Republic of Bulgaria

President: Georgi Purvanov (2002)

Prime Minister: Sergei Stanishev (2005)

Land area: 42,683 sq mi (110,549 sq km); total area: 42,823 sq mi (110,910 sq km )

Population (2006 est.): 7,385,367 (growth rate: –0.9%); birth rate: 9.7/1000; infant mortality rate: 19.9/1000; life expectancy: 72.3; density per sq mi: 173

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Sofia, 1,088,700

Other large cities: Plovdiv, 338,200; Varna, 312,300; Burgas, 192,000; Ruse, 161,000

Monetary unit: Lev

Languages: Bulgarian 85%, Turkish 10%, Roma 4%

Ethnicity/race: Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) 2% (2001)

Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox 83%, Islam 12%, other Christian 1% (2001)

Literacy rate: 99% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $67.29 billion; per capita $9,000. Real growth rate: 5.7%. Inflation: 4.5%. Unemployment: 11.5%. Arable land: 40%. Agriculture: vegetables, fruits, tobacco, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets; livestock. Labor force: 3.34 million; agriculture 11%, industry 32.7%, services 56.3% (3rd quarter 2004 est.). Industries: electricity, gas, water; food, beverages, tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel. Natural resources: bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land. Exports: $11.67 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): hing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels. Imports: $15.9 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials. Major trading partners: Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belgium, Greece, U.S., France, Russia (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 2,868,200 (2002); mobile cellular: 2,597,500 (2002). Radio broadcast stations: AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001). Television broadcast stations: 39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001). Internet hosts: 53,421 (2004). Internet users: 630,000 (2002).

Transportation: Railways: total: 4,294 km (2004). Highways: total: 37,077 km; paved: 34,111 km (including 328 km of expressways); unpaved: 2,966 km (2002). Waterways: 470 km (2004). Ports and harbors: Burgas, Varna. Airports: 213 (2004 est.).

International disputes: none.


 

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