Saint Helena (2008) | Bulgaria (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* | 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: 18.7% (male 716/female 691)
15-64 years: 71.1% (male 2,755/female 2,608) 65 years and over: 10.2% (male 358/female 415) (2007 est.) |
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 | coffee, corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, lobster (on Tristan da Cunha); livestock | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets; livestock |
Airports | 1 (2007) | 217 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
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: 413 sq km
land: Saint Helena Island 122 sq km; Ascension Island 90 sq km; Tristan da Cunha island group 201 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 110,910 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory consisting of Saint Helena and Ascension Islands, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha.
Saint Helena: Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. During the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa, several thousand Boer prisoners were confined on the island between 1900 and 1903. Ascension Island: This barren and uninhabited island was discovered and named by the Portuguese in 1503. The British garrisoned the island in 1815 to prevent a rescue of Napoleon from Saint Helena and it served as a provisioning station for the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron on anti-slavery patrol. The island remained under Admiralty control until 1922, when it became a dependency of Saint Helena. During World War II, the UK permitted the US to construct an airfield on Ascension in support of trans-Atlantic flights to Africa and anti-submarine operations in the South Atlantic. In the 1960s the island became an important space tracking station for the US. In 1982, Ascension was an essential staging area for British forces during the Falklands War, and it remains a critical refueling point in the air-bridge from the UK to the South Atlantic. Tristan da Cunha: The island group consists of the islands of Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale, Inaccessible, and Gough. Tristan da Cunha is named after its Portuguese discoverer (1506); it was garrisoned by the British in 1816 to prevent any attempt to rescue Napoleon from Saint Helena. Gough and Inaccessible Islands have been designated World Heritage Sites. South Africa leases a site for a meteorological station on Gough Island. |
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 | 11.93 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.65 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $13.09 million
expenditures: $32.16 million note: revenue data reflect locally raised revenues only; the budget deficit is resolved by grant aid from the United Kingdom (FY06/07 est.) |
revenues: $11.18 billion
expenditures: $10.9 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | name: Jamestown
geographic coordinates: 15 56 S, 5 44 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours 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 | Saint Helena: tropical marine; mild, tempered by trade winds
Ascension Island: tropical marine; mild, semi-arid Tristan da Cunha: temperate marine; mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) |
temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers |
Coastline | Saint Helena: 60 km
Ascension Island: NA Tristan da Cunha: 40 km |
354 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1989 | adopted 12 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Helena |
conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria local long form: Republika Balgariya local short form: Balgariya |
Death rate | 6.63 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 14.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $15.32 billion (2005 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $29.56 million obtained in a grant from the United Kingdom (FY06/07) | $475 million per year in EU pre-accession aid (2004-06) |
Economy - overview | The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which will amount to about $27 million in FY06/07 or almost 70% of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, raising livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. | 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 | 7.44 million kWh (2005) | 25.1 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 6.8 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 1.3 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 8 million kWh (2005) | 45 billion kWh (2004) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,062 m; Green Mountain on Ascension Island 859 m; Mount Actaeon on Saint Helena Island 818 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 | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% | Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.4993 (2007), 0.5434 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003)
note: the Saint Helenian pound is on par with the British pound |
leva per US dollar - 1.5741 (2005), 1.5751 (2004), 1.7327 (2003), 2.077 (2002), 2.1847 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Andrew GURR (since 11 November 2007) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, three ex-officio officers, and five elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
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 | 0 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels |
Exports - partners | Tanzania 37.7%, US 17.4%, Japan 15.2%, UK 8.4%, Nigeria 4.8%, Spain 4.5% (2006) | Italy 12%, Turkey 10.5%, Germany 9.8%, Greece 9.5%, France 4.6% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship | 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: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 9.3%
industry: 30.4% services: 60.3% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | Saint Helena: 15 57 S, 5 42 W
Ascension Island: 7 57 S, 14 22 W Tristan da Cunha island group: 37 15 S, 12 30 W |
43 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | Saint Helena harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns; Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha is the highest island mountain in the South Atlantic and a prominent landmark on the sea lanes around southern Africa | 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%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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 | 64.07 bbl/day (2004) | 85,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts | machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials |
Imports - partners | UK 53.5%, South Africa 14.3%, Spain 10.3%, Tanzania 8.5%, US 4.6% (2006) | Russia 15.6%, Germany 13.6%, Italy 9%, Turkey 6.1%, Greece 5%, France 4.7% (2005) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7.9% (2005) |
Industries | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing, philatelic sales | electricity, gas, water; food, beverages, tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel |
Infant mortality rate | total: 17.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
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) | 3.2% (1997 est.) | 5% (2005) |
International organization participation | UPU | 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 | NA | 5,880 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Magistrate's Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal | 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 | 2,486
note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.) |
3.34 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 6%
industry: 48% services: 46% (1987 est.) |
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: 12.9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (2005) |
arable land: 29.94%
permanent crops: 1.9% other: 68.16% (2005) |
Languages | English | Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) |
Legal system | English common law and statutes, supplemented by local statutes | civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, three ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 August 2005 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 12 |
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: 78.09 years
male: 75.19 years female: 81.15 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 72.3 years
male: 68.68 years female: 76.13 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 20 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6% male: 99.1% female: 98.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa; Ascension Island lies 700 nm northwest of Saint Helena; Tristan da Cunha lies 2300 nm southwest of Saint Helena | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
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 | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
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 | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) |
Nationality | noun: Saint Helenian(s)
adjective: Saint Helenian note: referred to locally as "Saints" |
noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian |
Natural hazards | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha, last eruption in 1961 | earthquakes, landslides |
Natural resources | fish, lobster | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -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 | none | 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 | none | Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas |
Population | 7,543
note: only Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha islands are inhabited (July 2007 est.) |
7,385,367 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | Below $2.15 per day (PPP) 4% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 0.53% (2007 est.) | -0.86% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | Saint Helena: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0
Ascension: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2005) |
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 | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic | 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: 1.036 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.056 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.863 male(s)/female total population: 1.031 male(s)/female (2007 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: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: can communicate worldwide
domestic: automatic digital network international: country code (Saint Helena) - 290, (Ascension Island) - 247; international direct dialing; satellite voice and data communications; satellite earth stations - 5 (Ascension Island - 4, Saint Helena - 1) |
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 | 2,200 (2002) | 2,483,500 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 6.245 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (3 television channels are received via satellite and distributed by UHF) (2005) | 39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | the islands of this group result from volcanic activity associated with the Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge
Saint Helena: rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains Ascension: surface covered by lava flows and cinder cones of 44 dormant volcanoes; ground rises to the east Tristan da Cunha: sheer cliffs line the coastline of the nearly circular island; the flanks of the central volcanic peak are deeply dissected; narrow coastal plain lies between The Peak and the coastal cliffs |
mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.55 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.38 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Transportation - note | there is no air connection to Saint Helena or Tristan da Cunha; an international airport for Saint Helena is in development for 2010 | - |
Unemployment rate | 14% (1998 est.) | 9.9% (2005) |
Waterways | - | 470 km (2006) |