Geography Strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia Location:Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey Geographic coordinates:43 00 N, 25 00 E Area:total: 110,879 sq km land: 108,489 sq km water: 2,390 sq km
Size comparison: slightly larger than Tennessee Land Boundaries:total: 1,808 km border countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia 318 km, Turkey 240 km Coastline:354 km Maritime claims:territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 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: 29.94% permanent crops: 1.9% other: 68.16% (2005) Irrigated land:5,880 sq km (2003) Natural hazards:earthquakes; landslides Current Environment 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 International Environment Agreements:party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, 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, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
People Population:7,204,687 (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 98 Age structure:0-14 years: 13.8% (male 509,544/female 484,816) 15-64 years: 68.5% (male 2,426,060/female 2,508,772) 65 years and over: 17.7% (male 518,711/female 756,784) (2009 est.) Median age:total: 41.4 years male: 39.2 years female: 43.6 years (2009 est.) Population growth rate:-0.79% (2009 est.) Birth rate:9.51 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) Death rate:14.31 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) Net migration rate:-3.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 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: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2009 est.) Infant mortality rate:total: 17.87 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.) Life expectancy at birth:total population: 73.09 years male: 69.48 years female: 76.91 years (2009 est.) Total fertility rate:1.41 children born/woman (2009 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:less than 0.1% (2001 est.) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:346 (2001 est.) HIV/AIDS - deaths:100 (2001 est.) Nationality:noun: Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian Ethnic groups:Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001 census) Religions:Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, other Christian 1.2%, other 4% (2001 census) Languages:Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) Literacy:definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.2% male: 98.7% female: 97.7% (2001 census)
Government Country name:conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria local long form: Republika Balgariya local short form: Balgariya Government type:parliamentary democracy Capital: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 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 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire) National holiday:Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) Constitution:adopted 12 July 1991 Legal system:civil and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations Suffrage:18 years of age; universal Executive branch:chief of state: President Georgi PARVANOV (since 22 January 2002); Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Boyko BORISSOV (since 27 July 2009); Deputy Prime Ministers Simeon DJANKOV and Tsvetan TSVETANOV (since 27 July 2009); 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) elected by the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly election results: Georgi PARVANOV reelected president; percent of vote - Georgi PARVANOV 77.3%, Volen SIDEROV 22.7%; Boyko BORISSOV elected prime minister, result of legislative vote - 162 to 77 with 1 abstension Legislative branch:unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 5 July 2009 (next to be held mid-2013) election results: percent of vote by party - GERB 39.7%, BSP 17.7%, MRF 14.4%, ATAKA 9.4%, Blue Coalition 6.8%, RZS 4.1%, other 7.9%; seats by party - GERB 116, BSP 40, MRF 38, ATAKA 21, Blue Coalition 15, RZS 10 Judicial branch:independent judiciary comprised of judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates who are appointed, promoted, demoted, and dismissed by a 25-member Supreme Judicial Council (consists of the chairmen of the two Supreme Courts, the Chief Prosecutor, and 22 members, half of whom are elected by the National Assembly and the other half by the bodies of the judiciary for a 5-year term in office); three levels of case review; 182 courts of which two Supreme Courts act as the last instance on civil and criminal cases (the Supreme Court of Cassation) and appeals of government decisions (the Supreme Administrative Court) Political parties and leaders:ATAKA (Attack Coalition) (coalition of parties headed by the Attack National Union); Attack National Union [Volen SIDEROV]; Agrarian National Union or ANU [Stefan LICHEV]; Blue Coalition (a coalition of center-right parties dominated by UDF and DSB) [Ivan KOSTOV and Martin DIMITROV]; Bulgarian New Democracy [Borislav RALCHEV]; Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria or GERB [Tsvetan TSVETANOV]; Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB (coalition of parties dominated by BSP) [Sergei STANISHEV]; Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria or DSB [Ivan KOSTOV]; Gergyovden [Petar STOYANOVICH]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or IMRO [Krasimir KARAKACHANOV]; Liberal Initiative for Democratic European Development or LIDER [Khristo KOVACHKI]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]; Movement Forward (LIDER, IMRO, ANU, Gergyovden); National Movement for Stability and Progress or NDSV [Hristina HRISTOVA] (formerly National Movement Simeon II or NMS2); New Time [Emil KOSHLUKOV]; Order, Law, Justice or RZS [Yane YANEV]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Martin DIMITROV]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Agrarians [Anastasia MOZER] Political pressure groups and leaders:Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation other: numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas International organization participation:ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC Diplomatic representation in the US:chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant) 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 Diplomatic representation from the US:chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Susan SUTTON 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
