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 Bulgaria| Facts & Figures |
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Republic of Bulgaria
President: Rosen Plevneliev (2012) Prime Minister: Boyko Borisov (2009)
Land area: 42,683 sq mi (110,549 sq km);
total area: 42,823 sq mi (110,910 sq km ) Population (2011 est.): 7,093,635
(growth rate: –0.781%); birth rate: 9.32/1000; infant mortality rate:
16.68/1000; life expectancy: 73.59
Capital and largest city (2009 est.):
Sofia, 1.192 million 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)
National Holiday:
Liberation Day, March 3
Religions:
Bulgarian Orthodox 83%, Islam 12%, other
Christian 1% (2001) Literacy rate: 98.2% (2006 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP $101.2 billion (2011 est.); per capita $13,500. Real growth rate: 2.2%. Inflation: 4%. Unemployment: 8.8%.
Arable land: 29.94%. Agriculture: vegetables, fruits,
tobacco, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets; livestock.
Labor force: 2.533 million; agriculture 7.1%, industry 30.6%,
services 64.2% (2011 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: $26.08 billion (2011 est.): clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels. Imports: $28.39 billion (2011 est.):
machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics;
fuels, minerals, and raw materials. Major trading partners:
Russia, Germany, Italy, Romania, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine, France (2010) Communications: Telephones: main lines
in use: 2.2 million (2010); mobile cellular: 10.585 million (2010).
Broadcast media: Four national terrestrial television stations with 1 state-owned and 3 privately-owned; a vast array of TV stations are available from cable and satellite TV providers; state-owned national radio broadcasts over 3 networks; large number of private radio stations broadcasting, especially in urban areas (2010). Internet hosts:785,546 (2010). Internet users: 3.395 million (2009). Transportation: Railways: total: 4,151 km (2009). Highways: total: 40,231 km; paved: 39,587 km (includes 418 km of expressways); unpaved 644 km (2008).
Waterways: 470 km (2009). Ports and terminals: Burgas,
Varna. Airports: 210 (2010). International disputes: none.
Major sources and definitions
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Republic of Bulgaria
GeographyBulgaria shares borders with Serbia, Macedonia,
Romania, Greece, and Turkey. Two mountain ranges and two great valleys
mark the topography of Bulgaria, a country the size of Tennessee and
situated on the Black Sea. The Maritsa is Bulgaria's principal river,
the Danube also flows through the country.
GovernmentParliamentary democracy.
HistoryThe Thracians lived in what is now known as
Bulgaria from about 3500
B.C.
They were
incorporated into the Roman Empire by the first century
A.D.
At the decline of the empire, the Goths, Huns,
Bulgars, and Avars invaded. The Bulgars, who crossed the Danube from the
north in 679, took control of the region. Although the country bears the
name of the Bulgars, the Bulgar language and culture died out, replaced by
a Slavic language, writing, and religion. In 865, Boris I adopted Orthodox
Christianity. The Bulgars twice conquered most of the Balkan peninsula
between 893 and 1280. But in 1396 they were invaded by the Ottoman Empire,
which made Bulgaria a Turkish province until 1878. Ottoman rule was harsh
and inescapable, given Bulgaria's proximity to its oppressor. In 1878,
Russia forced Turkey to give Bulgaria its independence after the
Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). But the European powers, fearing Russia's
and Bulgaria's dominance in the Balkans, intervened at the Congress of
Berlin (1878), limiting Bulgaria's territory and fashioning it into a
small principality ruled by Alexander of Battenburg, the nephew of the
Russian czar.
Alexander was succeeded in 1887 by Prince
Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who declared a kingdom independent of the
Ottoman Empire on Oct. 5, 1908. In the First Balkan War (1912–1913),
Bulgaria and the other members of the Balkan League fought against Turkey
to regain Balkan territory. Angered by the small portion of Macedonia it
received after the battle—it considered Macedonia an integral part of
Bulgaria—the country instigated the Second Balkan War (June–Aug. 1913)
against Turkey as well as its former allies. Bulgaria lost the war and all
the territory it had gained in the First Balkan War. Bulgaria joined
Germany in World War I in the hope of again gaining Macedonia. After this
second failure, Ferdinand abdicated in favor of his son in 1918. Boris III
squandered Bulgaria's resources and assumed dictatorial powers in
1934–1935. Bulgaria fought on the side of the Nazis in World War II, but
after Russia declared war on Bulgaria on Sept. 5, 1944, Bulgaria switched
sides. Three days later, on Sept. 9, 1944, a Communist coalition took
control of the country and set up a government under Kimon Georgiev.
A Soviet-style People's Republic was established
in 1947 and Bulgaria acquired the reputation of being the most slavishly
loyal to Moscow of all the East European Communist countries. The general
secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party, Todor Zhikov, resigned in 1989
after 35 years in power. His successor, Peter Mladenov, purged the
Politburo, ended the Communist monopoly on power, and held free elections
in May 1990 that led to a surprising victory for the Communist Party,
renamed the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). Mladenov was forced to resign
in July 1990.
In Oct. 1991, the Union of Democratic Forces
won, forming Bulgaria's first non-Communist government since 1946. Power
shifted back and forth between the pro-Western Union of Democratic Forces
(UDF) and the BSP during the 1990s. The economy continued to deteriorate
amid growing concern over the spread of organized crime. A new UDF
government, led by Prime Minister Ivan Kostov, was elected in 1997 to
overhaul the economic system and institute reforms aimed at stemming
corruption. Progress on both fronts remained slow. As a result, the UDF
lost the July 2001 election to the former king of Bulgaria, leader of the
Simeon II National Movement (SNM). The new prime minister, Simeon
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Simeon II), had been dethroned 55 years earlier (at age
nine) during the Communist takeover of the country. Bulgaria became a
member of NATO in 2004. In 2005, the EU approved its membership for 2007,
subject to the implementation of reforms, especially the cleaning up of
corruption and organized crime.
In June 2005 general elections, no party
received a clear majority, and a coalition government was formed with
Socialist Party leader Sergei Stanishev as the new prime minister. In
2007, Bulgaria joined the EU.
On July 23, 2008, the European commission suspended about 500 million euros of EU aid to Bulgaria due to suspicion of organized crime and corruption.
A severe energy shortage for several weeks in January 2009 was caused by the Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute and created widespread anger towards government energy policies.
During general elections in July 2009, the centre-right GERB party led by Boyko Borisov was the winner, defeating incumbent Sergei Stanishev who had failed to crack down on corruption and organized crime during his four years in office. The burly Borisov promised to crack down on corruption and revive Bulgaria's weak economy, which suffered during the global financial crisis.
Rosen Plevneliev, Bulgaria's former construction minister, won the second round of the presidential election in October 2011. He represents the party Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria.
See also
Encyclopedia:
Bulgaria
.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Bulgaria
National Statistical Institute
www.nsi.bg/
.
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