to Azores; note - an earth station for Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region) is planned
Telephones - main lines in use	2.399 million (2006)	4,278,800 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	8.253 million (2006)	9,341,400 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001)	62 (plus 166 repeaters) note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands (1995)
Terrain	mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast	mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south
Total fertility rate	1.39 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.46 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	8% (2007 est.)	6.4% (2003 est.)
Waterways	470 km (2007)	210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2003)

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