Madagascar (2003) | Bulgaria (2002) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 6 provinces (faritany); Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara | 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: 45% (male 3,822,823; female 3,807,958)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 4,366,748; female 4,452,686) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 243,411; female 286,118) (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 | coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets |
Airports | 121 (2002) | 215 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 29
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 2 (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: 92
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 46 under 914 m: 44 (2002) |
total: 87
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 75 (2002) |
Area | total: 587,040 sq km
land: 581,540 sq km water: 5,500 sq km |
total: 110,910 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Arizona | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | Formerly an independent kingdom, Madagascar became a French colony in 1886, but regained its independence in 1960. During 1992-93, free presidential and National Assembly elections were held, ending 17 years of single-party rule. In 1997, in the second presidential race, Didier RATSIRAKA, the leader during the 1970s and 1980s, was returned to the presidency. The 2001 presidential election was contested between the followers of Didier RATSIRAKA and Marc RAVALOMANANA, nearly causing secession of half of the country. In April 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner. | 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 | 42.16 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.05 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $553 million
expenditures: $735 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $5.57 billion
expenditures: $5.68 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Antananarivo | Sofia |
Climate | tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 4,828 km | 354 km |
Constitution | 19 August 1992 by national referendum | adopted 12 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Madagascar
conventional short form: Madagascar local long form: Republique de Madagascar local short form: Madagascar former: Malagasy Republic |
conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria |
Currency | Malagasy franc (MGF) | lev (BGL) |
Death rate | 11.88 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 14.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.6 billion (2002) | $10.3 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Wanda L. NESBITT
embassy: 14-16 Rue Rainitovo, Antsahavola, Antananarivo 101 mailing address: B. P. 620, Antsahavola, Antananarivo telephone: [261] (20) 22-212-57, 22-212-73, 22-209-56 FAX: [261] (20) 22-345-39 |
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 Rajaonarivony NARISOA
chancery: 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-5525, 5526 FAX: [1] (202) 483-7603 consulate(s) general: New York |
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 | claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France) | 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 | $838 million (1997) | $300 million (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Having discarded past socialist economic policies, Madagascar has since the mid 1990s followed a World Bank and IMF led policy of privatization and liberalization, which has placed the country on a slow and steady growth path. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is a mainstay of the economy, accounting for one-fourth of GDP and employing four-fifths of the population. Export earnings primarily are earned in the small industrial sector, which features textile manufacturing and agriculture processing. Deforestation and erosion, aggravated by the use of firewood as the primary source of fuel are serious concerns. The separatist political crisis of 2002 undermined macroeconomic stability, with the estimated drop in output being subject to a wide margin of error. Poverty reduction will be the centerpiece of economic policy for the next few years. | 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 | 772.1 million kWh (2001) | 34.42 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 1.5 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 830.2 million kWh (2001) | 38.84 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 36.1%
hydro: 63.9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 48%
hydro: 8% nuclear: 44% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Maromokotro 2,876 m |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion results from deforestation and overgrazing; desertification; surface water contaminated with raw sewage and other organic wastes; several species of flora and fauna unique to the island are endangered | 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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran | Bulgarian 83.6%, Turk 9.5%, Roma 4.6%, other 2.3% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (1998) |
Exchange rates | Malagasy francs per US dollar - 6,831.96 (2002), 6,588.49 (2001), 6,767.48 (2000), 6,283.77 (1999), 5,441.4 (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 Marc RAVALOMANANA (since 6 May 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Jacques SYLLA (27 May 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held NA November 2006); prime minister appointed by the president from a list of candidates nominated by the National Assembly election results: percent of vote - Didier RATSIRAKA (AREMA) 40.89%, Marc RAVALOMANANA 46.21%; note - on 29 April 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner by 51.5% after a recount; RATSIRIKA's prime minister was put under house arrest on 27 May 2002, and SYLLA was appointed the new prime minister by President RAVALOMANANA |
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 | coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar; cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels |
Exports - partners | France 34%, US 24.6%, Netherlands 6%, Germany 5.9%, Mauritius 4% (2002) | Italy 14%, Turkey 10%, Germany 9%, Greece 8%, Serbia and Montenegro 8% (2001) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side | 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 - $12.59 billion (2002) | purchasing power parity - $50.6 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 25%
industry: 12% services: 63% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 14%
