Isle of Man (2002) | Bulgaria (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 24 local authorities each with its own elections | 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: 17.5% (male 6,601; female 6,324)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 24,206; female 24,010) 65 years and over: 17.2% (male 5,097; female 7,635) (2002 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | cereals, vegetables; cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 216 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
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) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 88
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 74 (2002) |
Area | total: 572 sq km
land: 572 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 110,910 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | Part of the Norwegian Kingdom of the Hebrides until the 13th century when it was ceded to Scotland, the isle came under the British crown in 1765. Current concerns include reviving the almost extinct Manx Celtic language. | 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. |
Birth rate | 11.49 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.02 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $485 million
expenditures: $463 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est. ) |
revenues: $5.57 billion
expenditures: $5.68 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Douglas | Sofia |
Climate | temperate; cool summers and mild winters; overcast about one-third of the time | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 160 km | 354 km |
Constitution | unwritten; note - The Isle of Man Constitution Act, 1961, does not embody the Manx Constitution | adopted 12 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Isle of Man |
conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria |
Currency | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Manx pound | lev (BGL) |
Death rate | 11.68 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 14.34 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $10.3 billion (yearend 2002) |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (British crown dependency) | 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 |
Disputes - international | none | joint boundary commission is rectifying boundary with Romania based on shifts in Danube since last delimitation in 1920 |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $300 million (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism are key sectors of the economy. The government's policy of offering incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions to locate on the island has paid off in expanding employment opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, have declined in their shares of GDP. Trade is mostly with the UK. The Isle of Man enjoys free access to EU markets. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 32.52 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 6.79 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 830 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | - | 41.38 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 47.8%
hydro: 8.1% nuclear: 44.1% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Irish Sea 0 m
highest point: Snaefell 621 m |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 m |
Environment - current issues | waste disposal (both household and industrial); transboundary air pollution | 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-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 |
Ethnic groups | Manx (Norse-Celtic descent), Briton | Bulgarian 83.6%, Turk 9.5%, Roma 4.6%, other 2.3% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (1998) |
Exchange rates | Manx pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997); the Manx pound is at par with the British pound | 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 |
Executive branch | chief of state: Lord of Mann Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Ian MACFADYEN (since NA 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Richard CORKILL (since 6 December 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch for a five-year term; the Chief Minister is elected by the Tynwald; election last held 6 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2006) election results: Richard CORKILL elected chief minister by the Tynwald |
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% |
Exports | $NA | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | tweeds, herring, processed shellfish, beef, lamb | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels |
Exports - partners | UK | Italy 15.5%, Germany 9.6%, Turkey 9.4%, Greece 9.2%, France 5.3%, US 4.8% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | red with the Three Legs of Man emblem (Trinacria), in the center; the three legs are joined at the thigh and bent at the knee; in order to have the toes pointing clockwise on both sides of the flag, a two-sided emblem is used | 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 - $1.4 billion (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $49.23 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 13.7%
industry: 28.5% services: 57.9% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $18,800 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,500 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 13.5% (1999 est.) | 4.8% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 15 N, 4 30 W | 43 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | one small islet, the Calf of Man, lies to the southwest, and is a bird sanctuary | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 800 km
paved: 800 km unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
total: 37,286 km
paved: 35,049 km (including 324 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,237 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 4.5%
highest 10%: 22.8% (1997) |
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 | $NA | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | timber, fertilizers, fish | fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles |
Imports - partners | UK | Russia 14.6%, Germany 14.4%, Italy 11.4%, Greece 6.1%, France 5.7%, Turkey 5% (2002) |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | 3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.2% (FY96/97 ) | 2% (2002 est.) |
Industries | financial services, light manufacturing, tourism | electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel |
Infant mortality rate | 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 5.9% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | none | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | 200 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 8,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court of Justice (justices are appointed by the Lord Chancellor of England on the nomination of the lieutenant governor) | 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 | 36,610 (1998) | 3.83 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture, forestry and fishing 3%, manufacturing 11%, construction 10%, transport and communication 8%, wholesale and retail distribution 11%, professional and scientific services 18%, public administration 6%, banking and finance 18%, tourism 2%, entertainment and catering 3%, miscellaneous services 10% | agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 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 |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (permanent pastures, forests, mountain, and heathland) (1998 est.) |
arable land: 39%
permanent crops: 1.8% other: 59.2% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, Manx Gaelic | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown |
Legal system | English common law and Manx statute | civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Tynwald consists of the Legislative Council (an 11-member body composed of the President of Tynwald, the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, a nonvoting attorney general, and 8 others named by the House of Keys) and the House of Keys (24 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Keys - last held 22 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: House of Keys - percent of vote by party - Man Labor Party 17.3%, Alliance for Progressive Government 14.6%; seats by party - Man Labor Party 2, Alliance for Progressive Government 3, independents 19 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.81 years
male: 74.44 years female: 81.36 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 71.8 years
male: 68.26 years female: 75.56 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6% male: 99.1% female: 98.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, island in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 212 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,540,100 GRT/9,130,508 DWT
ships by type: bulk 29, cargo 34, chemical tanker 22, combination bulk 2, container 29, liquefied gas 24, petroleum tanker 46, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 5 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 45, France 1, Germany 48, Greece 6, Hong Kong 10, Iceland 1, Italy 8, Monaco 7, Netherlands 3, Norway 5, Sweden 4, Switzerland 2, United Kingdom 70, United States 1 (2002 est.) |
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.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
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) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $356 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.7% (FY02) |
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 | Tynwald Day, 5 July | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) |
Nationality | noun: Manxman (men), Manxwoman (women)
adjective: Manx |
noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian |
Natural hazards | NA | earthquakes, landslides |
Natural resources | none | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 5.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -4.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,425 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Man Labor Party [leader NA]; Alliance for Progressive Government [leader NA]; Man Nationalist Party [leader NA]
note: most members sit as independents |
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) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | agrarian movement; Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas |
Population | 73,873 (July 2002 est.) | 7,537,929 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 12.6% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.52% (2002 est.) | -1.09% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Castletown, Douglas, Peel, Ramsey | Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | total: 68.5 km (43.5 km electrified) (2001) | 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) |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Society of Friends | Bulgarian Orthodox 83.8%, Muslim 12.1%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, Jewish 0.1%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 2.3% (1998) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: landline, telefax, mobile cellular telephone system international: fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, satellite earth station, submarine cable |
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 | 51,000 (1999) | 3,186,731 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 1.054 million (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (receives broadcasts from the UK and satellite) (1999) | 39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | hills in north and south bisected by central valley | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.13 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.7% (February 2002 ) | 18% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | 470 km (1987) |