Bulgaria

Republic of Bulgaria

emerging democracyIndependence 22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)

Bulgaria as the 1997 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 100 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalSofia

Position43 00 N, 25 00 E

Area110,910 sq km

LocationSoutheastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between

Populationas each edition published it

8.29 million July 1997 est. · 8.93m in 1990

Population growth% a year

-0.63% 1997 est. · -0.39% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 40.5 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

71.65 years 1997 est. · 72.82 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.14 children per woman 1997 est. · 1.9 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

13.2 deaths per 1,000 live births 1997 est. · 13 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$4,630 1996 est. · $3,800 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

-10% 1996 est. · -7.7% in 1993

Geography

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

18 fields

Land useshare of 110,910 sq km

arable land 37%permanent crops 2%permanent pastures 16%forests and woodland 35%other 10% (1993 est.)irrigated 12,370 sq km (1993 est.)

Area

110,910sq km

land: 110,550 sq kmwater: 360 sq kmslightly larger than Tennessee

Coastline

354km

contiguous zone: 24 nmexclusive economic zone: 200 nmterritorial sea : 12 nm

Highest point

2,925m

Musalalowest point: Black Sea 0 m

Land boundaries

1,808km

border countries: 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

Location

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

Climate

temperate;
cold, damp winters;
hot, dry summers

Terrain

mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast

Natural resources

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

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

Environment - international agreements

party to:: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, 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

Geography - note

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

People

15 fields

Population

8,290,988

(July 1997 est.)growth rate: -0.63% (1997 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1997 est.)

Birth

8.05Death

13.38Net migration

-0.94

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (1997 est.)71.65

68.06 · 75.44

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (1992 est.)98%

99% · 97%

MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Ethnic groups

Bulgarian 85.3%Turk 8.5%Gypsy 2.6%Macedonian 2.5%Armenian 0.3%Russian 0.2%other 0.6%

Age structure

0-14 years:: 17% (male 720,499; female 685,258)
15-64 years:: 67% (male 2,769,288; female 2,823,431)
65 years and over:: 16% (male 558,028; female 734,484) (July 1997 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years:: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years : 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over:: 0.76 male(s)/female
total population:: 0.95 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate

13.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Bulgarian(s)
adjective:: Bulgarian

Religions

Bulgarian Orthodox 85%, Muslim 13%, Jewish 0.8%, Roman Catholic 0.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 0.5%

Languages

Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown

Government

Emerging democracy; President Petar STOYANOV (since 22 January 1997); Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Ivan Kostov (since 19 May 1997)

21 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

52%

UDF 52%BSP 22%ANS 7%Euro-left 5.5%BBB 4.95%last held 19 April 1997 (next to be held NA 2001)

Country name

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

Administrative divisions

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

Legal system

based on civil law system with Soviet law influence; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch

chief of state:: President Petar STOYANOV (since 22 January 1997); Vice President Todor KAVALDZHIEV (since 22 January 1997)
head of government:: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Ivan Kostov (since 19 May 1997);
Deputy Prime Ministers Aleksandur BOZHKOV (since 12 February 1997 Evgeniy BAKURDZHIEV (since 21 May 1997), Veselin METODIEV (since 21 May 1997)
cabinet:: Council of Ministers 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 27 October and 3 November 1996 (next to be held NA 2001);
chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) appointed by the president
election results:: Petar STOYANOV elected president; percent of vote - Petar STOYANOV 59.73%

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats; members are popularly elected to serve four-year terms)

elections:: last held 19 April 1997 (next to be held NA 2001)
election results :: percent of vote by party - UDF 52%, BSP 22%, ANS 7%, Euro-left 5.5%, BBB 4.95%; seats by party - UDF 137, BSP 58, ANS 19, Euro-left 14, BBB 12

Judicial branch

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

Political parties and leaders

Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Georgi PURVANOV, chairman];
Union of Democratic Forces or UDF (an alliance of pro-Democratic parties) [Ivan KOSTOV];
Euro-left [Alexander TOMOV];
Alliance for National Salvation or ANS (coalition led mainly by Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]);
Bulgarian Business Bloc or BBB [George GANCHEV]

Political pressure groups and leaders

Democratic Alliance for the Republic or DAR;
New Union for Democracy or NUD;
Ecoglasnost;
Podkrepa Labor Confederation;
Fatherland Union;
Bulgarian Communist Party or BCP;
Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or KNSB;
Bulgarian Agrarian National Union - United or BZNS;
Bulgarian Democratic Center;
"Nikola Petkov" Bulgarian Agrarian National Union;
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Union of Macedonian Societies or IMRO-UMS;
numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas

International organization participation

ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, 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, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMOT, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Snezhana Damianova BOTUSHAROVA
chancery:: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone :: [1] (202) 387-7969

FAX

[1] (202) 234-7973; consulate(s): New York

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Avis T. BOHLEN (22 July 1996)
embassy :: 1 Saborna Street, Sofia
mailing address:: Embassy Sofia, Department of State, Washington, DC 50521-5740
telephone:: [359] (2) 980-52-41 through 48

FAX

[359] (2) 981-89-77

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)

Economy

One of the poorest countries of central Europe, | Bulgaria has slowly continued the process of moving from its old | command economy towards a market-oriented economy.

