Bulgaria

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Bulgaria

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

National name Republika Bulgaria/Republic of Bulgaria Area 110,912 sq km/42,823 sq mi Capital Sofia Language Bulgarian (official), Turkish Religion Eastern Orthodox Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Roman Catholic, Protestant Time difference GMT +2 Major holidays 1 January, 3 March, 1, 24 May, 24–25 December; variable: Easter Monday


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities Plovdiv, Varna, Ruse, Burgas, Stara Zagora, Pleven Major ports Burgas, Varna Physical features lowland plains in north and southeast separated by mountains (Balkan and Rhodope) that cover three-quarters of the country; River Danube in north Airports three international airports and seven other domestic airports; total passengers carried: 861,000 (2003 est) Railways total length: 4,292 km/2,667 mi; total passenger journeys: 33.7 million (2002) Roads total road network: 102,016 km/63,390 mi, of which 92% paved (2003 est); passenger cars: 335 per 1,000 people (2003 est)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state Georgi Parvanov from 2001 Head of government Sergey Stanishev from 2005 Political system emergent democracy Political executive parliamentary Administrative divisions 28 regions divided into 278 municipalities Political parties Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), right of centre; Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), left wing, ex-communist; Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), Turkish-oriented, centrist; Civic Alliances for the Republic (CAR), left of centre; Real Reform Movement (DESIR) Death penalty abolished in 1998 Armed forces 51,000; plus 303,000 reserves (2006 est) Conscription compulsory for nine months Defence spend (% GDP) 2.5 (2005 est) Education spend (% GDP) 3.6 (2003 est) Health spend (% GDP) 4.1 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency lev GDP (US$) 26.6 billion (2005 est) Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 5.6 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 26.7 billion (2005 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 8,630 (2005 est) Consumer price inflation 7.4% (2006 est) Unemployment 10.1% (2006 est) Labour force 8.9 % agriculture, 34.2% industry, 56.9% services (2005) Foreign debt (US$) 15.9 billion (2005 est) Major trading partners Italy, Germany, Turkey, Greece, Russia Resources coal, iron ore, manganese, copper, lead, zinc, petroleum Industries food products, petroleum and coal products, metals, mining, plastics, paints, paper, beverages and tobacco, electrical machinery, textiles Exports base metals, chemical and rubber products, processed food, beverages, tobacco, chemicals, clothing and footwear. Principal market: Italy 12% (2005) Imports mineral products and fuels, chemical and rubber products, textiles, footwear, machinery and transport equipment, medicines. Principal source: Italy 15.6% (2005) Arable land 29.9% (2006 est) Agricultural products wheat, maize, barley, sunflower seeds, grapes, potatoes, tobacco, roses; viticulture (Bulgaria is a major exporter of wine; forest resources


POPULATION

Population 7,671,200 (2006 est) Population growth rate -0.7% (2005–10) Population density (per sq km) 69 (2006 est) Urban population (% of total) 71 (2005 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 14%, 15–59 64%, 60+ 22% (2005 est) Ethnic groups Southern Slavic Bulgarians constitute around 85% of the population; 9% are ethnic Turks, who during the later 1980s were subjected to government pressure to adopt Slavic names and to resettle elsewhere; 3% Gypsy, 3% Macedonian Life expectancy 70 (men); 76 (women) (2005–10) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 15 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 8 Literacy rate 99% (men); 98% (women) (2004 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 33.8 (2004 est) Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) 6.3 (2003 est) HIV infection (% of population aged 15–49) <0.1 (2005 est) Access to drinking-water source (% of total population) 100 (urban); 100 (rural) (2002)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 32.2 (2005 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 80.8 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 543 (1997) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 453 (2001) Personal computer users (per 100 people) 5.9 (2005 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 20.6 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

c. 3500 BC onwards Semi-nomadic pastoralists from the central Asian steppes settled in the area and formed the Thracian community. mid-5th century BC The Thracian state was formed; it was to extend over Bulgaria, northern Greece, and northern Turkey. 4th century BC Phillip II and Alexander the Great of Macedonia waged largely unsuccessful campaigns against the Thracian Empire. AD 50 The Thracians were subdued and incorporated within the Roman Empire as the province of Moesia Inferior. 3rd–6th centuries The Thracian Empire was successively invaded and devastated by the Goths, Huns, Bulgars, and Avars. 681 The Bulgars, an originally Turkic group that had merged with earlier Slav settlers, revolted against the Avars and established, south of the River Danube, the first Bulgarian kingdom, with its capital at Pliska. 864 Orthodox Christianity was adopted by Boris I. 1018 Subjugated by the Byzantines, whose empire had its capital at Constantinople; led to Bulgarian Church breaking with Rome in 1054. 1185 Second independent Bulgarian Kingdom formed. mid-13th century Bulgarian state destroyed by Mongol incursions. 1396 Bulgaria became the first European state to be absorbed into the Turkish Ottoman Empire; the imposition of a harsh feudal system and the sacking of the monasteries followed. 1859 Bulgarian Catholic Church re-established links with Rome. 1876 Bulgarian nationalist revolt crushed brutally by Ottomans, with 15,000 massacred at Plovdiv (‘Bulgarian Atrocities’). 1878 At Congress of Berlin, concluding Russo-Turkish war, Eastern Rumelia remained Ottoman province, but autonomous Principality of Bulgaria created with liberal constitution. 1885 Eastern Rumelia annexed by Principality; Serbia defeated in war. 1908 Full independence proclaimed from Turkish rule, with Ferdinand I as king. 1913 Following defeat in Second Balkan War, King Ferdinand I abdicated; replaced by son Boris III. 1919 Bulgarian Agrarian Union government, led by Alexander Stamboliiski, came to power and redistributed land to peasants. 1923 Agrarian government overthrown in right-wing coup; Stamboliiski murdered. 1934 Dictatorship established by King Boris III. 1944 Soviet invasion of German-occupied Bulgaria. 1946 Monarchy abolished and communist-dominated people's republic proclaimed following plebiscite. 1947 Gained South Dobruja, along Black Sea, from Romania; Soviet-style constitution established one-party state; industries and financial institutions nationalized and cooperative farming introduced. 1968 Bulgaria participated in Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia. 1985–89 Administrative and economic reforms (known as preustroistvo or ‘restructuring’) introduced, reflecting reformist policies of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. 1989 Programme of enforced ‘Bulgarianization’ resulted in mass exodus of ethnic Turks to Turkey. Opposition parties tolerated. 1991 New liberal-democratic constitution adopted. First post-war noncommunist government formed. 1993 Voucher-based ‘mass privatization’ programme launched. 1996 Radical economic and industrial reforms imposed; mounting inflation and public protest over economic hardship. 1997 General strike; Bulgarian currency pegged to Deutschmark in return for support from International Monetary Fund. 1999 Bulgaria joined Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA). 2001 Former King Simeon II became premier after his party won parliamentary elections; Georgi Parvanov of Socialist Party elected state president. 2004 Bulgaria admitted to NATO. 2005 Sergei Stanishev became prime minister after Coalition for Bulgaria (headed by Socialist Party) won parliamentary elections. 2006 Parvanov became first president in post-communist era to retain office in elections. 2007 Bulgaria joined European Union (EU). Libya repatriated Bulgarian medical workers, detained since 1999 for allegedly infecting children with HIV virus, in EU deal.


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