Reunion (2003) | Bulgaria (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons | 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: 31.3% (male 121,119; female 115,501)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 233,607; female 240,502) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 18,036; female 26,406) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
15.11% (male 597,765; female 567,030) 15-64 years: 68.17% (male 2,588,805; female 2,665,736) 65 years and over: 16.72% (male 543,665; female 744,494) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets |
Airports | 2 (2002) | 215 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 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 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
87 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 75 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total:
110,910 sq km land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. | Bulgaria earned its independence from the Ottoman Empire 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 multi-party 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 | 20.17 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.06 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
revenues:
$4.85 billion expenditures: $4.92 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Saint-Denis | Sofia |
Climate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 207 km | 354 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | adopted 12 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
conventional long form:
Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria |
Currency | euro (EUR) | lev (BGL) |
Death rate | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 14.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $10.4 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Richard M. MILES embassy: 1 Suborna Street, Sofia mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 980-52-41 FAX: [359] (2) 981-89-77 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Philip DIMITROV chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-7969 FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973 consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | none | - |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France | $1 billion (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. | Bulgaria, a former communist country struggling to enter the European market economy, suffered a major economic downturn in 1996 and 1997, with triple digit inflation and GDP contraction of 10.6% and 6.9%. The current government - which took office in May 1997 after pre-term parliamentary elections - stabilized the economy and promoted growth by implementing a currency board, practicing sound financial policies, invigorating privatization, and pursuing structural reforms. Additionally, strong assistance from international financial institutions - most notably the IMF which approved a three-year Extended Fund Facility worth approximately $900 million in September 1998 - played a critical role in turning the economy around. After several years of tumult, Bulgaria's economy has stabilized. Its better-than-expected economic performance in 1999 - despite the impact of the Kosovo conflict, the 1998 Russian financial crisis, and structural reforms - and strong growth in 2000 portends solid growth over the next few years; this assumes continued fiscal restraint, additional structural reforms, aid from abroad, and prosperous times in the EU economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.005 billion kWh (2001) | 33.182 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 2.2 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 1.7 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.08 billion kWh (2001) | 36.217 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 55.5%
hydro: 44.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
51.52% hydro: 8.35% nuclear: 40.12% other: 0.01% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 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-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | Bulgarian 83%, Turk 8.5%, Roma 2.6%, Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Gagauz, Circassian, others (1998) |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.06 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998) | leva per US dollar - 2.0848 (January 2001), 2.1233 (2000), 1.8364 (1999), 1,760.36 (1998), 1,681.88 (1997), 177.89 (1996)
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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
chief of state:
President Petar STOYANOV (since 22 January 1997); Vice President Todor KAVALDZHIEV (since 22 January 1997) head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Ivan KOSTOV (since 19 May 1997); Deputy Prime Minister Petur ZHOTEV (since 21 December 1999) 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 27 October and 3 November 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by the president; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister election results: Petar STOYANOV elected president; percent of vote - Petar STOYANOV 59.73% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $4.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels |
Exports - partners | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) | Italy 14%, Turkey 10%, Germany 9%, Greece 8%, Yugoslavia 8%, Belgium 6%, France 5%, US 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | 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 - $4.174 billion (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $48 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
15% industry: 29% services: 56% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2002 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 06 S, 55 36 E | 43 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994) |
total:
36,724 km paved: 33,786 km (including 314 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,938 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
3.4% highest 10%: 22.5% (1995) |
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 |
Imports | NA (2001) | $5.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products | fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles |
Imports - partners | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) | Russia 24%, Germany 14%, Italy 8%, Greece 5%, France 5%, Romania 4%, Turkey 3%, US 3% (2000) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 10.8% (2000 est.) |
Industries | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction | electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel |
Infant mortality rate | total: 8.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
14.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 10.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, InOC, WFTU | ACCT, 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, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 26 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (1998 est.) | 12,370 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel | 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 | 309,900 (2000) | 3.83 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) | 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, Yugoslavia 318 km, Turkey 240 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
43% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 14% forests and woodland: 38% other: 3% (1999 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Creole widely used | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown |
Legal system | French law | civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
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 - NA%; seats by party - National Movement for Simeon II 120, UDF 51, BSP 48, DPS 21 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.43 years
male: 70.03 years female: 77 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
71.2 years male: 67.72 years female: 74.89 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (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 Madagascar | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey |
Map references | World | Europe |
Maritime claims | 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:
81 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 938,706 GRT/1,440,374 DWT ships by type: bulk 44, cargo 16, chemical tanker 4, container 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 6, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense Forces, Internal Troops |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $344 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.4% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 198,341 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,891,498 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 101,116 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,581,697 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 6,795 (2003 est.) | males:
56,104 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) |
Nationality | noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
noun:
Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian |
Natural hazards | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano | earthquakes, landslides |
Natural resources | fish, arable land, hydropower | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -4.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1,500 km (1999) |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] | Alliance for National Salvation or ANS (coalition led mainly by Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF) [Ahmed DOGAN]; Bulgarian Business Bloc or BBB [Georgi GANCHEV]; Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Georgi PURVANOV, chairman]; Democratic Left or DL (bloc led by BSP, includes Ecoglasnost Political Club and Bulgarian Agrarian National Union) [leader NA]; Euro-left [Aleksandur TOMOV]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or UMRO [Aleksander KARAKACHNOV]; Kingdom of Bulgaria Federation [leader NA]; Movement for Rights and Freedom or DPS [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II [Simeon II, former king]; New Civic Party for Bulgaria [Bogomil BONEV]; People's Union or PU (includes Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union and Democratic Party) [Anastasiya MOZER]; St. George's Day [Lyuben DILOV]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF (an alliance of pro-democratic parties) [Ivan KOSTOV] |
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 | 755,171 (July 2003 est.) | 7,707,495 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 35% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.47% (2003 est.) | -1.14% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Le Port, Pointe des Galets | Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 24, FM 93, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 4.51 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
4,294 km standard gauge: 4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,710 km electrified; 917 km double track) narrow gauge: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (1998) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | Bulgarian Orthodox 83.5%, Muslim 13%, Roman Catholic 1.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Jewish 0.8%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 1% (1998) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
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 | 268,500 (1999) | 3.255 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 197,000 (September 2000) | 596,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) | 96 (plus 1,030 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast |
Total fertility rate | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.13 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 36% (1999 est.) | 17.7% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | 470 km (1987) |