The 2001 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia
Bulgaria People
Population: 7,707,495 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0–14 years: 15.11% (male 597,765; female 567,030)
15–64 years: 68.17% (male 2,588,805; female 2,665,736)
65 years and over: 16.72% (male 543,665; female 744,494) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: −1.14% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 8.06 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 14.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: −4.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 14.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.2 years
male: 67.72 years
female: 74.89 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.13 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.01% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian
Ethnic groups: Bulgarian 83%, Turk 8.5%, Roma 2.6%, Macedonian,
Armenian, Tatar, Gagauz, Circassian, others (1998)
Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox 83.5%, Muslim 13%, Roman Catholic 1.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Jewish 0.8%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 1% (1998)
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: 98% (1999)
Bulgaria Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Sofia
Administrative divisions: 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
Independence: 3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)
Constitution: adopted 12 July 1991
Legal system: civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
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 Minister Petur ZHOTEV (since 21 December 1999)
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) nominated by the president; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister
election results: Petar STOYANOV elected president; percent of vote - Petar STOYANOV 59.73%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - National Movement for Simeon II 120, UDF 51, BSP 48, DPS 21
Judicial branch: 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)
Political parties and leaders: Alliance for National Salvation or
ANS (coalition led mainly by Movement for Rights and Freedoms or
MRF) [Ahmed DOGAN]; Bulgarian Business Bloc or BBB [Georgi GANCHEV];
Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Georgi PURVANOV, chairman];
Democratic Left or DL (bloc led by BSP, includes Ecoglasnost
Political Club and Bulgarian Agrarian National Union) [leader NA];
Euro-left [Aleksandur TOMOV]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary
Organization or UMRO [Aleksander KARAKACHNOV]; Kingdom of Bulgaria
Federation [leader NA]; Movement for Rights and Freedom or DPS
[Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II [Simeon II, former
king]; New Civic Party for Bulgaria [Bogomil BONEV]; People's Union
or PU (includes Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union and Democratic
Party) [Anastasiya MOZER]; St. George's Day [Lyuben DILOV]; Union of
Democratic Forces or UDF (an alliance of pro-democratic parties)
[Ivan KOSTOV]
Political pressure groups and leaders: agrarian movement; Bulgarian
Democratic Center; Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of
Bulgaria or CITUB; Democratic Alliance for the Republic or DAR; New
Union for Democracy or NUD; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous
regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas
International organization participation: ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE,
CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO,
Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG,
OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,