Bulgaria

• temperate;
• cold, damp winters;
• hot, dry summers

• 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

0-14 years:

14.2% (male 549,142; female 520,057)

15-64 years:

68.8% (male 2,551,548; female 2,632,978)

65 years and over:

17% (male 535,165; female 749,039) (2003 est.)

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.71 male(s)/female

total population:

0.93 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

noun:

Bulgarian(s)

adjective:

Bulgarian

conventional long form:

Republic of Bulgaria

conventional short form:

Bulgaria

• 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

chief of state:

President Georgi PURVANOV (since 22 January 2002); Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002)

head of government:

• Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA (since 24 July 2001);
• Deputy Prime Ministers Nikolay VASILEV (since 24 July 2001), and Lidiya SHULEVA (since 24 July 2001), Plamen PANAYOTOV (since 17 July 2003)

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 11 November and 18 November 2001 (next to be held NA 2006);
• chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by the president;
• deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister

election results:

Georgi PURVANOV elected president; percent of vote - Georgi PURVANOV 54.13%, Petar STOYANOV 45.87%

• Supreme Administrative Court;
• Supreme Court of Cassation;
• Constitutional Court (12 justices appointed or elected for nine-year terms);
• Supreme Judicial Council (consists of the chairmen of the two Supreme Courts, the Chief Prosecutor, and 22 other members; responsible for appointing the justices, prosecutors, and investigating magistrates in the justice system; members of the Supreme Judicial Council elected for five-year terms, 11 elected by the National Assembly and 11 by bodies of the judiciary)

• Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV];
• Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB (coalition of parties dominated by BSP) [Sergei STANISHEV];
• Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or VMRO [Krasimir KARAKACHANOV];
• Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN];
• National Movement for Simeon II or NMS2 [Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA];
• Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Nadezhda MIKHAYLOVA];
• Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI];
• United Democratic Forces or UtdDF (a coalition between the UDF and other center-right parties)

• agrarian movement;
• Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB;
• Podkrepa Labor Confederation;
• numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas

ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

chief of mission:

Ambassador Elena B. POPTODOROVA

consulate(s):

New York

FAX:

[1] (202) 234-7973

telephone:

[1] (202) 387-0174

chancery:

1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission:

Ambassador James William PARDEW

embassy:

1 Suborna Street, Sofia 1000

mailing address:

American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, 5740 Sofia Place, Washington, DC 20521-5740

telephone:

[359] (2) 937-5100

FAX:

[359] (2) 981-89-77

• 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)

lowest 10%:

4.5%

highest 10%:

22.8% (1997)

• electricity, gas and water;
• food, beverages and tobacco;
• machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel

• fuels, minerals, and raw materials;
• machinery and equipment;
• metals and ores;
• chemicals and plastics;
• food, textiles

general assessment:

extensive but antiquated

domestic:

• more than two-thirds of the lines are residential;
• telephone service is available in most villages;
• 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:

• direct dialing to 58 countries;
• satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region);
• 2 Intelsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions)

total:

4,294 km

standard gauge:

4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,710 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

245 km 0.760-m gauge (2002)

total:

37,286 km

paved:

35,049 km (including 324 km of expressways)

unpaved:

2,237 km (2000)

total:

69 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 829,421 GRT/1,252,496 DWT

ships by type:

bulk 42, cargo 10, chemical tanker 4, container 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, railcar carrier 2, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 (2002 est.)

• 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;
• some money laundering of drug-related proceeds through financial institutions