|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
Geography |
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, The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km,
Serbia and Montenegro 318 km (all with Serbia), Turkey
240 km
Coastline: 354 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 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: 43%
permanent crops: 2%
permanent pastures: 14%
forests and woodland: 38%
other: 3% (1999 est.)
Irrigated land: 12,370 sq km (1993 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-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile
Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent
Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: strategic location near Turkish
Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle
East and Asia
[back to top] |
| |
|
| |
| |
| |
|
|
All schools
in Bulgaria are free and state controlled and were modeled after
those in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). A major
aim of the Bulgarian educational system is to supply technical
and skilled workers to meet the growing demands of industry.
Education is compulsory for all children between the ages of 6
and 16.
In the late 1980s approximately 1,091,100 pupils attended
elementary schools in Bulgaria, and about 402,800 students were
enrolled in secondary, vocational, and teacher-training schools.
The country has about 30 institutions of higher learning,
including the University of Sofiya and various specialized
professional institutes. Total yearly enrollment in the late
1980s amounted to approximately 116,400 students.
Background:
Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria
fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's
Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1991 with the
dissolution of the USSR, and Bulgaria 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 and NATO.
|
People |
Population: 7,796,694 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 16% (male 623,285; female 591,655)
15-64 years: 68% (male 2,610,573; female
2,685,190)
65 years and over: 16% (male 546,029; female
739,962) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: -1.16% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 8.06 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 14.63 deaths/1,000 population (2000
est.)
Net migration rate: -5.06 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2000 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: 0.74 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 15.13 deaths/1,000 live
births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.91 years
male: 67.45 years
female: 74.56 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.13 children born/woman (2000
est.)
Nationality:
noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian
Ethnic groups: Bulgarian 83%, Turk 8.5%, Roma 2.6%,
Macedonia, Armenian, Tatar, Gagauz, Circassian, others
(1998)
Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox 83.5%, Muslim 13%,
Roman Catholic 1.5%, Jewish 0.8%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%,
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)
[back to top] |
|
Communications |
Telephones - main lines in use: 3.186 million (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 300,000 (1999)
Telephone system: more than two-thirds of the
lines are residential
domestic: extensive but antiquated transmission
system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay;
telephone service is available in most villages; a more
modern digital cable trunk line now connects switching
centers in most of the regions, the others being
connected by digital microwave
international: direct dialing to 58 countries;
satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic
Ocean region); 2 Intelsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean
regions)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 24, FM 93, shortwave
2 (1998)
Radios: 4.51 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 33 (1999)
Televisions: 3.31 million (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 20 (1999)
[back to top]
|
|
Transportation |
Railways:
total: 4,294 km
standard gauge: 4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,710 km
electrified; 917 km double track)
narrow gauge: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (1998)
Highways:
total: 36,759 km
paved: 33,818 km (including 319 km of
expressways)
unpaved: 2,941 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: 470 km (1987)
Pipelines: petroleum products 525 km; natural gas
1,500 km (1999)
Ports and harbors: Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse,
Varna, Vidin
Merchant marine:
total: 85 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 947,711 GRT/1,449,416
DWT
ships by type: bulk 43, cargo 18, chemical tanker
4, container 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 7,
rail car carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1,
roll-on/roll-off 5, short-sea passenger 1, specialized
tanker 1 (1999 est.)
Airports: 216 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 129
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 93 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 87
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 10
under 914 m: 75 (1999 est.) |
|
