2  definitions  found 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  Bulgaria 
  n  :  a  country  in  eastern  part  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  [syn:  {Bulgaria}] 
 
  From  The  CIA  World  Factbook  (1995)  [world95]: 
 
  Bulgaria 
 
  Bulgaria:Geography 
 
  Location:  Southeastern  Europe,  bordering  the  Black  Sea,  between 
  Romania  and  Turkey 
 
  Map  references:  Ethnic  Groups  in  Eastern  Europe,  Europe 
 
  Area: 
  total  area:  110,910  sq  km 
  land  area:  110,550  sq  km 
  comparative  area:  slightly  larger  than  Tennessee 
 
  Land  boundaries:  total  1,808  km  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 
 
  International  disputes:  none 
 
  Climate:  temperate;  cold,  damp  winters;  hot,  dry  summers 
 
  Terrain:  mostly  mountains  with  lowlands  in  north  and  southeast 
 
  Natural  resources:  bauxite,  copper,  lead,  zinc,  coal,  timber,  arable 
  land 
 
  Land  use: 
  arable  land:  34% 
  permanent  crops:  3% 
  meadows  and  pastures:  18% 
  forest  and  woodland:  35% 
  other:  10% 
 
  Irrigated  land:  10  sq  km  (1989  est.) 
 
  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 
  natural  hazards:  earthquakes,  landslides 
  international  agreements:  party  to  -  Air  Pollution,  Air 
  Pollution-Nitrogen  Oxides,  Air  Pollution-Sulphur  85,  Antarctic  Treaty, 
  Endangered  Species,  Environmental  Modification,  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,  Biodiversity,  Climate 
  Change,  Law  of  the  Sea 
 
  Note:  strategic  location  near  Turkish  Straits;  controls  key  land 
  routes  from  Europe  to  Middle  East  and  Asia 
 
  Bulgaria:People 
 
  Population:  8,775,198  (July  1995  est.) 
 
  Age  structure: 
  0-14  years:  19%  (female  800,413;  male  841,697) 
  15-64  years:  66%  (female  2,927,880;  male  2,910,133) 
  65  years  and  over:  15%  (female  735,706;  male  559,369)  (July  1995  est.) 
 
  Population  growth  rate:  -0.25%  (1995  est.) 
 
  Birth  rate:  11.75  births/1,000  population  (1995  est.) 
 
  Death  rate:  11.31  deaths/1,000  population  (1995  est.) 
 
  Net  migration  rate:  -2.91  migrant(s)/1,000  population  (1995  est.) 
 
  Infant  mortality  rate:  11.4  deaths/1,000  live  births  (1995  est.) 
 
  Life  expectancy  at  birth: 
  total  population:  73.68  years 
  male:  70.43  years 
  female:  77.1  years  (1995  est.) 
 
  Total  fertility  rate:  1.71  children  born/woman  (1995  est.) 
 
  Nationality: 
  noun:  Bulgarian(s) 
  adjective:  Bulgarian 
 
  Ethnic  divisions:  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:  age  15  and  over  can  read  and  write  (1992) 
  total  population:  98% 
  male:  99% 
  female:  97% 
 
  Labor  force:  4.3  million 
  by  occupation:  industry  33%,  agriculture  20%,  other  47%  (1987) 
 
  Bulgaria:Government 
 
  Names: 
  conventional  long  form:  Republic  of  Bulgaria 
  conventional  short  form:  Bulgaria 
 
  Digraph:  BU 
 
  Type:  emerging  democracy 
 
  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; 
  has  accepted  compulsory  ICJ  jurisdiction 
 
