Upgrade your Encarta experience

Also on Encarta

Also on MSN
Bulgaria Facts and Figures from Encarta Go to article
Basic Facts
Official name Republic of Bulgaria
Capital Sofia
Area 110,994 sq km
42,855 sq mi
Bulgaria: Flag and Anthem
Bulgaria: Flag and Anthem
Expand
People
Population 7,262,675 (2008 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate -0.81 percent (2008 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 6,257,716 (2025 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 4,651,477 (2050 estimate)
Population density 66 persons per sq km (2008 estimate)
170 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 71 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 29 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Sofia 1,076,000 (2003 estimate)
Plovdiv 340,638 (2001)
Varna 314,539 (2001)
Burgas 193,316 (2001)
Ruse 162,128 (2001)
Ethnic groups
Bulgarian 85.3 percent
Turkish 8.5 percent
Roma (Gypsy) 2.6 percent
Macedonian 2.5 percent
Armenian 0.3 percent
Russian 0.2 percent
Other 0.6 percent
Languages
Bulgarian (official); secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown.
Religious affiliations
Bulgarian Orthodox 72 percent
Muslim 12 percent
Nonreligious 5 percent
Other 11 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 72.8 years (2008 estimate)
Female 76.7 years (2008 estimate)
Male 69.2 years (2008 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 19 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate)
Population per physician 4,000 people (2006)
Population per hospital bed 159 people (2003)
Literacy rate
Total 98.8 percent (2005 estimate)
Female 98.4 percent (2005 estimate)
Male 99.2 percent (2005 estimate)
Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) 3.6 percent (2002-2003)
Number of years of compulsory schooling 8 years (2002-2003)
Number of students per teacher, primary school 17 students per teacher (2002-2003)
Government
Form of government Multiparty republic
Head of state President
Head of government Prime minister
Legislature Unicameral legislature
National Assembly: 240 members
Voting qualifications Universal and compulsory at age 18
Constitution Adopted 12 July 1991
Highest court Supreme Court
Armed forces
Total number of military personnel 51,000 (2004)
Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) 2.4 percent (2003)
First-level political divisions 28 provinces
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) $31.5 billion (2006)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) $4,092.60 (2006)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 8.5 percent (2006)
Industry 31.4 percent (2006)
Services 60 percent (2006)
Employment
Number of workers 3,051,682 (2006)
Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 9 percent (2005)
Industry 34 percent (2005)
Services 57 percent (2005)
Unemployment rate 12.1 percent (2004)
National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue $11,598 million (2006)
Total expenditure $10,028 million (2006)
Monetary unit 1 new lev (Lv), consisting of 100 stotinki
Major trade partners for exports
Italy, Germany, Turkey, Greece, France
Major trade partners for imports
Russia, Germany, Italy, Greece, France
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources 52.06 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from hydroelectric sources 5.78 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from nuclear sources 42.14 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources 0.03 percent (2003 estimate)
Number of radios per 1,000 people 537 (1997)
Number of telephones per 1,000 people 321 (2005)
Number of televisions per 1,000 people 453 (2000 estimate)
Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 67 (2003)
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people 116 (1999)
Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people 360 (2004)
Paved road as a share of total roads 99 percent (2004)
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance.
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
© 2008 Microsoft