Background: 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 from the Ottoman Empire 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. The country joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007.

Geographic coordinates: 43 00 N 25 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 110,879 km²
Rank: 104
Land: 108,489 km²
Water: 2,390 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries
Total: 1808 km
Border countries: (5) 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
Extremes 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 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 19.4 km³ (2005)

Natural hazards: earthquakes; landslides

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

Population: 7,148,785 (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 98
Growth rate: -0.768% (2010 est.)
Growth rate rank: 228
Below poverty line: 14% (2008)

Nationality
Noun: Bulgarian
Adjective: Bulgarian

Ethnic groups: Bulgarian 83.9% Turk 9.4% Roma 4.7% other 2% (including Macedonian Armenian Tatar Circassian) (2001 census)

Languages: Bulgarian (official) 84.5% Turkish 9.6% Roma 4.1% other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)

Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6% Muslim 12.2% other Christian 1.2% other 4% (2001 census)

Age structure
0-14 years: 13.8%
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) (2010 est.)

Median age
Total: 41.6 years
Male: 39.4 years
Female: 43.9 years (2010 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.768% (2010 est.)
Rank: 228

Birth rate: 9.43 births/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 205

Death rate: 14.31 deaths/1000 population (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 17

Net migration rate: -2.8 migrant(s)/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 181

Urbanization
Urban population: 71% of total population
Rate of urbanization: -0.3% annual rate of change (2005-10 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
International 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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/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 (2010 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 17.26 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 108
Male: 20.59 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 13.73 deaths/1000 live births (2010 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.35 years
Rank: 114
Male: 69.74 years
Female: 77.17 years (2010 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (2010 est.)
Rank: 198

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 141
People living with hivaids: 346 (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 153
Deaths: 100 (2001 est.)
Deaths rank: 149

Education expenditures: 4.1% of GDP (2007)
Rank: 103

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 98.2%
Male: 98.7%
Female: 97.7% (2001 census)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 14 years (2008)

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 (Sofia) Sofiya-Grad (Sofia City) 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 on 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 ; 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 on 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 abstention

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
Elections: last held on 5 July 2009 (next to be held in 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 117 BSP 40 MRF 37 ATAKA 21 Blue Coalition 15 RZS 8 independents 2

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: Agrarian National Union or ANU [Stefan LICHEV]; ATAKA (Attack party) [Volen SIDEROV]; Blue Coalition [Ivan KOSTOV and Martin DIMITROV] (a coalition of center-right parties dominated by UDF and DSB); Bulgarian New Democracy [Borislav RALCHEV]; Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria or GERB [Boyko BORISSOV]; Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB [Sergei STANISHEV] (coalition of parties dominated by BSP); 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]; 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]

International organization participation: 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 UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Elena POPTODOROVA
In the us chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 387-0174
In the us fax: [1] (202) 234-7,973
In the us consulate general: Chicago Los Angeles New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador James B. WARLICK Jr
From the us embassy: 16 Kozyak Street Sofia 1407
From the us mailing address: American Embassy Sofia US Department of State 5,740 Sofia Place Washington DC 20,521-5,740
From the us telephone: [359] (2) 937-5,100
From the us fax: [359] (2) 937-5,320

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top) green and red; the pan-Slavic white-blue-red colors were modified by substituting a green band (representing freedom) for the blue
Note: the national emblem formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe has been removed

National anthem
Name: 'Mila Rodino'
Lyricsmusic: Tsvetan Tsvetkov RADOSLAVOV
Note: adopted 1964; the anthem was composed in 1885 by a student en route to fight in the Serbo-Bulgarian War

Economy overview: Bulgaria a former Communist country that entered the EU on 1 January 2007 averaged more than 6% growth from 2004 to 2008 driven by significant amounts of foreign direct investment and consumption. Successive governments have demonstrated a commitment to economic reforms and responsible fiscal planning but the global downturn sharply reduced domestic demand exports capital inflows and industrial production. GDP contracted by approximately 5% in 2009 and stagnated in 2010 despite a significant recovery in exports. The economy is expected to grow modestly in 2011 however. Corruption in the public administration a weak judiciary and the presence of organized crime remain significant challenges.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 72
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 190

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 89
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 7.5%
Industry: 27.6%
Services: 64.9% (2009 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: 0.4% (2010 est.)
Rank: 153

Labor force: 2.61 million (2010 est.)
Rank: 108
By occupation agriculture: 7.5%
By occupation industry: 36.4%
By occupation services: 56.1% (2008 est.)

