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Communications

Internet country code [time series]

.bg

Internet users (Internet hosts) [time series]

53,421 (2004)

Internet users [time series]

630,000 (2002)

Broadcast media (Radio broadcast stations) [time series]

AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001)

Telecommunication systems (Telephone system) [time series]

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 - fixed lines (Telephones - main lines in use) [time series]

2,868,200 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular [time series]

2,597,500 (2002)

Broadcast media (Television broadcast stations) [time series]

39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001)

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture - products) [time series]

vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets

Budget [time series]

revenues: $8.121 billion expenditures: $8.121 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

lev (BGL)

Exchange rates (Currency code) [time series]

BGN

Current account balance [time series]

$-1.666 billion (2003)

Debt - external [time series]

$12.05 billion (2003)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income (Distribution of family income - Gini index) [time series]

26.4 (2001)

Economic aid (Economic aid - recipient) [time series]

$300 million (2000 est.)

Economic overview (Economy - overview) [time series]

Bulgaria, a former communist country striving 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. A $300 million stand-by agreement negotiated with the IMF at the end of 2001 has supported government efforts to overcome high rates of poverty and unemployment.

Electricity - consumption [time series]

32.52 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports [time series]

6.79 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports [time series]

830 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - production [time series]

41.38 billion kWh (2001)

Exchange rates [time series]

leva per US dollar - 1.7327 (2003), 2.077 (2002), 2.1847 (2001), 2.1233 (2000), 1.8364 (1999) 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

Exports [time series]

$7.337 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities [time series]

clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels

Exports - partners [time series]

Italy 14.1%, Germany 10.9%, Greece 10.5%, Turkey 9.2%, France 5.1%, US 4.5% (2003)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

purchasing power parity - $57.13 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - composition, by sector of origin (GDP - composition by sector) [time series]

agriculture: 11.4% industry: 30% services: 58.6% (2003)

Real GDP per capita (GDP - per capita) [time series]

purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2003 est.)

Real GDP growth rate (GDP - real growth rate) [time series]

4.3% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share [time series]

lowest 10%: 4.5% highest 10%: 22.8% (1997)

Imports [time series]

$9.723 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities [time series]

fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles

Imports - partners [time series]

Germany 14.4%, Russia 12.6%, Italy 10.3%, Greece 6.7%, Turkey 6.2%, France 5.7% (2003)

Industrial production growth rate [time series]

6.3% (2003 est.)

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

2.3% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed) [time series]

19.6% of GDP (2003)

Labor force [time series]

3.333 million (2003 est.)

Labor force - by occupation [time series]

agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.)

Natural gas - consumption [time series]

5.804 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports [time series]

0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports [time series]

5.8 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - production [time series]

4 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves [time series]

3.724 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Oil - consumption [time series]

94,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports [time series]

NA (2001)

Oil - imports [time series]

NA (2001)

Oil - production [time series]

603 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - proved reserves [time series]

8.1 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Population below poverty line [time series]

13.4% (2002 est.)

Public debt [time series]

48% of GDP (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold (Reserves of foreign exchange & gold) [time series]

$6.705 billion (2003)

Unemployment rate [time series]

14.3% (2003)

Geography

Area [time series]

total: 110,910 sq km land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km

Area - comparative [time series]

slightly larger than Tennessee

Climate [time series]

temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers

Coastline [time series]

354 km

Elevation (Elevation extremes) [time series]

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

Environment - current issues [time series]

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

International environmental agreements (Environment - international agreements) [time series]

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

Geographic coordinates [time series]

43 00 N, 25 00 E

Geography - note [time series]

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

Irrigated land [time series]

8,000 sq km (1998 est.)

