##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Lebanon (2003) - Bulgaria (2002)
Compare Lebanon (2003) z Bulgaria (2002)
| Lebanon (2003) | Bulgaria (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 6 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye | 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: 27.1% (male 514,447; female 494,166)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 1,177,773; female 1,286,433) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 115,693; female 139,191) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.6% (male 572,961; female 543,004)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 2,569,199; female 2,648,461) 65 years and over: 16.9% (male 540,109; female 747,603) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets |
| Airports | 8 (2002) | 215 (2001) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
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 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 87
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 75 (2002) |
| Area | total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km |
total: 110,910 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut | slightly larger than Tennessee |
| Background | Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions since 1991 and the end of the devastating 16-year civil war. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections, most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central government authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, the radical Shi'a party, retains its weapons. Syria maintains about 16,000 troops in Lebanon, based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Syria's troop deployment was legitimized by the Arab League during Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if Accord. Damascus justifies its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from its security zone in southern Lebanon in May 2000, however, has emboldened some Lebanese Christians and Druze to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. | 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 | 19.68 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.05 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $3.1 billion
expenditures: $5.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $5.57 billion
expenditures: $5.68 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
| Capital | Beirut | Sofia |
| Climate | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers |
| Coastline | 225 km | 354 km |
| Constitution | 23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989 | adopted 12 July 1991 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Lebanese Republic
conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan |
conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria |
| Currency | Lebanese pound (LBP) | lev (BGL) |
| Death rate | 6.32 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 14.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $9.3 billion (2002 est.) | $10.3 billion (2001 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Vincent Martin BATTLE
embassy: Awkar, Lebanon mailing address: P. O. Box 70840, Awkar, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002 telephone: 011-961-4-543-600/542-600 FAX: 011-961-4-544-136 |
chief of mission: Ambassador James William PARDEW
embassy: 1 Suborna Street, Sofia 1000 mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100 FAX: [359] (2) 981-89-77 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Farid ABBOUD
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6320 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles |
chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Elena POPTODOROVA
chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-7969 FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973 consulate(s): New York |
| Disputes - international | Syrian troops in central and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights | because of a shift in the Danube course since the last correction of the boundary in 1920, a joint Bulgarian-Romanian team will recommend sovereignty changes to several islands and redefine the boundary |
| Economic aid - recipient | $3.5 billion (pledges 1997-2001) $4.2 billion in pledges November 2002 Paris II Aid Conference | $300 million (2000 est.) |
| Economy - overview | The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Peace enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut, begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key port and government facilities. Economic recovery was helped by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking services, manufactured and farm exports, and international aid provided the main sources of foreign exchange. Lebanon's economy made impressive gains since the launch in 1993 of "Horizon 2000," the government's $20 billion reconstruction program. Real GDP grew 8% in 1994, 7% in 1995, 4% in 1996 and in 1997, but slowed to 1.2% in 1998, -1.6% in 1999, -0.6% in 2000, 0.8% in 2001, and 1.5% in 2002. During the 1990s annual inflation fell to almost 0% from more than 100%. Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure. The government nonetheless faces serious challenges in the economic arena. It has funded reconstruction by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In order to reduce the ballooning national debt, the re-installed HARIRI government began an economic austerity program to rein in government expenditures, increase revenue collection, and privatize state enterprises. The HARIRI government met with international donors at the Paris II conference in November 2002 to seek bilateral assistance restructuring its domestic debt at lower rates of interest. While privatization of state-owned enterprises had not occurred by the end of 2002, the government had successfully avoided a currency devaluation and debt default in 2002. | Bulgaria, a former communist country striving to enter the European Union, has experienced macroeconomic stability and positive growth rates since a major economic downturn in 1996 led to the fall of the then socialist government. A $300 million stand-by agreement negotiated with the IMF at the end of 2001 will help the government maintain economic stability as it seeks to overcome high rates of poverty and unemployment and, at the same time, cut the budget deficit and contain inflation. |
| Electricity - consumption | 7.44 billion kWh (2001) | 34.42 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 1.183 billion kWh (2001) | 1.5 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 6.728 billion kWh (2001) | 38.84 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 97.2%
hydro: 2.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 48%
hydro: 8% nuclear: 44% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills | 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
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 | Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% | Bulgarian 83.6%, Turk 9.5%, Roma 4.6%, other 2.3% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (1998) |
| Exchange rates | Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2002), 1,507.5 (2001), 1,507.5 (2000), 1,507.84 (1999), 1,516.13 (1998) | leva per US dollar - 2.2147 (January 2002), 2.1847 (2001), 2.1233 (2000), 1.8364 (1999), 1,760.36 (1998), 1,681.88 (1997)
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 Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 23 October 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Issam FARES (since 23 October 2000); note - HARIRI resigned on 15 April 2003, but was reappointed the next day cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term; election last held 15 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by custom, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shi'a Muslim election results: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions |
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), Kostadin PASKALEV (since 24 July 2001), and Lidiya SHULEVA (since 24 July 2001) 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 (2001) | $5.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | foodstuffs and tobacco, textiles, chemicals, precious stones, metal products, electrical products, jewelry, paper products | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels |
| Exports - partners | Switzerland 10.8%, Saudi Arabia 9%, UAE 8.6%, US 6.7%, Jordan 4.6%, Turkey 4.3% (2002) | Italy 14%, Turkey 10%, Germany 9%, Greece 8%, Serbia and Montenegro 8% (2001) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green cedar tree centered in the white band | 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 - $17.61 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $50.6 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12%
industry: 21% services: 67% (2000) |
agriculture: 14%
industry: 29% services: 58% (2001) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2002 est.) | 3.4% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 33 50 N, 35 50 E | 43 00 N, 25 00 E |
| Geography - note | Nahr el Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia |
| Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
| Highways | total: 7,300 km
paved: 6,198 km unpaved: 1,102 km (1999 est.) |
total: 37,288 km
paved: 33,786 km (including 324 km of expressways) unpaved: 3,502 km (2001) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 23% (1997) |
| Illicit drugs | cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to US and European markets | 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 (2001) | $6.9 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, electrical products, vehicles, minerals, chemicals, textiles, fuels | fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles |
| Imports - partners | Italy 11.3%, France 10.7%, Germany 8.4%, US 5.6%, Syria 5.4%, China 4.8%, Belgium 4.5%, UK 4.2% (2002) | Russia 19.9%, Germany 15.3%, Italy 9.6%, France 6.0% (2001) |
| Independence | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | 3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2% (2002 est.) |
| Industries | banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles; mineral and chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining; metal fabricating | electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 26.43 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.22 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
14.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.5% (2002 est.) | 5.9% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ACCT, Australia Group, 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, 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, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 22 (2000) | 200 (2001) |
| Irrigated land | 1,200 sq km (1998 est.) | 8,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed) | 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 | 1.5 million
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2001 est.) |
3.83 million (2000 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | services NA%, industry NA%, agriculture NA% | agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 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: 17.6%
permanent crops: 12.51% other: 69.89% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 39%
permanent crops: 1.8% other: 59.2% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown |
| Legal system | mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 August and 3 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - Muslim 57% (of which Sunni 25%, Sh'ite 25%, Druze 6%, Alawite less than 1%), Christian 43% (of which Maronite 23%); seats by party - Muslim 64 (of which Sunni 27, Sh'ite 27, Druze 8, Alawite 2), Christian 64 (of which Maronite 34) |
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: 72.07 years
male: 69.64 years female: 74.61 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 71.5 years
male: 67.98 years female: 75.22 years (2002 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.4% male: 93.1% female: 82.2% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 98% (1999) |
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey |
| Map references | Middle East | Europe |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 NM | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | total: 56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 230,142 GRT/306,442 DWT
ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 28, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 9, roll on/roll off 4, vehicle carrier 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: France 1, Greece 10, Netherlands 4, Panama 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, Spain 1, Syria 2 (2002 est.) |
total: 77 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 881,758 GRT/1,312,833 DWT
ships by type: bulk 43, cargo 15, chemical tanker 4, container 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force) | 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 | $541 million (2002) | $356 million (FY02) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.8% (FY99) | 2.7% (FY02) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,025,984 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,873,052 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 630,657 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,566,816 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 56,104 (2002 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 22 November (1943) | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) |
| Nationality | noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese |
noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian |
| Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | earthquakes, landslides |
| Natural resources | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -4.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Pipelines | oil 209 km (2003) | petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1,500 km (1999) |
| Political parties and leaders | political party activity is organized along largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by religious, clan, and economic considerations | 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]; People's Union or PU (includes Bulgarian Agrarian National Union and Democratic Party) [Anastasiya MOZER]; St. George's Day [Lyuben DILOV, Jr.]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Ekaterina NADEZHDA]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces or UtdDF (a coalition between the UDF and PU, dominated by the former) |
| 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 | 3,727,703 (July 2003 est.) | 7,621,337 (July 2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 28% (1999 est.) | 35% (2000 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.34% (2003 est.) | -1.11% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail, Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre | Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001) |
| Radios | - | 4.51 million (1997) |
| Railways | total: 401 km
standard gauge: 319 km 1.435-m narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050-m note: rail system is unusable because of damage in civil war (2002) |
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 | Muslim 70% (including Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 30% (including Orthodox Christian, Catholic, Protestant), Jewish NEGL% | 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: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 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: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables |
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 | 700,000 (1999) | 3,186,731 (2001) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 580,000 (1999) | 1.054 million (2001) |
| Television broadcast stations | 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995) | 39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001) |
| Terrain | narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast |
| Total fertility rate | 1.98 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.13 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 18% (1997 est.) | 18% (2002 est.) |
| Waterways | none | 470 km (1987) |
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