Unemployment rate: 6.3% (2008 est.)
Rank: 103

Population below poverty line: 14% (2008)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.9%
Highest 10: 24.1% (2008)

Distribution of family income gini index: 26.4 (2001)
Rank: 114

Public debt: 14.8% of GDP (2009 est.)
Rank: 115

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.6% (2009)
Rank: 60

Central bank discount rate: 5.77% (31 December 2008)
Rank: 78

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 10.86% (31 December 2008 est.)
Rank: 84

Stock of narrow money: $12.91 billion (31 December 2009 est)
Rank: 68

Stock of broad money: $33.93 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 73

Stock of domestic credit: $33.89 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 67

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 69

Current account balance: -$4.348 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 153

Exports: $16.53 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 69
Commodities: clothing footwear iron and steel machinery and equipment fuels
Partners: Germany 11.21% Greece 9.43% Italy 9.24% Romania 8.52% Turkey 7.33% Belgium 5.61% France 4.44% (2009)

Imports: $22.22 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 67
Commodities: machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels minerals and raw materials
Partners: Russia 13.14% Germany 12.23% Italy 7.78% Greece 6.17% Romania 5.65% Turkey 5.48% Ukraine 4.81% Austria 4.08% (2009)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $18.53 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 47

Debt external: $39.56 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 60

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $49.28 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 54

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $1.194 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 70

Exchange rates: leva (BGN) per US dollar - 1.5138 (2010) 1.404 (2009) 1.3171 (2008) 1.4366 (2007) 1.5576 (2006)

Electricity
Production: 44.83 billion kWh (2008)
Production rank: 51
Consumption: 29.9 billion kWh (2008)
Consumption rank: 59
Exports: 5.407 billion kWh (2008)
Imports: 3.097 billion kWh (2008 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 218 million m³ (2008)
Production rank: 74
Consumption: 3.35 billion m³ (2008)
Consumption rank: 70
Exports: 0 m³ (2008)
Exports rank: 198
Imports: 3.48 billion m³ (2008)
Imports rank: 38
Proven reserves: 5.663 billion m³ (1 January 2010 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 88

Telephones
Main lines in use: 2.164 million (2009)
Main lines in use rank: 52
Mobile cellular: 10.617 million (2009)
Mobile cellular rank: 62

Telephone system
General assessment: inherited an extensive but antiquated telecommunications network from the Soviet era; quality has improved with a modern digital trunk line now connecting switching centers in most of the regions; remaining areas are connected by digital microwave radio relay
Domestic: the Bulgaria Telecommunications Company's fixed-line monopoly terminated in 2005 in an effort to upgrade fixed-line services; mobile-cellular teledensity fostered by multiple service providers approached 150 telephones per 100 persons in 2009
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) (2009)

Broadcast media: 4 national terrestrial television stations with 1 state-owned and 3 privately-owned; a vast array of TV stations are available from cable and satellite TV providers; state-owned national radio broadcasts over 3 networks; large number of private radio stations broadcasting especially in urban areas (2007)

Internet
Country code: .bg
Hosts: 785,546 (2010)
Hosts rank: 46
Users: 3.395 million (2009)
Users rank: 63

Military expenditures: 2.6% of GDP (2005 est.)
Rank: 58

Military service age and obligation: 18-27 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription ended in January 2008; service obligation 6-9 months (2010)

Airports: 210 (2010)
Rank: 30
With paved runways total: 130
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 17
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 15
With paved runways under 914 m: 96 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 80
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 6
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 73 (2010)

Heliports: 3 (2010)

Pipelines: gas 2,926 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2009)

Railways
Total: 4,294 km
Rank: 38
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
Rank: 89
Paved: 39,587 km (includes 418 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 644 km (2008)

Waterways: 470 km (2009)
Rank: 85

Merchant marine
Total: 37
Rank: 79
By type: bulk carrier 16 cargo 10 chemical tanker 1 liquefied gas 2 passenger/cargo 1 petroleum tanker 2 roll on/roll off 4 specialized tanker 1
Foreign owned: 27 (Germany 25 Russia 2)
Registered in other countries: 31 (Comoros 8 Malta 7 Panama 6 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 10) (2010)

Ports and terminals: Burgas Varna

Disputes international: none

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; vulnerable to money laundering because of corruption organized crime; some money laundering of drug-related proceeds through financial institutions (2008)