  Suffrage:  18  years  of  age;  universal  and  compulsory 
 
  Executive  branch: 
  chief  of  state:  President  Zhelyu  Mitev  ZHELEV  (since  1  August  1990); 
  Vice  President  (vacant);  election  last  held  January  1992;  results  - 
  Zhelyu  ZHELEV  was  elected  by  popular  vote 
  head  of  government:  Chairman  of  the  Council  of  Ministers  (Prime 
  Minister)  Zhan  VIDENOV  (since  25  January  1995);  Deputy  Prime  Ministers 
  Doncho  KONAKCHIEV  Kiril  TSOCHEV  Rumen  GECHEV  Svetoslav  SHIVAROV 
  (since  25  January  1995) 
  cabinet:  Council  of  Ministers;  elected  by  the  National  Assembly 
 
  Legislative  branch:  unicameral 
  National  Assembly  (Narodno  Sobranie):  last  held  18  December  1994  (next 
  to  be  held  NA  1997);  results  -  BSP  43.5%,  UDF  24.2%,  PU  6.5%,  MRF 
  5.4%,  BBB  4.7%;  seats  -  (240  total)  BSP  125,  UDF  69,  PU  18,  MRF  15, 
  BBB  13 
 
  Judicial  branch:  Supreme  Court,  Constitutional  Court 
 
  Political  parties  and  leaders:  Bulgarian  Socialist  Party  (BSP),  Zhan 
  VIDENOV  chairman;  Union  of  Democratic  Forces  (UDF),  Ivan  KOSTOV  an 
  alliance  of  pro-Democratic  parties;  People's  Union  (PU),  Stefan  SAVOV; 
  Movement  for  Rights  and  Freedoms  (mainly  ethnic  Turkish  party)  (MRF), 
  Ahmed  DOGAN;  Bulgarian  Business  Bloc  (BBB),  George  GANCHEV 
 
  Other  political  or  pressure  groups:  Democratic  Alliance  for  the 
  Republic  (DAR);  New  Union  for  Democracy  (NUD);  Ecoglasnost  Podkrepa 
  Labor  Confederation;  Fatherland  Union;  Bulgarian  Communist  Party 
  (BCP);  Confederation  of  Independent  Trade  Unions  of  Bulgaria  (KNSB); 
  Bulgarian  Agrarian  National  Union  -  United  (BZNS);  Bulgarian 
  Democratic  Center;  "Nikola  Petkov"  Bulgarian  Agrarian  National  Union; 
  Internal  Macedonian  Revolutionary  Organization  -  Union  of  Macedonian 
  Societies  (IMRO-UMS);  numerous  regional,  ethnic,  and  national  interest 
  groups  with  various  agendas 
 
  Member  of:  ACCT,  BIS,  BSEC,  CCC,  CE  CEI  (associate  members),  EBRD, 
  ECE,  FAO,  G-  9,  IAEA,  IBRD,  ICAO,  ICFTU  ICRM,  IFC,  IFRCS  ILO,  IMF, 
  IMO,  INMARSAT  INTELSAT  (nonsignatory  user),  INTERPOL,  IOC,  IOM 
  (observer),  ISO,  ITU,  NACC,  NAM  (guest),  NSG,  OSCE,  PCA,  PFP,  UN 
  UNCTAD  UNESCO,  UNIDO  UPU,  WEU  (associate  partner),  WFTU  WHO  WIPO, 
  WMO,  WTO,  ZC 
 
  Diplomatic  representation  in  US: 
  chief  of  mission:  Ambassador  Snezhana  Damianova  BOTUSHAROVA 
  chancery:  1621  22nd  Street  NW  Washington,  DC  20008 
  telephone:  [1]  (202)  387-7969 
  FAX:  [1]  (202)  234-7973 
 
  US  diplomatic  representation: 
  chief  of  mission:  Ambassador  William  D.  MONTGOMERY 
  embassy:  1  Saborna  Street,  Sofia 
  mailing  address:  Unit  1335,  Sofia;  APO  AE  09213-1335 
  telephone:  [359]  (2)  88-48-01  through  05 
  FAX:  [359]  (2)  80-19-77 
 
