Bulgaria

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

noun:

Bulgarian(s)

adjective:

Bulgarian

total:

45.1 years (2024 est.)

male:

43.3 years

female:

47 years

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.67 male(s)/female

total population:

0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

7.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

8.7 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

6.6 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

76.1 years (2024 est.)

male:

72.9 years

female:

79.4 years

total:

11.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

4.44 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

1.72 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

4.96 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

39% (2020 est.)

male:

40.9% (2020 est.)

female:

37.1% (2020 est.)

• 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

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

urban population:

76.7% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

-0.28% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

17.29 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

41.71 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

6.77 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

3.011 million tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

572,993 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

19% (2015 est.)

municipal:

840 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

3.48 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

760 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Bulgaria

conventional short form:

Bulgaria

local long form:

Republika Bulgaria

local short form:

Bulgaria

former:

Kingdom of Bulgaria, People's Republic of Bulgaria

etymology:

named after the Bulgar tribes who settled the lower Balkan region in the 7th century A.D.

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

etymology:

named after the Saint Sofia Church in the city, parts of which date back to the 4th century A.D.

• 28 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast);
• Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Haskovo, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Shumen, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Sofia-Grad (Sofia City), Stara Zagora, Targovishte, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Yambol

history:

several previous; latest drafted between late 1990 and early 1991, adopted 13 July 1991

amendments:

• proposed by the National Assembly or by the president of the republic;
• passage requires three-fourths majority vote of National Assembly members in three ballots;
• signed by the National Assembly chairperson;
• note - under special circumstances, a "Grand National Assembly" is elected with the authority to write a new constitution and amend certain articles of the constitution, including those affecting basic civil rights and national sovereignty;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote in each of several readings;
• amended several times, last in 2023

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Bulgaria

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President Rumen RADEV (since 22 January 2017)

head of government:

Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar GLAVCHEV (since 9 April 2024)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, elected by the National Assembly

elections/appointments:

• president and vice president elected on the same ballot by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 14 and 21 November 2021 (next to be held in fall 2026);
• chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) elected by the National Assembly;
• deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister, elected by the National Assembly

election results:

• 2021 : Rumen RADEV reelected president in second round;
• percent of vote in the first round - Rumen RADEV (independent) 49.4%, Anastas GERDZHIKOV (independent) 22.8%, Mustafa KARADAYI (DPS) 11.6%, Kostadin KOSTADINOV (Revival) 3.9%, Lozan PANOV (independent) 3.7%, other 8.6%;
• percent of vote in the second round - Rumen RADEV 66.7%, Anastas GERDZHIKOV 31.8%, neither 1.5%

;

• 2016: Rumen RADEV elected president in second round;
• percent of vote - Rumen RADEV (independent, supported by Bulgarian Socialist Party) 59.4%, Tsetska TSACHEVA (GERB) 36.2%, neither 4.5%

description:

unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie (240 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by open-list, proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 2 April 2023 (snap election to be held on 9 June 2024)

election results:

• percent of vote by party/coalition - GERB-SDS 25.4%, PP-DB 23.5%, Revival 13.6%, DPS 13.2%, BSP for Bulgaria 8.6%, ITN 3.9%, other 11.8%;
• seats by party/coalition GERB-SDS 69, PP-DB 64, Revival 37, DPS 36, BSP for Bulgaria 23, ITN 11;
• composition - men 179, women 61, percentage women 25.4%

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court of Cassation (consists of a chairman and approximately 72 judges organized into penal, civil, and commercial colleges);
• Supreme Administrative Court (organized into 2 colleges with various panels of 5 judges each);
• Constitutional Court (consists of 12 justices);
• note - Constitutional Court resides outside the judiciary

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court of Cassation and Supreme Administrative judges elected by the Supreme Judicial Council or SJC (consists of 25 members with extensive legal experience) and appointed by the president;
• judges can serve until mandatory retirement at age 65;
• Constitutional Court justices elected by the National Assembly and appointed by the president and the SJC;
• justices appointed for 9-year terms with renewal of 4 justices every 3 years

subordinate courts:

• appeals courts;
• regional and district courts;
• administrative courts;
• courts martial

