Basic Facts
Official name Republic of Bulgaria

Capital Sofia

Area 110,994 sq km
42,855 sq mi

Largest cities (population)
Sofia 1,194,164 (2002 estimate)

Plovdiv 340,638 (2001)

Varna 314,539 (2001)

Burgas 193,316 (2001)

Stara Zagora 143,989 (2001)

Pleven 122,149 (2001)

Ruse 162,128 (2001)

Sliven 100,695 (2001)

Dobrich 100,379 (2001)

People
Population 7,450,349 (2005 estimate)

Population growth rate -0.89 per cent (2005 estimate)

Population density 67 persons per sq km (2005 estimate)175 persons per sq mi (2005 estimate)

Urbanization

Per cent urban 70 per cent (2003 estimate)

Per cent rural 30 per cent (2003 estimate)

Life expectancy

Total 72 years (2005 estimate)

Female 75.9 years (2005 estimate)

Male 68.4 years (2005 estimate)

Infant mortality rate

21 deaths per 1,000 live births (2005 estimate)

Literacy rate

Total 98.8 per cent (2005 estimate)

Female 98.4 per cent (2005 estimate)

Male 99.2 per cent (2005 estimate)

Ethnic divisions
Bulgarian 85.3 per cent

Turkish 8.5 per cent

Romany (Gypsy) 2.6 per cent

Armenian 0.3 per cent

Russian 0.2 per cent

Other or none 3.1 per cent

Languages
Bulgarian (official); secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown

Religions
Bulgarian Orthodox 85 per cent

Muslim 13 per cent

Other or none 2 per cent

Government
Type of government Multi-party republic

Independence
October 5, 1908 (from the Ottoman Empire)

Constitution Adopted July 12, 1991

Voting rights
Universal and compulsory at age 18

Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP) (US$)

19,860 million (2003)

GDP per capita (US$) 2,540 (2003)

GDP by economic sector
GDP, agriculture 11.7 per cent (2003)

GDP, industry 30.7 per cent (2003)

GDP, services 57.5 per cent (2003)

National budget (US$)
Total revenue 7,029 million (2003)

Total expenditure 6,759 million (2003)

Monetary unit 1 lev (Lv), consisting of 100 stotinki

Exports
Machinery and equipment, agricultural products (especially tobacco), manufactured consumer goods, fuels, minerals, raw materials, metals

Imports
Fuels, minerals, raw materials, machinery and equipment, manufactured consumer goods, agricultural products

Major trading partners for exports
Republics of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Germany, Italy, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Major trading partners for imports
Republics of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Germany, Italy, Greece, France

Industries
Machine building and metalworking, food processing, chemicals, textiles, building materials, ferrous and non-ferrous metals

Agriculture
Grain crops, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, and tobacco

Natural resources
Bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, iron ore, timber, arable land

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 latest Europa World Yearbook and various 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).