Compare Paraguay (2006) - Bulgaria (2008)

Compare Paraguay (2006) z Bulgaria (2008)

	Paraguay (2006)	Bulgaria (2008)

Administrative divisions	17 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital city; Alto Paraguay, Alto Parana, Amambay, Asuncion, Boqueron, Caaguazu, Caazapa, Canindeyu, Central, Concepcion, Cordillera, Guaira, Itapua, Misiones, Neembucu, Paraguari, Presidente Hayes, San Pedro	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: 37.7% (male 1,245,149/female 1,204,970) 15-64 years: 57.5% (male 1,878,761/female 1,862,266) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 145,899/female 169,419) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 13.9% (male 521,117/female 496,022) 15-64 years: 68.7% (male 2,472,424/female 2,556,102) 65 years and over: 17.4% (male 523,660/female 753,533) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, corn, wheat, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), fruits, vegetables; beef, pork, eggs, milk; timber	vegetables, fruits, tobacco, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets; livestock
Airports	881 (2006)	214 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 12 over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2006)	total: 131 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 95 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 869 1,524 to 2,437 m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 325 under 914 m: 518 (2006)	total: 83 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 72 (2007)
Area	total: 406,750 sq km land: 397,300 sq km water: 9,450 sq km	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	In the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70), Paraguay lost two-thirds of all adult males and much of its territory. It stagnated economically for the next half century. In the Chaco War of 1932-35, large, economically important areas were won from Bolivia. The 35-year military dictatorship of Alfredo STROESSNER was overthrown in 1989, and, despite a marked increase in political infighting in recent years, relatively free and regular presidential elections have been held since then.	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 the EU in 2007.
Birth rate	29.1 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	9.62 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.334 billion expenditures: $1.37 billion; including capital expenditures of $700 million (2005 est.)	revenues: $16.62 billion expenditures: $15.18 billion (2007 est.)
Capital	name: Asuncion geographic coordinates: 25 16 S, 57 40 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	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	subtropical to temperate; substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, becoming semiarid in the far west	temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	354 km
Constitution	promulgated 20 June 1992	adopted 12 July 1991
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Paraguay conventional short form: Paraguay local long form: Republica del Paraguay local short form: Paraguay	conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria local long form: Republika Balgariya local short form: Balgariya
Death rate	4.49 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	14.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$3.45 billion (2005 est.)	$29.29 billion (30 June 2007)
Diplomatic representation from the US	Ambassador James C. CASON embassy: 1776 Avenida Mariscal Lopez, Casilla Postal 402, Asuncion mailing address: Unit 4711, APO AA 34036-0001 telephone: [595] (21) 213-715 FAX: [595] (21) 213-728	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 James SPALDING Hellmers chancery: 2400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-6960 through 6962 FAX: [1] (202) 234-4508 consulate(s) general: Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York	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	unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegal narcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations	none
Economic aid - recipient	$NA	$742 million (2005-06 est.)
Economy - overview	Landlocked Paraguay has a market economy marked by a large informal sector. This sector features both reexport of imported consumer goods to neighboring countries, as well as the activities of thousands of microenterprises and urban street vendors. Because of the importance of the informal sector, accurate economic measures are difficult to obtain. A large percentage of the population derives its living from agricultural activity, often on a subsistence basis. The formal economy grew by an average of about 3% annually in 1995-97, but averaged near-zero growth in 1998-2001 and contracted by 2.3 percent in 2002, in response to regional contagion and an outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease. On a per capita basis, real income has stagnated at 1980 levels. Most observers attribute Paraguay's poor economic performance to political uncertainty, corruption, lack of progress on structural reform, substantial internal and external debt, and deficient infrastructure. Aided by a firmer exchange rate and perhaps a greater confidence in the economic policy of the DUARTE FRUTOS administration, the economy rebounded between 2003 and 2005, posting modest growth each year.	Bulgaria, a former communist country that entered the EU on 1 January 2007, has experienced strong growth since a major economic downturn in 1996. Successive governments have demonstrated commitment to economic reforms and responsible fiscal planning, but have failed so far to rein in rising inflation and large current account deficits. Bulgaria has averaged more than 6% growth since 2004, attracting significant amounts of foreign direct investment, but corruption in the public administration, a weak judiciary, and the presence of organized crime remain significant challenges.
