Map of Bulgaria | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: 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 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR and Bulgaria 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 and NATO.


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

Geographic coordinates: 43 00 N 25 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries

Coastline: 354 km

Maritime claims

Climate: temperate; cold damp winters; hot dry summers

Terrain: mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast

Elevation

Natural resources: bauxite copper lead zinc coal timber arable land

Land use

Irrigated land: 12,370 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: earthquakes landslides

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


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Population: 7,796,694 (July 2000 est.)
Growth rate: -1.16% (2000 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality

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

Languages: Bulgarian secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown

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

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: -1.16% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 8.06 births/1000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 14.63 deaths/1000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: -5.06 migrant(s)/1000 population (2000 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

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

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 15.13 deaths/1000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total fertility rate: 1.13 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

Government type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Sofia

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (oblasti singular - oblast); Burgas Grad Sofiya Khaskovo Lovech Montana Plovdiv Ruse Sofiya Varna

Dependent areas

Independence: 22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)

National holiday: Independence Day 3 March (1878)

Constitution: adopted 12 July 1991

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court chairman appointed for a seven-year term by the president; Constitutional Court 12 justices appointed or elected for nine-year terms

Political parties and leaders: Alliance for National Salvation or ANS (coalition led mainly by Movement for Rights and Freedoms or DPS) [Ahmed DOGAN]; Bulgarian Business Bloc or BBB [Georgi GANCHEV]; Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Georgi PURVANOV chairman]; Democratic Left of DL [leader NA]; Euro-left [Aleksandur TOMOV]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or DPS (member of LDU) [Ahmed DOGAN]; People's Union or PU [Anastasiya MOZER]; Union of Democratic Forces or UtdDF (an alliance of pro-democratic parties) [Ivan KOSTOV]

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 UNMIBH UNMIK UNMOP UPU WEU (associate partner) WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO ZC

Diplomatic representation

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)

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: In April 1997 the current ruling Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) government won pre-term parliamentary elections and introduced an IMF currency board system which succeeded in stabilizing the economy. The triple digit inflation of 1996 and 1997 has given way to an official consumer price increase of 6.2% in 1999. Following declines in GDP in both 1996 and 1997 the economy grew an officially estimated 3.5% in 1998 and 2.5% in 1999. In September 1998 the IMF approved a three-year Extended Fund Facility which provides credits worth approximately $900 million designed to support Bulgaria's reform efforts. In 1999 an unfavorable international environment - primarily caused by the Kosovo conflict - and structural reforms slowed economic growth but forecasters are predicting accelerated growth over the next several years. The government's structural reform program includes: (a) privatization and where appropriate liquidation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs); (b) liberalization of agricultural policies including creating conditions for the development of a land market; (c) reform of the country's social insurance programs; and (d) reforms to strengthen contract enforcement and fight crime and corruption.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 2.5% (1999 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,300 (1999 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

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

Industries: machine building and metal working food processing chemicals construction materials ferrous and nonferrous metals nuclear fuel

Industrial production growth rate: -3% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 3.82 million (1998 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 26%
By occupation industry: 31%
By occupation services: 43% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate: 15% (1999 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 6.2% (1999 est.)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $3.8 billion (f.o.b. 1999 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment; metals minerals and fuels; chemicals and plastics; food tobacco clothing (1998)
Partners: Italy 13% Germany 10% Greece 9% Turkey 8% Russia (1998)

Imports: $5.3 billion (f.o.b. 1999 est.)
Commodities: fuels minerals and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food textiles (1998)
Partners: Russia 20% Germany 14% Italy 8% Greece 6% US 4% (1998)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $10 billion (1999 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: leva (Lv) per US$1 - 1.9295 (January 2000) 1.8364 (1999) 1760.36 (1998) 1681.88 (1997) 177.89 (1996) 67.17 (1995)


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Electricity
Production: 38.423 billion kWh (1998)
Consumption: 35.493 billion kWh (1998)
Exports: 2 billion kWh (1998)
Imports: 1.76 billion kWh (1998)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 3.186 million (1999)
Mobile cellular: 300,000 (1999)

Telephone system: more than two-thirds of the lines are residential

Broadcast media

Internet
Service providers isps: 20 (1999)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports

Heliports

Pipelines: petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1500 km (1999)

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 470 km (1987)

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs