Bulgaria

§1. Bulgaria Introduction

Background:
  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.

§2. Bulgaria Geography

Location:
  Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey

Geographic coordinates:
  43 00 N, 25 00 E

Map references:
  Europe

Area:
  total: 110,910 kmē
  land: 110,550 kmē
  water: 360 kmē

Area - comparative:
  slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries:
  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

Coastline:
  354 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
  territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate:
  temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers

Terrain:
  mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast

Elevation extremes:
  lowest point: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Musala 2,925 m

Natural resources:
  bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land

Land use:
  arable land: 43%
  permanent crops: 2%
  permanent pastures: 14%
  forests and woodland: 38%
  other: 3% (1999 est.)

Irrigated land:
  12,370 kmē (1993 est.)

Natural hazards:
  earthquakes, landslides

Environment - current issues:
  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

Geography - note:
  strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from
  Europe to Middle East and Asia

§3. Bulgaria People

Population:
  7,707,495 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure:
  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.)

Population growth rate:
  -1.14% (2001 est.)

Birth rate:
  8.06 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate:
  14.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate:
  -4.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

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: 0.73 male(s)/female
  total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  14.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71.2 years male: 67.72 years
  female: 74.89 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  1.13 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  0.01% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  less than 100 (1999 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Bulgarian(s)
  adjective: Bulgarian

Ethnic groups:
  Bulgarian 83%, Turk 8.5%, Roma 2.6%, Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Gagauz,
  Circassian, others (1998)

Religions:
  Bulgarian Orthodox 83.5%, Muslim 13%, Roman Catholic 1.5%, Uniate Catholic
  0.2%, Jewish 0.8%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 1% (1998)

Languages:
  Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown

Literacy:
  definition: age 15 and over can read and write
  total population: 98%
  male: 99%
  female: 98% (1999)

§4. Bulgaria Government

Country name:
  conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
  conventional short form: Bulgaria

Government type:
  parliamentary democracy

Capital:
  Sofia

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

Independence:
  3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire)

National holiday:
  Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)

Constitution:
  adopted 12 July 1991

Legal system:
  civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction

Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  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%

Legislative branch:
  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

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)

Political parties and leaders:
  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:
  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

International organization participation:
  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

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  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

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  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

Flag description:
  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)

§5. Bulgaria Economy

Economy - overview:
  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.

GDP:
  purchasing power parity - $48 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  5% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:
  purchasing power parity - $6,200 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 15% industry: 29%
  services: 56% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  35% (2000 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: 3.4% highest 10%: 22.5% (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  10.4% (2000 est.)

Labor force:
  3.83 million (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate:
  17.7% (2000 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $4.85 billion
  expenditures: $4.92 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000
    est.)

Industries:
  electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and
  equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear
  fuel

Industrial production growth rate:
  10.8% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:
  36.217 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
  fossil fuel: 51.52% hydro: 8.35%
  nuclear: 40.12%
  other: 0.01% (1999)

Electricity - consumption:
  33.182 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:
  2.2 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:
  1.7 billion kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products:
  vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers,
  sugar beets

Exports:
  $4.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels

Exports - partners:
  Italy 14%, Turkey 10%, Germany 9%, Greece 8%, Yugoslavia 8%, Belgium 6%,
  France 5%, US 4% (2000)

Imports:
  $5.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and
  ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles

Imports - partners:
  Russia 24%, Germany 14%, Italy 8%, Greece 5%, France 5%, Romania 4%, Turkey
  3%, US 3% (2000)

Debt - external:
  $10.4 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $1 billion (1999 est.)

Currency:
  lev (BGL)

Currency code:
  BGL

Exchange rates:
  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

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Bulgaria Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  3.255 million (2000)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  596,000 (2000)

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: direct dialing to 58 countries; satellite earth stations - 1
    Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 2 Intelsat (Atlantic and Indian
    Ocean regions)

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 24, FM 93, shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios:
  4.51 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
  96 (plus 1,030 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions:
  3.31 million (1997)

Internet country code:
  .bg

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
  26 (2000)

Internet users:
  200,000 (2000)

§7. Bulgaria Transportation

Railways:
  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)

Highways:
  total: 36,724 km
  paved: 33,786 km (including 314 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 2,938 km (1999)

Waterways:
  470 km (1987)

Pipelines:
  petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1,500 km (1999)

Ports and harbors:
  Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin

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.)

Airports:
  215 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
  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.)

Heliports:
  1 (2000 est.)

§8. Bulgaria Military

Military branches:
  Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense Forces, Internal
  Troops

Military manpower - military age:
  19 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,891,498 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
  males age 15-49: 1,581,697 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
  males: 56,104 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $344 million (FY00)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  2.4% (FY00)

§9. Bulgaria Transnational Issues

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
