Bulgaria
Republic of Bulgaria
republicIndependence 22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)
Bulgaria as the 1998 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 99 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Geography
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between | Romania and Turkey
18 fieldsLand useshare of 110,910 sq km
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, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, 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, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol
Geography-note
strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia
People
15 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1998 est.)
Male · female
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 16% (male 696,131; female 662,335)
- 15-64 years:
- 68% (male 2,756,695; female 2,812,192)
- 65 years and over:
- 16% (male 564,698; female 748,375) (July 1998 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:
- 0.75 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Religions
Bulgarian Orthodox 85%, Muslim 13%, Jewish 0.8%, Roman Catholic 0.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 0.5%
Government
Republic; President Petar STOYANOV (since 22 January 1997); Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Ivan Kostov (since 19 May 1997)
21 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Legislature, 240 seats, elected 19 April 1997one dot, one seat
Percent of vote
Administrative divisions
9 provinces (oblasti, singular-oblast); Burgas, Grad Sofiya, Khaskovo, Lovech, Montana, Plovdiv, Ruse, Sofiya, Varna
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) nominated 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 [Aleksandur TOMOV];
- 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];
- People's Union [Anastasiya MOZER and Stefan SAVOV, cochairmen]
Political pressure groups and leaders
- Democratic Alliance for the Republic or DAR;
- New Union for Democracy or NUD;
- Podkrepa Labor Confederation;
- Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB;
- Bulgarian Agrarian National Union-United or BZNS;
- Bulgarian Democratic Center;
- "Nikola Petkov" Bulgarian Agrarian National Union;
- Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or IMRO;
- Agrarian movement;
- numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas
International organization participation
ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G-9, IAEA, IBEC, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, IIB, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MONUA, NAM (guest), NSG, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMOT, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Philip DIMITROV
- chancery:
- 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 387-7969
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Avis T. BOHLEN
- embassy:
- 1 Saborna Street, Sofia
- mailing address:
- Unit 1335, APO AE 09213-1335
- telephone:
- [359] (2) 980-52-41 through 48
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 been moving from its old command economy towards a | market-oriented economy.
28 fieldsGDP-composition by sector(1997 est.)
Economy-overview
One of the poorest countries of central Europe, Bulgaria has slowly been moving from its old command economy towards a market-oriented economy. The economy faced a major crisis in 1996, marked by a banking system in turmoil, a depreciating currency, and contracting production and foreign trade. Foreign exchange reserves dwindled to $518 million, while dramatically hiked interest rates added to the domestic debt burden and stifled growth. GDP fell by 11% in 1996, after experiencing 2.0% 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 1996. In November 1996, the IMF proposed a currency board as Bulgaria's best chance to restore confidence in the lev, eliminate unnecessary spending, and avoid hyperinflation. The board was set up on 1 July 1997. Its establishment was followed by a reduction in inflation and interest rates and by a rise in foreign investment. Simultaneously the government pledged to sell off some of the most attractive state assets. GDP in 1997 dropped 7.4%, but is expected to rebound to an estimated 2% in 1998. Other; government objectives include: the completion of land reform, the privatization and strengthening of the banking system, and the modernization of the legal environment of business.
Labor force
- total:
- 3.57 million (1996 est.)
- by occupation:
- industry 41%, agriculture 18%, other 41% (1992)
Industries
machine building and metal working, food processing, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, ferrous and nonferrous metals
Exports
- total value:
- $4.9 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
- commodities:
- machinery and equipment 15.2%;
- agriculture and food 18.9%;
- textiles and apparel 14.8%;
- metals, minerals, and fuels 26.5%;
- chemicals and plastics 20%;
- other 4.6% (1996)
- 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:
- $4.5 billion (f.o.b., 1997 est.)
- commodities:
- fuels, minerals, and raw materials 40.7%;
- machinery and equipment 18.4%;
- textiles and apparel 11.6%;
- agricultural products 7.5%;
- metals and ores 5.2%;
- chemicals and plastics 12.2%;
- other 4.4% (1996)
- partners:
- OECD 45.5% (EU 38.1%);
- CIS and Central and Eastern European countries 41.1%;
- Arab countries 1.8%;
- other 11.6% (1995)
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
Transportation
8 fieldsMerchant marine, 94 ships by typeone square, one ship · (1997 est.)
Airports by runway lengthpaved only
Networkskm
Military
Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border | Troops, Internal Troops
7 fieldsTransnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes-international
twenty bilateral agreements remain unsigned in a dispute over Bulgarian nonrecognition of Macedonian as a language distinct from Bulgarian
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
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Bulgaria.” The World Factbook 1998. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/bulgaria/1998.