22 fields

Real growth rate

-10%

(1996 est.)industrial production growth: -6.5% (1996 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

311%

(1996)

Unemployment rate

12.5%

(1996 est.)

Labor force

3.57million

(1996 est.)by occupation : industry 41%, agriculture 18%, other 41% (1992)

GDP - composition by sector(1994)

agriculture 12.6%industry 35.7%services 51.7% (1994)

Budget

Revenues

$3 billionExpenditures

$4.1 billion (1996 est.)

expenditures including capital expenditures of $NA

Economy - overview

One of the poorest countries of central Europe, Bulgaria has slowly continued the process of moving from its old command economy towards a market-oriented economy. Slow advancement on economic reforms pitched the economy into crisis in 1996, marked by a banking system in turmoil, a depreciating currency, inflation of 311% and contracting production and foreign trade.

Foreign exchange reserves dwindled to extremely low levels ($518 million), while dramatically hiked interest rates added to the domestic debt burden and stifled growth. GDP fell by 10% in 1996, after experiencing 2.6% growth in 1995. Privatization of state-owned industries stagnated, although the first auction of a mass privatization program was undertaken in late 1996.

Lagging progress on structural reforms led to postponement of IMF disbursements under a $580 million standby loan agreed to in July. In November 1996, the IMF proposed a currency board as Bulgaria's best chance to restore confidence in the lev, eliminate discretionary spending, and avoid hyperinflation.

The government has pledged to sell some of the country's most attractive state assets to the highest foreign bidders in 1997. The Bulgarian economy is projected to have another year of negative growth (minus 5%), and inflation near 700% in 1997, assuming introduction of a currency board in July of 1997.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $39.9 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $4,630 (1996 est.)

Industries

machine building and metal working, food processing, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, ferrous and nonferrous metals

Electricity - capacity

12.09 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production

36.07 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita

4,491 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products

grain, oilseed, vegetables, fruits, tobacco; livestock

Exports

total value:: $4.2 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
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% (1995)
partners:: OECD 50.0% (EU 37.2%);
CIS and Central and Eastern Europe 32.4%;
Arab countries 5.8%;
other 11.8% (1995)

Imports

total value:: $4.1 billion (c.i.f., 1996 est.)
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% (1995)
partners :: OECD 45.5% (EU 38.1%);
CIS and Central and Eastern European countries 41.1%;
Arab countries 1.8%;
other 11.6% (1995)

Debt - external

$9.3 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid

Currency

1 lev (Lv) = 100 stotinki

Exchange rates

leva (Lv) per US$1 - 483.4 (1996), 70.7 (1995), 54.2 (1994), 27.1 (1993), 23.3 (1992)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

6 fields

Fixed lines

2,773,293

(1993 est.)

Telephone system

almost two-thirds of the lines are residential; 67% of Sofia households have telephones (November 1988 est.)

domestic:: extensive but antiquated transmission system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; telephone service is available in most villages
international :: direct dialing to 36 countries;
satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean Region);
Intelsat available through a Greek earth station

Radio broadcast stations

AM 20, FM 15, shortwave 0

Radios

Television broadcast stations

29 (Russian repeater in Sofia 1)

Televisions

2.1 million (May 1990 est.)

Transportation

9 fields

Merchant marine, 99 ships by typeone square, one ship · ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,063,367 GRT/1,596,438 DWT

bulk 45cargo 25chemical tanker 4container 2oil tanker 12passenger-cargo 1railcar carrier 2refrigerated cargo 1roll-on/roll-off cargo 6short-sea passenger 1note : Bulgaria owns an additional 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 151,855 DWT operating under the registries of Liberia and Malta (1996 est.)

Airports by runway lengthpaved only

under 914 m

over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m : 17 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10

Airports by runway lengthunpaved only

under 914 m

226

total: 239 2,438 to 3,047 m : 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 10

Networkskm

Highways

36,777Waterways

470 (1987)

Highways: paved: 33,798 km (including 314 km of expressways) · unpaved : 2,979 km (1995 est.)

Railways

total :: 4,292 km
standard gauge:: 4,047 km 1.435-m gauge (2,650 km electrified; 917 double track)
other gauge:: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (1995)

Highways

total:: 36,777 km
paved:: 33,798 km (including 314 km of expressways)
unpaved :: 2,979 km (1995 est.)

Military

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border | Troops, Internal Troops

7 fields

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

2.0%

to 2.5% (1996)

Transnational Issues

2 fields

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;
significant producer of amphetamines, much of which are consumed in the Middle East BURKINA FASO

Central Intelligence Agency. “Bulgaria.” The World Factbook 1997. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/bulgaria/1997.

How to cite ← 1996 edition 1998 edition →