Bulgaria
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Geography 
Economy 
Defense Forces
People 
Transportation 
Government
Communications 
History 
Travel
GEOGRAPHY
Location
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey
Area
- Total area: 110,910 sq km
- Land area: 110,550 sq km
- Comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee
Land Boundaries
Total 1,808 km, Greece 494 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km (all with Serbia), Turkey 240 km
Coastline
354 km
Maritime Claims
- Contiguous zone: 24 nm
- Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
- Territorial sea: 12 nm
International Disputes
None
Climate
Temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers
Terrain
Mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast
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: 34%
- Permanent crops: 3%
- Meadows and pastures: 18%
- Forest and woodland: 35%
- Other: 10%
Irrigated Land
10 sq km (1989 est.)
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
- Natural hazards: earthquakes, landslides
- International agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Note: Strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia
PEOPLE
Population
8,612,757 (July 1996 est.)
8,775,198 (July 1995 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 Years
17% (male 769,025; female 732,119) (July 1996 est.)
19% (male 841,697; female 800,413) (July 1995 est.)
15-64 Years
68% (male 2,891,197; female 2,923,440) (July 1996 est.)
66% (male 2,910,133; female 2,927,880) (July 1995 est.)
65 Years and Over
15% (male 561,944; female 735,032) (July 1996 est.)
15% (male 559,369; female 735,706) (July 1995 est.)
Population Growth Rate
0.46% (1996 est.)
-0.25% (1995 est.)
Birth Rate
8.33 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
11.75 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death Rate
13.55 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
11.31 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net Migration Rate
9.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
-2.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.76 male(s)/female
all ages:
0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant Mortality Rate
15.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
11.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth
- Total population: 71 years (1996 est.), 73.68 years (1995 est.)
- Male: 67.07 years (1996 est.), 70.43 years (195 est.)
- Female: 75.12 years (1996 est.), 77.1 years (1995 est.)
Total Fertility Rate
1.17 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.71 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality
- Noun: Bulgarian(s)
- Adjective: Bulgarian
Ethnic Divisions
- Bulgarian 85.3%
- Turk 8.5%
- Gypsy 2.6%
- Macedonian 2.5%
- Armenian 0.3%
- Russian 0.2%
- Other 0.6%
Religions
Languages
Bulgarian; secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown
Literacy
Age 15 and over that can read and write (1992)
- Total population: 98%
- Male: 99%
- Female: 97%
Labor Force
3.1 million
By occupation:
- Industry 41%
- Agriculture 18%
- Other 41% (1992)
GOVERNMENT
Names
- Conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
- Conventional short form: Bulgaria
Digraph
BU
Type
Emerging democracy
Capital
Sofia
Administrative Divisions
9 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast); Burgas, Grad Sofiya, Khaskovo, Lovech, Montana, Plovdiv, Ruse, Sofiya, Varna
Independence
22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)
National Holiday
Independence Day 3 March (1878)
Constitution
Adopted 12 July 1991
Legal System
Based on civil law system, with Soviet law influence; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive Branch
- Chief of state: President Zhelyu Mitev ZHELEV (since 1 August 1990); Vice President (vacant); election last held January 1992; results - Zhelyu ZHELEV was elected by popular vote
- Head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Zhan VIDENOV (since 25 January 1995); Deputy Prime Ministers Doncho KONAKCHIEV, Kiril TSOCHEV, Rumen GECHEV, Svetoslav SHIVAROV (since 25 January 1995)
- Cabinet: Council of Ministers; elected by the National Assembly
Legislative Branch
Unicameral
National Assembly (Narodno Sobranie)
Last held 18 December 1994 (next to be held NA 1997); results - BSP 43.5%, UDF 24.2%, PU 6.5%, MRF 5.4%, BBB 4.7%; seats - (240 total) BSP 125, UDF 69, PU 18, MRF 15, BBB 13
Judicial Branch
Supreme Court, Constitutional Court
Political Parties and Leaders
Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), Zhan VIDENOV, chairman; Union of Democratic Forces (UDF - an alliance of pro-Democratic parties), Ivan KOSTOV; People's Union (PU), Stefan SAVOV; Movement for Rights and Freedoms (mainly ethnic Turkish party) (MRF), Ahmed DOGAN; Bulgarian Business Bloc (BBB), George GANCHEV
Other Political or Pressure Groups
Democratic Alliance for the Republic (DAR); New Union for Democracy (NUD); Ecoglasnost; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; Fatherland Union; Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP); Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (KNSB); Bulgarian Agrarian National Union - United (BZNS); Bulgarian Democratic Center; "Nikola Petkov" Bulgarian Agrarian National Union; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Union of Macedonian Societies (IMRO-UMS); numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas
Member of
ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOT, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant), ZC
National Anthem
Flag
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)
ECONOMY
Overview
One of the poorest countries of central Europe, Bulgaria has continued the difficult process of moving from its old command economy to a modern, market-oriented economy. GDP rose a moderate 2.4% in 1995; inflation was down sharply; and unemployment fell from an estimated 16% to 12%. Despite this progress, structural reforms necessary to underpin macroeconomic stabilization were not pursued vigorously. Mass privatization of state-owned industry continued to move slowly, although privatization of small-scale industry, particularly in the retail and service sectors, accelerated. The Bulgarian economy will continue to grow in 1996, but economic reforms will remain politically difficult as the population has become weary of the process.