  Flag:  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 
 
  Overview:  The  Bulgarian  economy  continued  its  painful  adjustment  in 
  1994  from  the  misdirected  development  undertaken  during  four  decades 
  of  Communist  rule  Many  aspects  of  a  market  economy  have  been  put  in 
  place  and  have  begun  to  function,  but  much  of  the  economy,  especially 
  the  industrial  sector,  has  yet  to  re-establish  market  links  lost  with 
  the  collapse  of  the  other  centrally  planned  Soviet  Bloc  economies.  The 
  prices  of  many  imported  industrial  inputs,  especially  energy  products, 
  have  risen  markedly,  and  falling  real  wages  have  not  sufficed  to 
  restore  competitiveness.  The  government  plans  more  extensive 
  privatization  in  1995  to  improve  the  management  of  enterprises  and  to 
  encourage  foreign  investment.  Bulgaria  resumed  payments  on  its  $10 
  billion  in  commercial  debt  in  1993  following  the  negotiation  of  a  50% 
  write-off. 
 
  National  product:  GDP  -  purchasing  power  parity  -  $33.7  billion  (1994 
  est.) 
 
  National  product  real  growth  rate:  0.2%  (1994  est.) 
 
  National  product  per  capita:  $3,830  (1994  est.) 
 
  Inflation  rate  (consumer  prices):  122%  (1994) 
 
  Unemployment  rate:  16%  (1994) 
 
  Budget: 
  revenues:  $14  billion 
  expenditures:  $17.4  billion,  including  capital  expenditures  of  $610 
  million  (1993  est.) 
 
  Exports:  $3.6  billion  (f.o.b.,  1993) 
  commodities:  machinery  and  equipment  30.6%;  agricultural  products  24%; 
  manufactured  consumer  goods  22.2%;  fuels,  minerals,  raw  materials,  and 
  metals  10.5%;  other  12.7%  (1991) 
  partners:  former  CEMA  countries  57.7%  (FSU  48.6%,  Poland  2.1%, 
  Czechoslovakia  0.9%);  developed  countries  26.3%  (Germany  4.8%,  Greece 
  2.2%);  less  developed  countries  15.9%  (Libya  2.1%,  Iran  0.7%)  (1991) 
 
  Imports:  $4.3  billion  (c.i.f.,  1993) 
  commodities:  fuels,  minerals,  and  raw  materials  58.7%;  machinery  and 
  equipment  15.8%;  manufactured  consumer  goods  4.4%;  agricultural 
  products  15.2%;  other  5.9% 
  partners:  former  CEMA  countries  51.0%  (FSU  43.2%,  Poland  3.7%); 
  developed  countries  32.8%  (Germany  7.0%,  Austria  4.7%);  less  developed 
  countries  16.2%  (Iran  2.8%,  Libya  2.5%) 
 
  External  debt:  $12  billion  (1994) 
 
  Industrial  production:  growth  rate  4%  (1994);  accounts  for  about  37% 
  of  GDP  (1990) 
 
  Electricity: 
  capacity:  11,500,000  kW 
  production:  35.9  billion  kWh 
  consumption  per  capita:  3,827  kWh  (1993) 
 
  Industries:  machine  building  and  metal  working,  food  processing, 
  chemicals,  textiles,  building  materials,  ferrous  and  nonferrous  metals 
 
  Agriculture:  climate  and  soil  conditions  support  livestock  raising  and 
  the  growing  of  various  grain  crops,  oilseeds,  vegetables,  fruits,  and 
  tobacco;  more  than  one-third  of  the  arable  land  devoted  to  grain; 
  world's  fourth-largest  tobacco  exporter;  surplus  food  producer 
 
  Illicit  drugs:  transshipment  point  for  southwest  Asian  heroin  and 
  South  American  cocaine  transiting  the  Balkan  route;  limited  producer 
  of  precursor  chemicals 
 
