Geography
Area: 110,994 sq. km. (slightly larger than Tennessee).
Major cities: Capital--Sofia 1.2 million.
Others: Plovdiv--368,568, Varna--349,482.
Terrain: Bulgaria is located in South Central Europe. The terrain is
varied, containing large mountainous areas, fertile valleys, plains
and a coastline along the Black Sea.
Climate: Continental--mild summers and cold, snowy winters.
People
Population (2003): 7,801,300.
Growth rate (2003.): -5.7 (on basis of 1,000 people).
Ethnic groups (2001): Bulgarian 83.94%, Turkish 9.42%, Roma 4.68%, and
others.
Christian singles note-Religions (2001): Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%,
Muslim 12.2%, Roman Catholic 0.6%, Protestant 0.5%, others.
Language: Bulgarian (official).
Health: Life expectancy (2002)--male 68.5 years; female 75.4
years. Infant mortality rate (2002)--13.3 deaths/1,000 live
births.
Government
Type: Parliamentary democracy.
Constitution: Adopted July 12, 1991.
Independence: 1908 (from the Ottoman Empire).
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), prime minister
(head of government), Council of Ministers (cabinet). Legislative--unicameral
National Assembly or Narodno Subranie--240 seats. Members are elected
by popular vote of party/coalition lists of candidates for 4-year
terms. Judicial--three-tiered system.
Suffrage: Universal at 18 years of age.
Main political movements: National Movement Simeon II (NMS2); United
Democratic Forces (UDF); Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP); Movement for
Rights and Freedoms (MRF); Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB); New
Time (NT); Union of Free Democrats (UFD). The NMS won half the seats
in the June 2001 parliamentary election and established a coalition
government with the mainly ethnic Turkish MRF. The New Time, a party
formed by NMS defectors in mid-2004, joined the ruling coalition in
February 2005.
Economy
Real GDP growth: (2004 est.) 5.8%; (2003) 4.3%.
Inflation rate: (2004) 6%; (2003) 5.6%.
Unemployment rate: (2004 average) 12.7%; (2003 average) 14.25%.
Natural resources: Bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, and timber.
Official exchange rate: Lev per $1 U.S.—1.49 (Feb. 2005); 1.58 (2004
average); 1.73 (2003 average).
GEOGRAPHY AND PEOPLE
Christian singles note-Bulgaria shares a border with Turkey and Greece
to the south, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia and
Montenegro to the west, Romania to the north and the Black Sea to the
east. The capital, Sofia, lies in the western region of the country. Ethnic
groups include Bulgarian, Turkish, Roma, and others. The official
language is Bulgarian.
