years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 14.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.2 years
male: 67.72 years
female: 74.89 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.13 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.01% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian
Ethnic groups: Bulgarian 83%, Turk 8.5%, Roma 2.6%, Macedonian,
Armenian, Tatar, Gagauz, Circassian, others (1998)
Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox 83.5%, Muslim 13%, Roman Catholic 1.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Jewish 0.8%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 1% (1998)
Languages: Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 99%
female: 98% (1999)
Bulgaria Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Sofia
Administrative divisions: 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
Independence: 3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Liberation Day, 3 March (1878)
Constitution: adopted 12 July 1991
Legal system: civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Petar STOYANOV (since 22 January 1997); Vice President Todor KAVALDZHIEV (since 22 January 1997)
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Ivan KOSTOV (since 19 May 1997); Deputy Prime Minister Petur ZHOTEV (since 21 December 1999)
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 27 October and 3 November 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by the president; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister
election results: Petar STOYANOV elected president; percent of vote - Petar STOYANOV 59.73%
Legislative branch: 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 - NA%; seats by party - National Movement for Simeon II 120, UDF 51, BSP 48, DPS 21
Judicial branch: 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)
Political parties and leaders: Alliance for National Salvation or
ANS (coalition led mainly by Movement for Rights and Freedoms or
MRF) [Ahmed DOGAN]; Bulgarian Business Bloc or BBB [Georgi GANCHEV];
Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Georgi PURVANOV, chairman];
Democratic Left or DL (bloc led by BSP, includes Ecoglasnost
Political Club and Bulgarian Agrarian National Union) [leader NA];
Euro-left [Aleksandur TOMOV]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary
Organization or UMRO [Aleksander KARAKACHNOV]; Kingdom of Bulgaria
Federation [leader NA]; Movement for Rights and Freedom or DPS
[Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II [Simeon II, former
king]; New Civic Party for Bulgaria [Bogomil BONEV]; People's Union
or PU (includes Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union and Democratic
Party) [Anastasiya MOZER]; St. George's Day [Lyuben DILOV]; Union of
Democratic Forces or UDF (an alliance of pro-democratic parties)
[Ivan KOSTOV]
Political pressure groups and leaders: 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
International organization participation: ACCT, 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,
Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG,
OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