Economy Bulgaria, a former Communist country that entered the EU on 1 January 2007, experienced more than 6% growth from 1996 to 2008, driven by significant amounts of foreign direct investment. Successive governments have demonstrated a commitment to economic reforms and responsible fiscal planning, but the global downturn is reducing exports, capital inflows, and industrial production. GDP in 2009 contracted by approximately 5%, having averaged more than 6% growth in the preceding years, driven by significant amounts of foreign direct investment. Corruption in the public administration, a weak judiciary, and the presence of organized crime remain significant challenges. GDP (purchasing power parity):GDP (purchasing power parity): $90.54 billion (2009 est.) $95.1 billion (2008 est.) $89.72 billion (2007 est.) note: data are in 2009 US dollars GDP (official exchange rate):GDP (official exchange rate): $44.78 billion (2009 est.) GDP - real growth rate:-4.8% (2009 est.) 6% (2008 est.) 6.2% (2007 est.) GDP - per capita (PPP):GDP - per capita (PPP): $12,600 (2009 est.) $13,100 (2008 est.) $12,300 (2007 est.) note: data are in 2009 US dollars GDP - composition by sector:agriculture: 7.5% industry: 27.6% services: 64.9% (2009 est.) Labor force:2.63 million (2009 est.) Labor force - by occupation:agriculture: 7.5% industry: 35.5% services: 57% (2007 est.) Unemployment rate:9.1% (2009 est.) 6.3% (2008 est.) Population below poverty line:14.1% (2003 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share:lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 25.5% (2007) Distribution of family income - Gini index:30.7 (2007) 26.4 (2001) Inflation rate (consumer prices):Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.7% (2009 est.) 12.3% (2008 est.) Investment (gross fixed):Investment (gross fixed): 28.6% of GDP (2009 est.) Budget:revenues: $17.3 billion expenditures: $17.89 billion (2009 est.) Public debt:21.4% of GDP (2009 est.) 14.1% of GDP (2008 est.) Agriculture - products:vegetables, fruits, tobacco, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets; livestock Industries:electricity, gas, water; food, beverages, tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel Industrial production growth rate:-14% (2009 est.) Electricity - production:40.25 billion kWh (2007 est.) Electricity - consumption:31.08 billion kWh (2007 est.) Electricity - exports:8.441 billion kWh (2008 est.) Electricity - imports:3.097 billion kWh (2008 est.) Oil - production:3,357 bbl/day (2008 est.) Oil - consumption:124,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) Oil - exports:76,570 bbl/day (2007 est.) Oil - imports:189,000 bbl/day (2007 est.) Oil - proved reserves:15 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.) Natural gas - production:300 million cu m (2008 est.) Natural gas - consumption:3.4 billion cu m (2008 est.) Natural gas - exports:0 cu m (2008 est.) Natural gas - imports:3.1 billion cu m (2008 est.) Natural gas - proved reserves:5.663 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) Current account balance:$-5.812 billion (2009 est.) $-12.65 billion (2008 est.) Exports:$16.23 billion (2009 est.) $22.71 billion (2008 est.) Exports - commodities:clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels Exports - partners:Greece 9.9%, Germany 9.2%, Turkey 8.9%, Italy 8.5%, Romania 7.2%, Belgium 5.9%, France 4.1% (2008) Imports:$23.27 billion (2009 est.) $35.64 billion (2008 est.) Imports - commodities:machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials Imports - partners:Russia 14.6%, Germany 11.8%, Italy 7.9%, Ukraine 7.3%, Romania 5.6%, Turkey 5.5%, Greece 5.4%, Austria 4.1% (2008) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:$16.49 billion (31 December 2009 est.) $17.93 billion (31 December 2008 est.) Debt - external:$49.28 billion (31 December 2009 est.) $51.46 billion (31 December 2008 est.) Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:$47.31 billion (31 December 2009 est.) $42.91 billion (31 December 2008 est.) Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:$1.392 billion (31 December 2009 est.) $1.292 billion (31 December 2008 est.) Market value of publicly traded shares:$8.858 billion (31 December 2008) $21.79 billion (31 December 2007) $10.32 billion (31 December 2006) Exchange rates:leva (BGN) per US dollar - 1.4352 (2009), 1.3171 (2008), 1.4366 (2007), 1.5576 (2006), 1.5741 (2005)
Communications Telephones in use:2.258 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 55 Cellular Phones in use:10.633 million (2008) Telephone system:general assessment: an extensive but antiquated telecommunications network inherited from the Soviet era; quality has improved; the Bulgaria Telecommunications Company's fixed-line monopoly terminated in 2005 when alternative fixed-line operators were given access to its network; a drop in fixed-line connections in recent years has been more than offset by a sharp increase in mobile-cellular telephone use fostered by multiple service providers; the number of cellular telephone subscriptions now greatly exceeds the population domestic: 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; submarine cable provides connectivity to Ukraine and Russia; a combination submarine cable and land fiber-optic system provides connectivity to Italy, Albania, and Macedonia; satellite earth stations - 3 (1 Intersputnik in the Atlantic Ocean region, 2 Intelsat in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (2008) Radio broadcast stations:AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001) Television broadcast stations:39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001) Internet country code:.bg Internet hosts:706,648 (2009) Internet users:2.647 million (2008)
Transportation Airports:212 (2009) country comparison to the world: 29 Airports (paved runways):total: 132 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 under 914 m: 97 (2009) Airports (unpaved runways):total: 80 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 73 (2009) Heliports:3 (2009) Pipelines:gas 2,926 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2008) Railways:total: 4,294 km standard gauge: 4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,880 km electrified) narrow gauge: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (2008) Roadways:total: 40,231 km paved: 39,587 km (includes 331 km of expressways) unpaved: 644 km (2005) Waterways:470 km (2008) Merchant marine:total: 74 by type: bulk carrier 37, cargo 14, chemical tanker 5, container 6, liquefied gas 2, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 65 (Germany 63, Ireland 1, Russia 1) registered in other countries: 31 (Comoros 2, Malta 5, Panama 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 15, Slovakia 6) (2008) Ports and terminals:Burgas, Varna
Military
Military branches:Bulgarian Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Bulgarian Air Forces (Bulgarski Voennovazdyshni Sily, BVVS) (2009) Military service age and obligation:18-27 years of age for voluntary military service; as of May 2006, 67% of the Bulgarian Army comprised of professional soldiers; conscription ended January 2008; Air Forces and Naval Forces became fully professional at the end of 2006 (2008) Manpower available for military service:males age 16-49: 1,701,979 females age 16-49: 1,691,092 (2008 est.) Manpower fit for military service:
