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Compare Paracel Islands (2003) - Bulgaria (2006)

Compare Paracel Islands (2003) z Bulgaria (2006)

 Paracel Islands (2003)Bulgaria (2006)
 Paracel IslandsBulgaria
Administrative divisions - 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: 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 - vegetables, fruits, tobacco, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets; livestock
Airports 1 (2002) 217 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (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: 85


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 11


under 914 m: 72 (2006)
Area total: NA sq km


land: NA sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 110,910 sq km


land: 110,550 sq km


water: 360 sq km
Area - comparative NA slightly larger than Tennessee
Background The Paracel Islands are surrounded by productive fishing grounds and by potential oil and gas reserves. In 1932, French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island; maintenance was continued by its successor, Vietnam. China has occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974, when its troops seized a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands. The islands are claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. 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 - 9.65 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget - revenues: $11.18 billion


expenditures: $10.9 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Capital - 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 tropical temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers
Coastline 518 km 354 km
Constitution - adopted 12 July 1991
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Paracel Islands
conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria


conventional short form: Bulgaria


local long form: Republika Balgariya


local short form: Balgariya
Death rate - 14.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external - $15.32 billion (2005 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US - 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 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 occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam none
Economic aid - recipient - $475 million per year in EU pre-accession aid (2004-06)
Economy - overview China announced plans in 1997 to open the islands for tourism. 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 - 25.1 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports - 6.8 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports - 1.3 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production - 45 billion kWh (2004)
Elevation extremes lowest point: South China Sea 0 m


highest point: unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 m
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m


highest point: Musala 2,925 m
Environment - current issues NA 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-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 - Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001 census)
Exchange rates - leva per US dollar - 1.5741 (2005), 1.5751 (2004), 1.7327 (2003), 2.077 (2002), 2.1847 (2001)
Executive branch - 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 - NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities - clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels
Exports - partners - Italy 12%, Turkey 10.5%, Germany 9.8%, Greece 9.5%, France 4.6% (2005)
Fiscal year - calendar year
Flag description - 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 - composition by sector - agriculture: 9.3%


industry: 30.4%


services: 60.3% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate - 5.5% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates 16 30 N, 112 00 E 43 00 N, 25 00 E
Geography - note composed of 130 small coral islands and reefs divided into the northeast Amphitrite Group and the western Crescent Group strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia
Heliports - 4 (2006)
Household income or consumption by percentage share - 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 - 85,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities - machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials
Imports - partners - Russia 15.6%, Germany 13.6%, Italy 9%, Turkey 6.1%, Greece 5%, France 4.7% (2005)
Independence - 3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire)
Industrial production growth rate - 7.9% (2005)
Industries - electricity, gas, water; food, beverages, tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel
Infant mortality rate - 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) - 5% (2005)
International organization participation - 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
Irrigated land 0 sq km (1998 est.) 5,880 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch - 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 - 3.34 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation - 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: 0%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 100% (1998 est.)
arable land: 29.94%


permanent crops: 1.9%


other: 68.16% (2005)
Languages - Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)
Legal system - civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch - 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: 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: 98.6%


male: 99.1%


female: 98.2% (2003 est.)
Location Southeastern Asia, group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea, about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey
Map references Southeast Asia Europe
Maritime claims NA territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine - 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 - note occupied by China -
Military branches - Bulgarian Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Bulgarian Air Force (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $356 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - 2.6% (2003)
National holiday - Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)
Nationality - noun: Bulgarian(s)


adjective: Bulgarian
Natural hazards typhoons earthquakes, landslides
Natural resources none bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land
Net migration rate - -4.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines - gas 2,505 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders - 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 - Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas
Population no indigenous inhabitants


note: there are scattered Chinese garrisons (July 2003 est.)
7,385,367 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line - Below $2.15 per day (PPP) 4% (2003)
Population growth rate - -0.86% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors small Chinese port facilities on Woody Island and Duncan Island being expanded -
Radio broadcast stations - AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001)
Railways - 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 - Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, other Christian 1.2%, other 4% (2001 census)
Sex ratio - 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 - 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system - 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 - 2,483,500 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular - 6.245 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations - 39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001)
Terrain mostly low and flat mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast
Total fertility rate - 1.38 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate - 9.9% (2005)
Waterways none 470 km (2006)
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