Electricity - consumption	3.528 billion kWh (2003)	37.4 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - exports	44.17 billion kWh (2003)	7.8 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2006)
Electricity - production	51.29 billion kWh (2003)	45.7 billion kWh (2006)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: junction of Rio Paraguay and Rio Parana 46 m highest point: Cerro Pero (Cerro Tres Kandu) 842 m	lowest point: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Musala 2,925 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; water pollution; inadequate means for waste disposal pose health risks for many urban residents; loss of wetlands	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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, 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-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, 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, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian) 95%, other 5%	Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001 census)
Exchange rates	guarani per US dollar - 6,178 (2005), 5,974.6 (2004), 6,424.3 (2003), 5,716.3 (2002), 4,105.9 (2001)	leva per US dollar - 1.4366 (2007), 1.5576 (2006), 1.5741 (2005), 1.5751 (2004), 1.7327 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Nicanor DUARTE FRUTOS (since 15 August 2003); Vice President Luis CASTIGLIONI Joria (since 15 August 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Nicanor DUARTE FRUTOS (since 15 August 2003); Vice President Luis CASTIGLIONI Joria (since 15 August 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held April 2008) election results: Nicanor DUARTE FRUTOS elected president; percent of vote - Nicanor DUARTE FRUTOS 37.1%, Julio Cesar Ramon FRANCO Gomez 23.9%, Pedro Nicolas Maraa FADUL Niella 21.3%, Guillermo SANCHEZ Guffanti 13.5%, other 4.2%	chief of state: President Georgi PARVANOV (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 PARVANOV reelected president; percent of vote - Georgi PARVANOV 77.3%, Volen SIDEROV 22.7%; Sergei STANISHEV elected prime minister, result of legislative vote - 168 to 67
Exports	NA bbl/day	51,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities	soybeans, feed, cotton, meat, edible oils, electricity, wood, leather	clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels
Exports - partners	Uruguay 26.7%, Brazil 15.2%, Argentina 4.8%, Chile 4.7% (2005)	Turkey 12%, Italy 10.4%, Germany 10%, Greece 8.2%, Belgium 6.8%, France 4.3% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three equal, horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue with an emblem centered in the white band; unusual flag in that the emblem is different on each side; the obverse (hoist side at the left) bears the national coat of arms (a yellow five-pointed star within a green wreath capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles); the reverse (hoist side at the right) bears the seal of the treasury (a yellow lion below a red Cap of Liberty and the words Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice) capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles)	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: 22.4% industry: 20.7% services: 56.9% (2005 est.)	agriculture: 8.1% industry: 31.3% services: 60.7% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.7% (2005 est.)	6.1% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	23 00 S, 58 00 W	43 00 N, 25 00 E
Geography - note	landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil; population concentrated in southern part of country	strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia
Heliports	-	4 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 43.8% (1998)	lowest 10%: 2.9% highest 10%: 25.4% (2005)
Illicit drugs	major illicit producer of cannabis, most or all of which is consumed in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile; transshipment country for Andean cocaine headed for Brazil, other Southern Cone markets, and Europe; corruption and some money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border Area; weak anti-money-laundering laws and enforcement	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 bbl/day	138,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities	road vehicles, consumer goods, tobacco, petroleum products, electrical machinery	machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials
Imports - partners	Brazil 26.8%, Argentina 21.1%, US 20.8%, China 9.5% (2005)	Germany 15%, Italy 10.6%, Turkey 7.2%, Greece 6.3%, China 5%, France 4.9%, Romania 4.5% (2006)
Independence	14 May 1811 (from Spain)	3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire)
Industrial production growth rate	0% (2000 est.)	5.5% (2007 est.)
Industries	sugar, cement, textiles, beverages, wood products, steel, metallurgic, electric power	electricity, gas, water; food, beverages, tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel
Infant mortality rate	total: 24.78 deaths/1,000 live births male: 29.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 19.16 deaths/1,000 live births male: 22.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6.8% (2005 est.)	7.8% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	CAN (associate), CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Irrigated land	670 sq km (2003)	5,880 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges appointed on the proposal of the Council of Magistrates or Consejo de la Magistratura)	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	2.68 million (2005 est.)	3.44 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 45% industry: NA% services: NA%	agriculture: 8.5% industry: 33.6% services: 57.9% (2nd qtr. 2006 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 3,920 km border countries: Argentina 1,880 km, Bolivia 750 km, Brazil 1,290 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: 7.47% permanent crops: 0.24% other: 92.29% (2005)	arable land: 29.94% permanent crops: 1.9% other: 68.16% (2005)
Languages	Spanish (official), Guarani (official)	Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)
Legal system	based on Argentine codes, Roman law, and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Legislative branch	bicameral Congress or Congreso consists of the Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (80 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: Chamber of Senators - last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held April 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held April 2008) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ANR 16, PLRA 12, UNACE 7, PQ 7, PPS 2, PEN 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ANR 37, PLRA 21, UNACE 10, PQ 10, PPS 2 note: as of January 2006, changes in party affiliation has led to the composition of the legislature as follows: Chamber of Senators - seats by party - ANR 18, PLRA 12, UNACE 5, PQ 7, PPS 2, PEN 1; Chamber of Deputies - seats by party - ANR 39, PLRA 21, UNACE 8, PQ 10, PPS 2	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 in 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%, other 8.7%; seats by party - CfB 83, NMS2 53, MRF 33, UDF 20, ATAKA 17, DSB 17, BPU 13, independents 4; note - seats by party as of January 2008 - CfB 82, NMS2 36, MRF 34, UDF 16, DSB 16, Bulgarian New Democracy 16, BPU 13, ATAKA 11, independents 16