• BSP for Bulgaria (electoral alliance of BSP, PKT, Ecoglasnost)
• Bulgarian Rise or BV
• Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP
• Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria or GERB (alliance with SDS)
• Democratic Bulgaria or DB (electoral alliance of Yes! Bulgaria, DSB, and The Greens)
• Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria or DSB
• Ecoglasnost
• Green Movement or The Greens
• Movement for Rights and Freedoms or DPS
• Political Club Thrace or PKT
• Revival
• Stand Up.BG or IS.BG
• There is Such a People or ITN
• Union of Democratic Forces or SDS (alliance with GERB)
• Yes! Bulgaria
• We Continue the Change or PP
• We Continue the Change and Democratic Bulgaria or PP-DB (electoral alliance of PP, DB, Yes! Bulgaria)

Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EU, FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

chief of mission:

Ambassador Georgi Velikov PANAYOTOV (since 7 June 2022)

chancery:

1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 387 5770

FAX:

[1] (202) 234-7973

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.bulgaria-embassy.org/en/homepage/

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Kenneth MERTEN (since 7 April 2023)

embassy:

16, Kozyak Street, Sofia 1408

mailing address:

5740 Sofia Place, Washington, DC 20521-5740

telephone:

[359] (2) 937-5100

FAX:

[359] (2) 937-5209

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://bg.usembassy.gov/

• 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

name:

"Mila Rodino" (Dear Homeland)

lyrics/music:

Tsvetan Tsvetkov RADOSLAVOV

note: adopted 1964; composed in 1885 by a student en route to fight in the Serbo-Bulgarian War

total World Heritage Sites:

10 (7 cultural, 3 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Boyana Church (c);
• Madara Rider (c);
• Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak (c);
• Rock-Hewn Churches of Ivanovo (c);
• Rila Monastery (c);
• Ancient City of Nessebar (c);
• Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari (c);
• Srebarna Nature Reserve (n);
• Pirin National Park (n);
• Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians (n)

• upper-middle-income EU economy;
• currency pegged to the euro with accession pending;
• joined Schengen area as of March 2024;
• global events and internal political turmoil triggered export slump and stalled reforms;
• EU structural funds contributing to investment recovery;
• skilled labor shortage driven by emigration and aging population

Fitch rating:

BBB (2017)

Moody's rating:

Baa1 (2020)

Standard & Poors rating: BBB (2019)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

agriculture:

3% (2023 est.)

industry:

25.4% (2023 est.)

services:

59.3% (2023 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

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

total:

12% (2023 est.)

male:

11.8% (2023 est.)

female:

12.2% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

19.1% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

5.3% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

lowest 10%:

2% (2021 est.)

highest 10%:

29.9% (2021 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

Number of operational nuclear reactors:

2 (2023)

Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors:

2.01GW (2023 est.)

Percent of total electricity production:

40.3% (2023 est.)

Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down:

4 (2023)

production:

35.516 million metric tons (2022 est.)

consumption:

35.97 million metric tons (2022 est.)

exports:

504,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

928,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

2.366 billion metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

4,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

101,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

15 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

20.837 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

consumption:

2.801 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

exports:

2.75 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

imports:

2.911 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

5.663 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• Bulgaria’s telecom market was for some years affected by the difficult macroeconomic climate, as well as by relatively high unemployment and a shrinking population;
• these factors continue to slow investments in the sector, though revenue growth has returned since 2019;
• there still remains pressure on revenue growth, with consumers migrating from fixed-line voice telephony to mobile and VoIP alternatives, while the volume of SMS and MMS traffic has been affected by the growing use of alternative OTT messaging services;
• investing in network upgrades and its development of services based on 5G have stimulated other market players to invest in their own service provision;
• by the end of 2022 about 70% of the population is expected to be covered by 5G;
• the broadband market in Bulgaria enjoys excellent cross-platform competition;
• the share of the market held by DSL has fallen steadily as a result of customers being migrated to fiber networks;
• by early 2021 about 65% of fixed-line broadband subscribers were on fiber infrastructure;
• Bulgaria joins the U.S. State Department’s Clean Network initiative in a bid to protect its 5G communications networks (2022)

domestic:

fixed-line over 11 per 100 persons, mobile-cellular teledensity, fostered by multiple service providers, is over 115 telephones per 100 persons (2021)

international:

• country code - 359;
• Caucasus Cable System via submarine cable provides connectivity to Ukraine, Georgia 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) (2019)

• 4 national terrestrial TV 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

number of registered air carriers:

8 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 44

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

1,022,645 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

1.38 million (2018) mt-km

total ports:

2 (2024)

large:

1

medium:

0

small:

1

very small:

0

ports with oil terminals:

2

key ports:

Burgas, Varna