industry: 29% services: 58% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -11.9% (2002 est.) | 3.4% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 47 00 E | 43 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 49,827 km
paved: 5,780 km unpaved: 44,047 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%: 3%
highest 10%: 29% (1999) |
lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 23% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption; transshipment point for heroin | 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 | capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food | fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles |
Imports - partners | France 17.2%, Iran 11%, Mauritius 10.6%, Bahrain 9.4%, Hong Kong 6.9%, South Africa 5.9%, China 4.1% (2002) | Russia 19.9%, Germany 15.3%, Italy 9.6%, France 6.0% (2001) |
Independence | 26 June 1960 (from France) | 3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 2% (2002 est.) |
Industries | meat processing, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, 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: 80.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 88.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 71.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
14.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.4% (2001 est.) | 5.9% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | 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) | 2 (2000) | 200 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 10,900 sq km (1998 est.) | 8,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle | 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 | 7.3 million (2000) | 3.83 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | 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: 4.41%
permanent crops: 0.93% other: 94.66% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 39%
permanent crops: 1.8% other: 59.2% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Malagasy (official) | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy law; 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 Assemblee Nationale (160 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - the legislature is scheduled to become a bicameral Parliament with the establishment of a Senate; two-thirds of the seats of this Senate will be filled by regional assemblies whose members will be elected by popular vote; the remaining one-third of the seats will be appointed by the president; the total number of seats will be determined by the National Assembly; all members will serve four-year terms
elections: National Assembly - last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - TIM 103, FP 22, AREMA 3, LEADER/Fanilo 2, RPSD 5, others 3, independents 22 |
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: 56.14 years
male: 53.82 years female: 58.53 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: 68.9% male: 75.5% female: 62.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 98% (1999) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or 100 NM from the 2,500-m deep isobath exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 14,865 GRT/17,936 DWT
ships by type: cargo 8, chemical tanker 1, roll on/roll off 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 | People's Armed Forces (comprising Intervention Force, Development Force, Aeronaval [Navy and Air] Force), Gendarmerie, Presidential Security Regiment | 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 | $52.3 million (FY02) | $356 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY02) | 2.7% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 3,880,332 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,873,052 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,300,587 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,566,816 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age (2003 est.) | 19 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 163,864 (2003 est.) | males: 56,104 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 26 June (1960) | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) |
Nationality | noun: Malagasy (singular and plural)
adjective: Malagasy |
noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian |
Natural hazards | periodic cyclones | earthquakes, landslides |
Natural resources | graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower | 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 | - | petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1,500 km (1999) |
Political parties and leaders | Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar or AREMA [leader vacant]; Economic Liberalism and Democratic Action for National Recovery or LEADER/Fanilo [Herizo RAZAFIMAHALEO]; I Love Madagascar or TIM [leader NA]; National Union or FP [leader NA]; Renewal of the Social Democratic Party or RPSD [Evariste MARSON] | 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 | Federalist Movement; National Council of Christian Churches or FFKM | 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 | 16,979,744 (July 2003 est.) | 7,621,337 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 71% (1999 est.) | 35% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.03% (2003 est.) | -1.11% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Antsiranana, Antsohimbondrona, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara | Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2 (plus a number of repeater stations), FM 9, shortwave 6 (2001) | AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Radios | - | 4.51 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 732 km
narrow gauge: 732 km 1.000-m gauge (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 | indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7% | 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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 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 | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: system is above average for the region
domestic: open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter links connect regions international: submarine cable to Bahrain; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
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 | 55,000 (2000) | 3,186,731 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 63,100 (2000) | 1.054 million (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 36 repeaters) (2001) | 39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast |
Total fertility rate | 5.73 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.13 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.9% (1998) | 18% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | of local importance only | 470 km (1987) |