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 75.1 years male: 72.56 years female: 77.78 years (2006 est.)	total population: 72.57 years male: 68.95 years female: 76.4 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 94% male: 94.9% female: 93% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.2% male: 98.7% female: 97.7% (2001 census)
Location	Central South America, northeast of Argentina	Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey
Map references	South America	Europe
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 21 ships (1000 GRT or over) 34,749 GRT/39,280 DWT by type: cargo 15, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 3 (Argentina 3) registered in other countries: 1 (Ecuador 1) (2006)	total: 71 ships (1000 GRT or over) 833,153 GRT/1,194,660 DWT by type: bulk carrier 37, cargo 14, chemical tanker 4, container 6, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 3 (Germany 1, Ireland 1, Russia 1) registered in other countries: 39 (Comoros 1, Malta 15, Mongolia 2, Panama 1, Slovakia 7, St Vincent and The Grenadines 13) (2007)
Military branches	Army, National Navy (Armada Nacional, includes Naval Aviation, Marine Corps, General Naval Prefecture), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Paraguay, FAP) (2006)	Bulgarian Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Bulgarian Air Forces (Bulgarski Voennovazdyshni Sily, BVVS) (2008)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$53.1 million (2003 est.)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.9% (2003 est.)	2.6% (2005 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 14 May 1811 (observed 15 May annually)	Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)
Nationality	noun: Paraguayan(s) adjective: Paraguayan	noun: Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian
Natural hazards	local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June)	earthquakes, landslides
Natural resources	hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone	bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land
Net migration rate	-0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-3.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 2,500 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders	Asociacion Nacional Republicana - Colorado Party or ANR [Herminio CACERES, interim president]; Movimiento Union Nacional de Ciudadanos Eticos or UNACE [Enrique GONZALEZ Quintana, acting chairman]; Patria Querida (Beloved Fatherland Party) or PQ [Pedro Nicolas Maraa FADUL Niella]; Partido Encuentro Nacional or PEN [Luis TORALES Kennedy]; Partido Liberal Radical Autentico or PLRA [Blas LLANO]; Partido Pais Solidario or PPS [Carlos Alberto FILIZZOLA Pallares] note: Nicanor DUARTE FRUTOS on leave as party leader of the Colorado Party or ANR while serving as President of Paraguay; Lino Cesar OVIEDO Silva, leader of UNACE, is currently serving a ten-year prison term	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 New Democracy [Borislav RALCHEV]; Bulgarian People's Union or BPU (coalition of UFD, IMRO, and BANU); Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria or GERB [Boyko BORISOV]; 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 Stability and Progress or NDSV [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	Ahorristas Estafados or AE; National Coordinating Board of Campesino Organizations or MCNOC [Luis AGUAYO]; National Federation of Campesinos or FNC [Odilon ESPINOLA]; National Workers Central or CNT [Secretary General Juan TORRALES]; Paraguayan Workers Confederation or CPT; Roman Catholic Church; Unitary Workers Central or CUT [Jorge Guzman ALVARENGA Malgarejo]	Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas
Population	6,506,464 (July 2006 est.)	7,322,858 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	32% (2005 est.)	14.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	2.45% (2006 est.)	-0.837% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 46, FM 27, shortwave 6 (three inactive) (1998)	AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001)
Railways	total: 36 km standard gauge: 36 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)	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 (2006)
Religions	Roman Catholic 90%, Mennonite and other Protestant 10%	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: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.051 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.967 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.695 male(s)/female total population: 0.924 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal and compulsory up to age 75	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: meager telephone service; principal switching center is in Asuncion domestic: fair microwave radio relay network international: country code - 595; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	general assessment: an extensive but antiquated telecommunications network inherited from the Soviet era; quality has improved; the Bulgaria Telecommunications Company's fixed-line monopoly terminated in 2005 when alternative fixed-line operators were given access to its network; a drop in fixed-line connections in recent years has been offset by a sharp increase in mobile-cellular telephone use fostered by multiple service providers domestic: 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; submarine cable provides connectivity to Ukraine and Russia; a combination submarine cable and land fiber-optic system provides connectivity to Italy, Albania, and Macedonia; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 2 Intelsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use	320,300 (2005)	2.399 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.887 million (2005)	8.253 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	5 (2003)	39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001)
Terrain	grassy plains and wooded hills east of Rio Paraguay; Gran Chaco region west of Rio Paraguay mostly low, marshy plain near the river, and dry forest and thorny scrub elsewhere	mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast
Total fertility rate	3.89 children born/woman (2006 est.)	1.39 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	16% (2005 est.)	8% (2007 est.)
Waterways	3,100 km (2005)	470 km (2007)

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