Croatia (2005) | Bulgaria (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular) and 1 city* (grad - singular); Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska Zupanija, Brodsko-Posavska Zupanija, Dubrovacko-Neretvanska Zupanija, Istarska Zupanija, Karlovacka Zupanija, Koprivnicko-Krizevacka Zupanija, Krapinsko-Zagorska Zupanija, Licko-Senjska Zupanija, Medimurska Zupanija, Osjecko-Baranjska Zupanija, Pozesko-Slavonska Zupanija, Primorsko-Goranska Zupanija, Sibensko-Kninska Zupanija, Sisacko-Moslavacka Zupanija, Splitsko-Dalmatinska Zupanija, Varazdinska Zupanija, Viroviticko-Podravska Zupanija, Vukovarsko-Srijemska Zupanija, Zadarska Zupanija, Zagreb*, Zagrebacka Zupanija | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 16.4% (male 378,615/female 359,231)
15-64 years: 67% (male 1,497,355/female 1,514,993) 65 years and over: 16.6% (male 283,460/female 462,250) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
15.11% (male 597,765; female 567,030) 15-64 years: 68.17% (male 2,588,805; female 2,665,736) 65 years and over: 16.72% (male 543,665; female 744,494) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, barley, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets |
Airports | 68 (2004 est.) | 215 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 23
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 9 (2004 est.) |
total:
128 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 92 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 37 (2004 est.) |
total:
87 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 75 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 56,542 sq km
land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km |
total:
110,910 sq km land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | The lands that today comprise Croatia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the close of World War I. In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent Communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision, the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. | Bulgaria earned its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, but having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, it fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multi-party election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on a path toward eventual integration into NATO and the EU - with which it began accession negotiations in 2000. |
Birth rate | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.06 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $14.14 billion
expenditures: $15.65 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$4.85 billion expenditures: $4.92 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Zagreb | Sofia |
Climate | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) | 354 km |
Constitution | adopted on 22 December 1990; revised 2000, 2001 | adopted 12 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Croatia
conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska former: People's Republic of Croatia, Socialist Republic of Croatia |
conventional long form:
Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria |
Currency | - | lev (BGL) |
Death rate | 11.38 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 14.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $26.4 billion (2004 est.) | $10.4 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph FRANK
embassy: 2 Thomas Jefferson, 10010 Zagreb mailing address: use street address telephone: [385] (1) 661-2200 FAX: [385] (1) 661-2373 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Richard M. MILES embassy: 1 Suborna Street, Sofia mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 980-52-41 FAX: [359] (2) 981-89-77 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Neven JURICA
chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899 FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Philip DIMITROV chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-7969 FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973 consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | discussions continue with Bosnia and Herzegovina over several small disputed sections of the boundary; the Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement, which would have ceded most of Pirin Bay and maritime access to Slovenia and several villages to Croatia, remains un-ratified and in dispute; as a European Union peripheral state, neighboring Slovenia must conform to the strict Schengen border rules to curb illegal migration and commerce through southeastern Europe while encouraging close cross-border ties with Croatia | - |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA $166.5 million (2002) | $1 billion (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. The economy emerged from a mild recession in 2000 with tourism, banking, and public investments leading the way. Unemployment remains high, at about 14 percent, with structural factors slowing its decline. While macroeconomic stabilization has largely been achieved, structural reforms lag because of deep resistance on the part of the public and lack of strong support from politicians. Growth, while impressively about 4% for the last several years, has been achieved through high fiscal and current account deficits. The government is gradually reducing a heavy back log of civil cases, many involving land tenure. The EU accession process should accelerate fiscal and structural reform. | Bulgaria, a former communist country struggling to enter the European market economy, suffered a major economic downturn in 1996 and 1997, with triple digit inflation and GDP contraction of 10.6% and 6.9%. The current government - which took office in May 1997 after pre-term parliamentary elections - stabilized the economy and promoted growth by implementing a currency board, practicing sound financial policies, invigorating privatization, and pursuing structural reforms. Additionally, strong assistance from international financial institutions - most notably the IMF which approved a three-year Extended Fund Facility worth approximately $900 million in September 1998 - played a critical role in turning the economy around. After several years of tumult, Bulgaria's economy has stabilized. Its better-than-expected economic performance in 1999 - despite the impact of the Kosovo conflict, the 1998 Russian financial crisis, and structural reforms - and strong growth in 2000 portends solid growth over the next few years; this assumes continued fiscal restraint, additional structural reforms, aid from abroad, and prosperous times in the EU economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 15.2 billion kWh (2002) | 33.182 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 406 million kWh (2002) | 2.2 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 3.966 billion kWh (2002) | 1.7 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 12.51 billion kWh (2002) | 36.217 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
