The 1997 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

(1994)

      Transnational Issues

      Disputes - international: may wish to purchase the Malaysian salient that divides the country; all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef, but has not publicly claimed the island ______________________________________________________________________

      BULGARIA

      @Bulgaria:Geography

      Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between

       Romania and Turkey

      Geographic coordinates: 43 00 N, 25 00 E

      Map references: Europe

      Area: total : 110,910 sq km land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km

      Area - comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee

      Land boundaries: total: 1,808 km 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

      Coastline: 354 km

      Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea : 12 nm

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

      Land use: arable land: 37% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 16% forests and woodland: 35% other: 10% (1993 est.)

      Irrigated land: 12,370 sq km (1993 est.)

      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

      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

      @Bulgaria:People

      Population: 8,290,988 (July 1997 est.)

      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.)

      Population growth rate: −0.63% (1997 est.)

      Birth rate: 8.05 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

      Death rate: 13.38 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

      Net migration rate: −0.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (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.)

      Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.65 years male: 68.06 years female: 75.44 years (1997 est.)

      Total fertility rate: 1.14 children born/woman (1997 est.)

      Nationality: noun: Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian

      Ethnic groups: Bulgarian 85.3%, Turk 8.5%, Gypsy 2.6%, Macedonian 2.5%, Armenian 0.3%, Russian 0.2%, other 0.6%

      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

      Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1992 est.)

      @Bulgaria:Government

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

      Data code: BU

      Government type: emerging democracy

      National capital: Sofia

      Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast);

       Burgas, Grad Sofiya, Khaskovo, Lovech, Montana, Plovdiv, Ruse, Sofiya,

       Varna

      Independence: 22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)

      National holiday: Independence Day, 3 March (1878)

      Constitution: adopted 12 July 1991

      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,