  Economic  aid: 
  recipient:  $700  million  in  balance  of  payments  support  (1994) 
 
  Currency:  1  lev  Lv  =  100  stotinki 
 
  Exchange  rates:  leva  Lv  per  US$1  -  67.04  (January  1995),  32.00 
  (January  1994),  24.56  (January  1993),  17.18  (January  1992),  16.13 
  (March  1991),  0.7446  (November  1990);  note  -  floating  exchange  rate 
  since  February  1991 
 
  Fiscal  year:  calendar  year 
 
  Bulgaria:Transportation 
 
  Railroads: 
  total:  4,294  km 
  standard  gauge:  4,049  km  1.435-m  gauge  (2,650  km  electrified;  917 
  double  track) 
  other:  245  km  NA-m  gauge  (1994) 
 
  Highways: 
  total:  36,932  km 
  paved:  33,904  km  (including  276  km  expressways) 
  unpaved:  earth  3,028  km  (1992) 
 
  Inland  waterways:  470  km  (1987) 
 
  Pipelines:  crude  oil  193  km  petroleum  products  525  km  natural  gas 
  1,400  km  (1992) 
 
  Ports:  Burgas,  Lom,  Nesebur  Ruse,  Varna,  Vidin 
 
  Merchant  marine: 
  total:  109  ships  (1,000  GRT  or  over)  totaling  1,191,231  GRT/1,762,461 
  DWT 
  ships  by  type:  bulk  47,  cargo  29,  chemical  carrier  4,  container  2,  oil 
  tanker  15,  passenger-cargo  2,  railcar  carrier  2,  roll-on/roll-off 
  cargo  6,  short-sea  passenger  1,  refrigerated  cargo  1 
  note:  Bulgaria  owns  2  ships  (1,000  GRT  or  over)  totaling  12,960  DWT 
  operating  under  Liberian  registry 
 
  Airports: 
  total:  355 
  with  paved  runways  over  3,047  m:  1 
  with  paved  runways  2,438  to  3,047  m:  17 
  with  paved  runways  1,524  to  2,437  m:  10 
  with  paved  runways  under  914  m:  88 
  with  unpaved  runways  2,438  to  3,047  m:  2 
  with  unpaved  runways  1,524  to  2,438  m:  1 
  with  unpaved  runways  914  to  1,523  m:  10 
  with  unpaved  runways  under  914  m:  226 
 
  Bulgaria:Communications 
 
  Telephone  system:  2,600,000  telephones;  29  telephones/100  persons 
  (1992);  extensive  but  antiquated  transmission  system  of  coaxial  cable 
  and  microwave  radio  relay;  direct  dialing  to  36  countries;  telephone 
  service  is  available  in  most  villages;  almost  two-thirds  of  the  lines 
  are  residential;  67%  of  Sofia  households  have  phones  (November  1988) 
  local:  NA 
  intercity:  NA 
  international:  1  earth  station  using  Intersputnik  INTELSAT  link  used 
  through  a  Greek  earth  station 
 
  Radio: 
  broadcast  stations:  AM  20,  FM  15,  shortwave  0 
  radios:  NA 
 
  Television: 
  broadcast  stations:  29  (Russian  repeater  in  Sofia  1) 
  televisions:  2.1  million  (May  1990) 
 
  Bulgaria:Defense  Forces 
 
  Branches:  Army,  Navy,  Air  and  Air  Defense  Forces,  Border  Troops, 
  Internal  Troops 
 
  Manpower  availability:  males  age  15-49  2,171,414;  males  fit  for 
  military  service  1,810,989;  males  reach  military  age  (19)  annually 
  69,200  (1995  est.) 
 
  Defense  expenditures:  13  billion  leva,  NA%  of  GDP  (1994  est.);  note  - 
  conversion  of  defense  expenditures  into  US  dollars  using  the  current 
  exchange  rate  could  produce  misleading  results 
 
 
 

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