in both World Wars, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere ofinfluence and became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist
domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multiparty
election since World War II and began the contentious process of
moving toward political democracy and a market economy while
combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. Today,
reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on a path toward eventual
integration into the EU. The country joined NATO in 2004.
Geography Bulgaria
Location:
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and
Turkey
Geographic coordinates:
43 00 N, 25 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 110,910 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km
water: 360 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries:
total: 1,808 km
border countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km,
Serbia and Montenegro 318 km, Turkey 240 km
Coastline:
354 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:
temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers
Terrain:
mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 m
Natural resources:
bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land
Land use: arable land: 40.02% permanent crops: 1.92% other: 58.06% (2001)
Irrigated land:
8,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
earthquakes, landslides
Environment - current issues:
air pollution from industrial emissions; rivers polluted from raw
sewage, heavy metals, detergents; deforestation; forest damage from
air pollution and resulting acid rain; soil contamination from heavy
metals from metallurgical plants and industrial wastes
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85,
Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulfur 94
Geography - note:
strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes
from Europe to Middle East and Asia
People Bulgaria
Population:
7,450,349 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 14.1% (male 539,005/female 512,762)
15–64 years: 68.7% (male 2,516,368/female 2,599,524)
65 years and over: 17.2% (male 531,008/female 751,682) (2005 est.)
Median age:
total: 40.66 years
male: 38.59 years
female: 42.66 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
−0.89% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
9.66 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
14.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:
−4.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 20.55 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.31 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 16.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.03 years
male: 68.41 years
female: 75.87 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.38 children born/woman (2005 est.)