National Product
GDP - purchasing power parity - $43.2 billion (1995 est.), $33.7 billion (1994 est.)
National Product Real Growth Rate
2.4% (1995 est.)
0.2% (1994 est.)
National Product Per Capita
$4,920 (1995 est.)
$3,830 (1994 est.)
Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)
35% (1995)
122% (1994)
Unemployment Rate
11.9% (1995 est.)
16% (1994)
Budget
- Revenues: $3.8 billion
- Expenditures: $4.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994), $17.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $610 million (1993 est.)
Exports
$4.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
$3.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
Commodities:
- machinery and equipment 12.8%; agriculture and food 21.9%; textiles and apparel 14%; metals and ores 19.7%; chemicals 16.9%; minerals and fuels 9.3%
Partners:
- former CEMA countries 35.7%
- OECD 46.6% (EU 33.5%)
- Arab countries 5.1%
- other 12.6%
Imports
$4 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
$4.3 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
Commodities:
- fuels, minerals, and raw materials 30.1%; machinery and equipment 23.6%; textiles and apparel 11.6%; agricultural products 10.8%; metals and ores 6.8%; chemicals 12.3%; other 4.8%
Partners:
- former CEMA countries 40.3%
- OECD 48.3% (EU 34.1%)
- Arab countries 1.7%
- other 9.7%
External Debt
$10.4 billion (1995)
$12 billion (1994)
Industrial Production
Growth rate 2% (1995), 4% (1994)
Electricity
- Capacity: 11,500,000 kW
- Production: 38.1 billion kWh
- Consumption per capita: 4,342 kWh (1994)
Industries
- Machine building and metal working
- Food processing
- Chemicals
- Textiles
- Building materials
- Ferrous and nonferrous metals
Agriculture
grain, oilseed, vegetables, fruits, tobacco; livestock
Illicit Drugs
Transshipment point for southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine transiting the Balkan route; limited producer of precursor chemicals
Economic Aid
- Recipient: ODA, $39 million (1993), $700 million in balance of payments support (1994)
Currency
1 lev (Lv) = 100 stotinki
Exchange Rates
Leva (Lv) per US$1 - 70.5 (December 1995), 54.2 (1994), 27.1 (1993), 23.3 (1992), 18.4 (1991), 0.7446 (November 1990); note - floating exchange rate since February 1991
Fiscal Year
Calendar year
TRANSPORTATION
Railroads
- Total: 4,294 km
- Standard gauge: 4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,650 km electrified; 917 double track)
- Other: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (1995)
Highways
- Total: 36,932 km
- Paved: 33,904 km (including 276 km expressways)
- Unpaved: earth 3,028 km (1992 est.)
Inland Waterways
470 km (1987)
Pipelines
Crude oil 193 km; petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1,400 km (1992)
Ports
Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin
Merchant Marine
- Total: 103 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,084,090 GRT/1,596,735 DWT
- Ships by type: bulk 45, cargo 27, chemical tanker 4, container 2, oil tanker 13, passenger-cargo 1, railcar carrier 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 6, short-sea passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 1
Note: Bulgaria owns an additional 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 135,016 DWT operating under the registries of Liberia and Malta (1995 est.)
Airports
- Total: 355
- With paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
- With paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 17
- With paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
- With paved runways under 914 m: 88
- With unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
- With unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1
- With unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 10
- With unpaved runways under 914 m: 226 (1994 est.)
COMMUNICATIONS
Telephone System
2,773,293 telephones (1993 est.); 29 telephones/100 persons (1992); extensive but antiquated transmission system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; direct dialing to 36 countries; telephone service is available in most villages; almost two-thirds of the lines are residential; 67% of Sofia households have phones (November 1988 est.)
- Domestic: extensive but antiquated transmission system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; telephone service is available in most villages
- International: 1 earth station using Intersputnik; INTELSAT link used through a Greek earth station
Radio
- Broadcast stations: AM 20, FM 15, shortwave 0
- Radios: NA
Television
- Broadcast stations: 29 (Russian repeater in Sofia 1)
- Televisions: 2.1 million (May 1990 est.)
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches
Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Troops, Internal Troops
Manpower Availability
Males age 15-49 2,155,332; males fit for military service 1,797,318; males reach military age (19) annually 64,568 (1996 est.)
Defense Expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $352 million, 2.5% of GDP (1995)
History
World Atlas
