BULGARIA

Government Type

Parliamentary democracy

Capital

Sofia

Flag Description

Three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red

Area

total: 110,910 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km
water: 360 sq km

Boundaries

total: 1,808 km land boundaries
border countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km, Turkey 240 km

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

Major Language

Bulgarian

Major Religion

Orthodoxy

Population

 7,322,858 (July 2007 est.)

Ethnic groups

Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001 census)

Population Growth Rate

 -0.837% (2007 est.)

Net Migration Rate

 -3.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 years: 13.9% (male 521,117/female 496,022)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 2,472,424/female 2,556,102)
65 years and over: 17.4% (male 523,660/female 753,533) (2007 est.)

Unemployment Rate

 9.6% (2006 est.)

Inflation Rate

 6.5% (2006 est.)

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity -  $10,400 (2006 est.)

Main Exports

Chemicals and plastics, food and drink, tobacco, machine-building equipment

Monetary Unit

1 lev = 100 stotinki

UN exchange rate: 1 USD = 1.46 BGN (June 2007)

Press

  Dnevnik - daily

  24 Chasa - daily

  Trud - daily

  Novinar - daily

  Monitor - daily

  Standart - daily, English-language pages

  Pari - business daily

  Kapital - political, economic weekly

  The Sofia Echo - English-language

Current Weather

Sofia