Country name conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria 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. Bulgaria regained its independence in 1878, but having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, it 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. Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on a path toward eventual integration into NATO and the EU - with which it began accession negotiations in 2000.Location Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey Area total: 110,910 sq km
water: 360 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km Area - comparative slightly larger than Tennessee Coastline 354 km 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
highest point: Musala 2,925 m Natural hazards earthquakes, landslides 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 Geography - note strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia Population 7,537,929 (July 2003 est.) Age structure 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.) Median age total: 40.5 years
male: 38.4 years
female: 42.4 years (2002) Sex ratio 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.) Nationality noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian Ethnic groups Bulgarian 83.6%, Turk 9.5%, Roma 4.6%, other 2.3% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (1998) Religions Bulgarian Orthodox 83.8%, Muslim 12.1%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, Jewish 0.1%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 2.3% (1998) Languages Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown Internet country code .bg Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6%
male: 99.1%
female: 98.2% (2003 est.) Government type parliamentary democracy National holiday Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) Legal system civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction International organization participation 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 Economy - overview Bulgaria, a former communist country striving to enter the European Union, has experienced macroeconomic stability and strong growth since a major economic downturn in 1996 led to the fall of the then socialist government. As a result, the government became committed to economic reform and responsible fiscal planning. A $300 million stand-by agreement negotiated with the IMF at the end of 2001 has supported government efforts to overcome high rates of poverty and unemployment. Exports - partners Italy 15.5%, Germany 9.6%, Turkey 9.4%, Greece 9.2%, France 5.3%, US 4.8% (2002) Currency lev (BGL) Currency code BGN Exchange rates leva per US dollar - 2.08 (2002), 2.18 (2001), 2.12 (2000), 1.84 (1999), 1.76 (1998)
note: on 5 July 1999, the lev was redenominated; the post-5 July 1999 lev is equal to 1,000 of the pre-5 July 1999 lev Airports 216 (2002) Airports - with paved runways total: 128
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 20
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 92 (2002)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 Airports - with unpaved runways total: 88
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 10
under 914 m: 74 (2002) Disputes - international joint boundary commission is rectifying boundary with Romania based on shifts in Danube since last delimitation in 1920 |
