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NAVIGATION
Republic of Bulgaria
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria |
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Government type:
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parliamentary democracy |
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Capital:
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Sofia |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire) |
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National holiday:
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Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) |
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Constitution:
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adopted 12 July 1991 |
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Legal system:
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civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Georgi PURVANOV (since 22 January 2002); Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002)
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA (since 24 July 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Nikolay VASILEV (since 24 July 2001), Kostadin PASKALEV (since 24 July 2001), and Lidiya SHULEVA (since 24 July 2001) 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 11 November and 18 November 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by the president; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister election results: Georgi PURVANOV elected president; percent of vote - Georgi PURVANOV 54.13%, Petar STOYANOV 45.87% |
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Legislative branch:
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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 - NMS2 42.74%, UtdDF 18.18%, CFB 17.15%, MRF 7.45%; seats by party - NMS2 120, UtdDF 51, CFB 48, MRF 21; note - seating as of March 2003 - NMS2 110, UtdDF 50, CFB 48, MRF 20, independents 12 |
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Judicial branch:
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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) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB (coalition of parties dominated by BSP) [Sergei STANISHEV]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or VMRO [Krasimir KARAKACHANOV]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II or NMS2 [Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA]; People's Union or PU (includes Bulgarian Agrarian National Union and Democratic Party) [Anastasiya MOZER]; St. George's Day [Lyuben DILOV, Jr.]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Ekaterina NADEZHDA]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces or UtdDF (a coalition between the UDF and PU, dominated by the former) |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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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 |
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International organization participation:
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ACCT, Australia Group, 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, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Elena POPTODOROVA
consulate(s): New York FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973 telephone: [1] (202) 387-7969 chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador James William PARDEW
embassy: 1 Suborna Street, Sofia 1000 mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100 FAX: [359] (2) 981-89-77 |
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Flag description:
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three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; the national emblem formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe has been removed - it contained a rampant lion within a wreath of wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and above a ribbon bearing the dates 681 (first Bulgarian state established) and 1944 (liberation from Nazi control) |
ECONOMY
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Economy - overview:
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Bulgaria, a former communist country striving to enter the European Union, has experienced macroeconomic stability and positive growth rates since a major economic downturn in 1996 led to the fall of the then socialist government. A $300 million stand-by agreement negotiated with the IMF at the end of 2001 will help the government maintain economic stability as it seeks to overcome high rates of poverty and unemployment and, at the same time, cut the budget deficit and contain inflation. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $50.6 billion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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3.4% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 14%
industry: 29% services: 58% (2001) |
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Population below poverty line:
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35% (2000 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 23% (1997) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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26 (2001) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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5.9% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force:
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3.83 million (2000 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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18% (2002 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $5.57 billion
expenditures: $5.68 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
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Industries:
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electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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2% (2002 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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38.84 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 48%
hydro: 8% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 44% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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34.42 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - exports:
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3.2 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - imports:
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1.5 billion kWh (2000) |
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Agriculture - products:
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vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets |
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Exports:
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$5.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels |
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Exports - partners:
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Italy 14%, Turkey 10%, Germany 9%, Greece 8%, Serbia and Montenegro 8% (2001) |
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Imports:
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$6.9 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles |
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Imports - partners:
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Russia 19.9%, Germany 15.3%, Italy 9.6%, France 6.0% (2001) |
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Debt - external:
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$10.3 billion (2001 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$300 million (2000 est.) |
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Currency:
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lev (BGL) |
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Currency code:
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BGN |
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Exchange rates:
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leva per US dollar - 2.2147 (January 2002), 2.1847 (2001), 2.1233 (2000), 1.8364 (1999), 1,760.36 (1998), 1,681.88 (1997)
note: on 5 July 1999, the lev was redenominated; the post-5 July 1999 lev is equal to 1,000 of the pre-5 July 1999 lev |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |