Japan (2002) | Bulgaria (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi | 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: 14.5% (male 9,465,282; female 8,999,888)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 43,027,320; female 42,586,112) 65 years and over: 18% (male 9,664,112; female 13,231,914) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 13.9% (male 527,881/female 502,334)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 2,496,054/female 2,579,680) 65 years and over: 17.3% (male 527,027/female 752,391) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets; livestock |
Airports | 173 (2001) | 217 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 141
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 37 1,524 to 2,437 m: 38 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 32 (2002) |
total: 132
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: 96 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 31 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 27 (2002) |
total: 85
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 72 (2006) |
Area | total: 377,835 sq km
land: 374,744 sq km water: 3,091 sq km note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto) |
total: 110,910 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than California | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | While retaining its time-honored culture, Japan rapidly absorbed Western technology during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After its devastating defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become the second most powerful economy in the world and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth. | 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 is slated to join the EU in 2007. |
Birth rate | 10.03 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.65 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $441 billion
expenditures: $718 billion, including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $84 billion |
revenues: $11.18 billion
expenditures: $10.9 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Tokyo | 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 |
Climate | varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 29,751 km | 354 km |
Constitution | 3 May 1947 | adopted 12 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Japan |
conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria local long form: Republika Balgariya local short form: Balgariya |
Currency | yen (JPY) | - |
Death rate | 8.53 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 14.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $15.32 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Howard H. BAKER, Jr.
embassy: 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 mailing address: Unit 45004, Box 205, APO AP 96337-5004 telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000 FAX: [81] (03) 3505-1862 consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ryozo KATO
chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Hagatna (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands) |
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 |
Disputes - international | islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with South Korea; Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) claimed by China and Taiwan | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $9.1 billion (1999) (1999) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $475 million per year in EU pre-accession aid (2004-06) |
Economy - overview | Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) have helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and third largest economy in the world after the US and China. One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The much smaller agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self-sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s largely because of the aftereffects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government efforts to revive economic growth have met with little success and were further hampered in 2000-02 by the slowing of the US and Asian economies. The crowding of habitable land area and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic strength, with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots". Internal conflict over the proper means to reform the ailing banking system will continue in 2003. | Bulgaria, a former communist country soon 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. Minerals, including coal, copper, and zinc, play an important role in industry. In 1997, macroeconomic stability was reinforced by the imposition of a fixed exchange rate of the lev against the German D-mark - the currency is now fixed against the euro - and the negotiation of an IMF standby agreement. Low inflation and steady progress on structural reforms improved the business environment; Bulgaria has averaged 4% growth since 2000 and has begun to attract significant amounts of foreign direct investment. Corruption in the public administration, a weak judiciary, and the presence of organized crime remain the largest challenges for Bulgaria. |
Electricity - consumption | 943.71 billion kWh (2000) | 25.1 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 6.8 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 1.3 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 1.015 trillion kWh (2000) | 45 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 61%
hydro: 9% nuclear: 29% other: 2% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
highest point: Fujiyama 3,776 m |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere | 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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulfur 94 |
Ethnic groups | Japanese 99%, others 1% (Korean 511,262, Chinese 244,241, Brazilian 182,232, Filipino 89,851, other 237,914) (2000) | Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | yen per US dollar - 132.66 (January 2002), 121.53 (2001), 107.77 (2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997) | leva per US dollar - 1.5741 (2005), 1.5751 (2004), 1.7327 (2003), 2.077 (2002), 2.1847 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)
head of government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI (since 24 April 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the Diet designates the prime minister; the constitution requires that the prime minister must command a parliamentary majority, therefore, following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister note: following the resignation of Prime Minister Yoshiro MORI, Junichiro KOIZUMI was elected as the new president of the majority Liberal Democratic Party, and soon thereafter designated by the Diet to become the next prime minister |
chief of state: President Georgi PURVANOV (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 PURVANOV reelected president; percent of vote - Georgi PURVANOV 77.3%, Volen SIDEROV 22.7%; Sergei STANISHEV elected prime minister, result of legislative vote - 168 to 67 |
Exports | $383.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | motor vehicles, semiconductors, office machinery, chemicals | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels |
Exports - partners | US 30.1%, China 7.7%, South Korea 6.3%, Taiwan 6.0%, Hong Kong 5.8% (2001) | Italy 12%, Turkey 10.5%, Germany 9.8%, Greece 9.5%, France 4.6% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.55 trillion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 31% services: 68% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 9.3%
industry: 30.4% services: 60.3% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $28,000 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -0.3% (2002 est.) | 5.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 36 00 N, 138 00 E | 43 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location in northeast Asia | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia |
Heliports | 15 (2002) | 4 (2006) |
Highways | total: 1,152,207 km
paved: 863,003 km (including 6,114 km of expressways) unpaved: 289,204 km (1997 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 22% (1993) |
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 23.7% (2001) |
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 | $292.1 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | 85,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles (2001) | machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials |
Imports - partners | US 18.1%, China 16.6%, South Korea 4.9%, Taiwan 4.1%, Indonesia 4.3% (2001 est.) | Russia 15.6%, Germany 13.6%, Italy 9%, Turkey 6.1%, Greece 5%, France 4.7% (2005) |
Independence | 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu) | 3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | -1.4% (2002 est.) | 7.9% (2005) |
Industries | among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals; textiles, processed foods | electricity, gas, water; food, beverages, tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel |
Infant mortality rate | 3.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 19.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.9% (2002 est.) | 5% (2005) |
International organization participation | AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 73 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 26,790 sq km (1998 est.) | 5,880 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet) | 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 | 67.7 million (December 2000 ) | 3.34 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 70%, industry 25%, agriculture 5% (2002 est.) | agriculture: 11%
industry: 32.7% services: 56.3% (3rd qtr. 2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,808 km
border countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia 318 km, Turkey 240 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.13%
permanent crops: 1.01% other: 86.86% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 29.94%
permanent crops: 1.9% other: 68.16% (2005) |
Languages | Japanese | Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) |
Legal system | modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (247 seats - formerly 252; one-half of the members elected every three years - 73 seats of which are elected from the 47 multi-seat prefectural districts and 48 of which are elected from a single nationwide list; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - 180 of which are elected from 11 regional blocks on a proportional representation basis and 300 of which are elected from 300 single-seat districts; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Councillors - last held 29 July 2001 (next to be held NA July 2004); House of Representatives - last held 25 June 2000 (next must be held by June 2004, but may occur sooner) election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDP 110, DPJ 59, Komeito 23, JCP 20, SDP 8, Liberal Party 8, Conservative Party 5, independents 14; note - the distribution of seats as of January 2002 is: LDP 115, DPJ 60, Komeito 24, JCP 20, SDP 8, Liberal Party 8, independents 6, others 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDP 233, DPJ 127, Komeito 31, Liberal Party 22, JCP 20, SDP 19, other 28; note - the distribution of seats as of January 2002 is: LDP 242, DPJ 126, Komeito 31, Liberal Party 22, JCP 20, SDP 19, NCP 7, other 13 |
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 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%; seats by party - CfB 83, NMS2 53, MRF 33, UDF 20, ATAKA 17, DSB 17, BPU 13, independents 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.91 years
male: 77.73 years female: 84.25 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 72.3 years
male: 68.68 years female: 76.13 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1970 est.) 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 | Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey |
Map references | Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM; between 3 NM and 12 NM in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 615 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 10,995,839 GRT/14,405,159 DWT
ships by type: bulk 133, cargo 48, chemical tanker 17, combination bulk 24, combination ore/oil 3, container 19, liquefied gas 50, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 189, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 48, short-sea passenger 6, vehicle carrier 54 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: China 1, Panama 1, Singapore 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 75 ships (1000 GRT or over) 872,653 GRT/1,294,877 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 40, cargo 17, chemical tanker 4, container 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 2 (Germany 1, Russia 1) registered in other countries: 41 (Cambodia 1, Comoros 1, Malta 13, Panama 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 17, Slovakia 7, unknown 1) (2006) |
Military branches | Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force), Japanese Coast Guard | Bulgarian Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Bulgarian Air Force (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $40,774.3 million (FY01) | $356 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY01) | 2.6% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 29,644,498 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 25,637,387 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 765,817 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933) | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) |
Nationality | noun: Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Japanese |
noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian |
Natural hazards | many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons | earthquakes, landslides |
Natural resources | negligible mineral resources, fish | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -4.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 84 km; petroleum products 322 km; natural gas 1,800 km | gas 2,505 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Yukio HATOYAMA, leader, Naoto KAN, secretary general]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Tetsuzo FUWA, chairman, Tadayeshi ICHIDA, secretary general]; Komeito [Takenori KANZAKI, president, Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Junichiro KOIZUMI, president, Taku YAMASAKI, secretary general]; Liberal Party [Ichiro OZAWA, president, Hirohisa FUJII, secretary general]; New Conservative Party or NCP [Takeshi NODA, president, Toshihiro NIKAI, secretary general]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Takako DOI, chairperson, Mizuho FUKUSHIMA, secretary general] | 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 People's Union or BPU (coalition of UFD, IMRO, and BANU); Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; 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 Simeon II or NMS2 [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) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas |
Population | 126,974,628 (July 2002 est.) | 7,385,367 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | Below $2.15 per day (PPP) 4% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 0.15% (2002 est.) | -0.86% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Akita, Amagasaki, Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Higashi-Harima, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 215 plus 370 repeaters, FM 89 plus 485 repeaters, shortwave 21 (2001) | AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Radios | 120.5 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 23,654 km (15,895 km electrified)
standard gauge: 3,059 km 1.435-m gauge (entirely electrified) narrow gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (entirely electrified); 20,491 km 1.067-m gauge (12,732 km electrified); 27 km 0.762-m gauge (entirely electrified) (2000) |
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 (2005) |
Religions | observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) | Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, other Christian 1.2%, other 4% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 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: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); submarine cables to China, Philippines, Russia, and US (via Guam) (1999) |
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: country code - 359; 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 | 60.381 million (1997) | 2,483,500 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 63.88 million (2000) | 6.245 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 211 plus 7,341 repeaters
note: in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services (1999) |
39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.42 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.38 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.4% (2002) | 9.9% (2005) |
Waterways | 1,770 km approximately
note: seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas |
470 km (2006) |