Land boundaries [time series]

total: 1,808 km border countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km, Turkey 240 km

Land use [time series]

arable land: 40.02% permanent crops: 1.92% other: 58.06% (2001)

Location [time series]

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

Map references [time series]

Europe

Maritime claims [time series]

territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Natural hazards [time series]

earthquakes, landslides

Natural resources [time series]

bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land

Terrain [time series]

mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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

Capital [time series]

Sofia

Constitution [time series]

adopted 12 July 1991

Country name [time series]

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

Diplomatic representation from the US [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador James William PARDEW embassy: 16 Kozyak Street, Sofia 1407 mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, 5740 Sofia Place, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100 FAX: [359] (2) 937-5230

Diplomatic representation in the US [time series]

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): New York

Executive branch [time series]

chief of state: President Georgi PURVANOV (since 22 January 2002); Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002) head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA (since 24 July 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Nikolay VASILEV (since 24 July 2001), Lidiya SHULEVA (since 24 July 2001), and Plamen PANAYOTOV (since 17 July 2003) 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 five-year terms; election last held 11 November and 18 November 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); 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 elected president; percent of vote - Georgi PURVANOV 54.13%, Petar STOYANOV 45.87%

Flag (Flag description) [time series]

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)

Government type [time series]

parliamentary democracy

Independence [time series]

3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire)

International organization participation [time series]

ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC

Judicial branch [time series]

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)

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

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 - NMS2 42.74%, UDF 18.18%, CfB 17.15%, MRF 7.45%; seats by party - NMS2 120, UDF 51, CfB 48, MRF 21; note - seating as of January 2005 - NMS2 98, CfB 49, UtDF 28, MRF 20, UDF 14, New Time 13, BANU 11, independents 7

National holiday [time series]

Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Bulgarian Agrarian National Union-People's Union or BANU [Anastasia MOZER]; 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]; 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 [Nadezhda MIKHAYLOVA]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces or UtDF (a coalition of center-right parties dominated by DSB)

Political parties (Political pressure groups and leaders) [time series]

Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas

Suffrage [time series]

18 years of age; universal

Introduction

Background [time series]

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 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. Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on a path toward eventual integration into the EU. The country joined NATO in 2004.

Military

Military and security forces (Military branches) [time series]

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces

Military expenditures - dollar figure [time series]

$356 million (FY02)

Military expenditures (Military expenditures - percent of GDP) [time series]

2.6% (2003)

Military manpower - availability [time series]

males age 15-49: 1,829,203 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service [time series]

males age 15-49: 1,530,657 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - military age and obligation [time series]

18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 9 months (2004)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually [time series]

males: 52,811 (2004 est.)

People

Age structure [time series]

0-14 years: 14.4% (male 553,801; female 526,856) 15-64 years: 68.5% (male 2,533,784; female 2,615,968) 65 years and over: 17.1% (male 535,954; female 751,610) (2004 est.)

Birth rate [time series]

9.65 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate [time series]

14.25 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Ethnic groups [time series]

Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate [time series]

less than 0.1% - note: no country specific models provided (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths [time series]

100 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS [time series]

346 (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate [time series]

total: 21.31 deaths/1,000 live births male: 25.15 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)

Languages [time series]

Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 71.75 years male: 68.14 years female: 75.59 years (2004 est.)

Literacy [time series]

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.6% male: 99.1% female: 98.2% (2003 est.)

Median age [time series]

total: 40.5 years male: 38.4 years female: 42.4 years (2004 est.)

Nationality [time series]

noun: Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian

Net migration rate [time series]

-4.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Population [time series]

7,517,973 (July 2004 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

-0.92% (2004 est.)

Religions [time series]

Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, Jewish 0.1%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 3.4% (1998)

Sex ratio [time series]

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: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate [time series]

1.37 children born/woman (2004 est.)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international [time series]

none

Illicit drugs [time series]

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

Transportation

Airports [time series]

212 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways [time series]

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 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways [time series]

total: 85 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 72 (2004 est.)

Heliports [time series]

1 (2003 est.)

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

total: 37,286 km paved: 35,049 km (including 324 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,237 km (2000)

Merchant marine [time series]

total: 60 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 757,972 GRT/1,115,238 DWT by type: bulk 37, cargo 7, chemical tanker 4, container 2, petroleum tanker 3, rail car carrier 2, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea/passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 registered in other countries: 45 (2004 est.)

Pipelines [time series]

gas 2,425 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2004)

Ports (Ports and harbors) [time series]

Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin

Railways [time series]

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 (2003)

Waterways [time series]

470 km (2004)