51.52% hydro: 8.35% nuclear: 40.12% other: 0.01% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Dinara 1,830 m |
lowest point:
Black Sea 0 m highest point: Musala 2,925 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; landmine removal and reconstruction of infrastructure consequent to 1992-95 civil strife | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, other 5.9% (including Bosniak, Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, and Roma) (2001 census) | Bulgarian 83%, Turk 8.5%, Roma 2.6%, Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Gagauz, Circassian, others (1998) |
Exchange rates | kuna per US dollar - 6.0358 (2004), 6.7035 (2003), 7.8687 (2002), 8.34 (2001), 8.2766 (2000) | leva per US dollar - 2.0848 (January 2001), 2.1233 (2000), 1.8364 (1999), 1,760.36 (1998), 1,681.88 (1997), 177.89 (1996)
note: on 5 July 1999, the lev was redenominated; the post-5 July 1999 lev is equal to 1,000 of the pre-5 July 1999 lev |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Stjepan (Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ivo SANADER (since 9 December 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Jadranka KOSOR (since 23 December 2003) and Damir POLANEC (since NA February 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the parliamentary Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 January 2005 (next to be held January 2010); the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president and then approved by the Assembly election results: Stjepan MESIC reelected president; percent of vote - Stjepan MESIC (HNS) 66%, Jadranka KOSOR (HDZ) 34% |
chief of state:
President Petar STOYANOV (since 22 January 1997); Vice President Todor KAVALDZHIEV (since 22 January 1997) head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Ivan KOSTOV (since 19 May 1997); Deputy Prime Minister Petur ZHOTEV (since 21 December 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 27 October and 3 November 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by the president; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister election results: Petar STOYANOV elected president; percent of vote - Petar STOYANOV 59.73% |
Exports | NA | $4.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels |
Exports - partners | Italy 23%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 13.4%, Germany 11.4%, Austria 9.6%, Slovenia 7.6% (2004) | Italy 14%, Turkey 10%, Germany 9%, Greece 8%, Yugoslavia 8%, Belgium 6%, France 5%, US 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) | 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) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $48 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.2%
industry: 30.1% services: 61.7% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
15% industry: 29% services: 56% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,200 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2004 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 45 10 N, 15 30 E | 43 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 28,344 km
paved: 23,979 km (including 455 km of expressways) unpaved: 4,365 km (2002) |
total:
36,724 km paved: 33,786 km (including 314 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,938 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 24.5% (2003 est.) |
lowest 10%:
3.4% highest 10%: 22.5% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe; has been used as a transit point for maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe | major European transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and, to a lesser degree, South American cocaine for the European market; limited producer of precursor chemicals |
Imports | NA | $5.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport and electrical equipment, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs | fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles |
Imports - partners | Italy 17.1%, Germany 15.5%, Russia 7.3%, Slovenia 7.1%, Austria 6.9%, France 4.4% (2004) | Russia 24%, Germany 14%, Italy 8%, Greece 5%, France 5%, Romania 4%, Turkey 3%, US 3% (2000) |
Independence | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) | 3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.7% (2004 est.) | 10.8% (2000 est.) |
Industries | chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages; tourism | electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel |
Infant mortality rate | total: 6.84 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.79 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
14.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2004 est.) | 10.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, BIS, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 26 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1998 est.) | 12,370 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the Assembly | 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) |
Labor force | 1.71 million (2004 est.) | 3.83 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 2.7%, industry 32.8%, services 64.5% (2004) | agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,197 km
border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia and Montenegro (north) 241 km, Serbia and Montenegro (south) 25 km, Slovenia 670 km |
total:
1,808 km border countries: Greece 494 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Yugoslavia 318 km, Turkey 240 km |
Land use | arable land: 26.09%
permanent crops: 2.27% other: 71.65% (2001) |
arable land:
43% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 14% forests and woodland: 38% other: 3% (1999 est.) |
Languages | Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census) | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown |
Legal system | based on civil law system | civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Assembly or Sabor (152 seats; note - one seat was added in the November 2003 parliamentary elections; members elected from party lists by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Assembly - last held 23 November 2003 (next to be held in 2007) election results: Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; number of seats by party - HDZ 66, SDP 34, HSS 10, HNS 10, HSP 8, IDS 4, Libra 3, HSU 3, SDSS 3, other 11 note: minority government coalition - HDZ, DC, HSLS, HSU, SDSS |
unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - National Movement for Simeon II 120, UDF 51, BSP 48, DPS 21 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.45 years
male: 70.79 years female: 78.31 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
71.2 years male: 67.72 years female: 74.89 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.5% male: 99.4% female: 97.8% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 98% (1999) |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 73 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 750,579 GRT/1,178,786 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 25, cargo 12, chemical tanker 2, passenger/cargo 25, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 1 (Denmark 1) registered in other countries: 31 (2005) |
total:
81 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 938,706 GRT/1,440,374 DWT ships by type: bulk 44, cargo 16, chemical tanker 4, container 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 6, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Ground Forces (Hrvatska Vojska, HKoV), Naval Forces (Hrvatska Ratna Mornarica, HRM), Air and Air Defense Forces (Hrvatsko Ratno Zrakoplovstvo i Protuzrakoplovna Obrana, HRZiPZO) | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense Forces, Internal Troops |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $620 million (2004) | $344 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.39% (2002 est.) | 2.4% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,891,498 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
1,581,697 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
56,104 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 8 October (1991); note - 25 June 1991 is the day the Croatian Parliament voted for independence; following a 3-month moratorium to allow the European Community to solve the Yugoslav crisis peacefully, Parliament adopted a decision on 8 October 1991 to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) |
Nationality | noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s)
adjective: Croatian |
noun:
Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes | earthquakes, landslides |
Natural resources | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, gypsum, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 1.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -4.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 1,340 km; oil 583 km (2004) | petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1,500 km (1999) |
Political parties and leaders | Croatian Bloc or HB [Ivic PASALIC]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Anto KOVACEVIC]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Anto DJAPIC]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Zlatko TOMCIC]; Croatian Pensioner Party or HSU [Vladimir JORDAN]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC] (in 2005 party merged with Libra to become Croatian People's Party-Liberal Democrats or NS-LD [Vesna PUSIC]); Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Ivan CEHOK]; Croatian True Revival Party or HIP [Miroslav TUDJMAN]; Democratic Centre or DC [Vesna SKARE-OZBOLT]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Liberal Party or LS [Zlatko BENASIC]; Party of Liberal Democrats or Libra [Jozo RADOS] (in 2005 merged with HNS); Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN] | Alliance for National Salvation or ANS (coalition led mainly by Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF) [Ahmed DOGAN]; Bulgarian Business Bloc or BBB [Georgi GANCHEV]; Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Georgi PURVANOV, chairman]; Democratic Left or DL (bloc led by BSP, includes Ecoglasnost Political Club and Bulgarian Agrarian National Union) [leader NA]; Euro-left [Aleksandur TOMOV]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or UMRO [Aleksander KARAKACHNOV]; Kingdom of Bulgaria Federation [leader NA]; Movement for Rights and Freedom or DPS [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II [Simeon II, former king]; New Civic Party for Bulgaria [Bogomil BONEV]; People's Union or PU (includes Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union and Democratic Party) [Anastasiya MOZER]; St. George's Day [Lyuben DILOV]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF (an alliance of pro-democratic parties) [Ivan KOSTOV] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | 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 |
Population | 4,495,904 (July 2005 est.) | 7,707,495 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 11% (2003) | 35% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.02% (2005 est.) | -1.14% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Omisalj, Ploce, Rijeka, Sibenik, Vukovar (on Danube) | Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) | AM 24, FM 93, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 4.51 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 2,726 km
standard gauge: 2,726 km 1.435-m gauge (984 km electrified) (2004) |
total:
4,294 km standard gauge: 4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,710 km electrified; 917 km double track) narrow gauge: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (1998) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.9%, none 5.2% (2001 census) | Bulgarian Orthodox 83.5%, Muslim 13%, Roman Catholic 1.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Jewish 0.8%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 1% (1998) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed) | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: reconstruction plan calls for replacement of all analog circuits with digital and enlarging the network; a backup will be included in the plan for the main trunk international: country code - 385; digital international service is provided through the main switch in Zagreb; Croatia participates in the Trans-Asia-Europe (TEL) fiber-optic project, which consists of two fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik; Croatia is also investing in ADRIA 1, a joint fiber-optic project with Germany, Albania, and Greece (2000) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.825 million (2002) | 3.255 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.553 million (2003) | 596,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (September 1995) | 96 (plus 1,030 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.13 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 13.8% (2004 est.) | 17.7% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 785 km (2004) | 470 km (1987) |