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KEY INFORMATION
| Area |
Total : 110,910 sq km |
| Population |
7,537,929 (July 2003 est.) |
| Religion |
Bulgarian Orthodox 83.8%Muslim : 12.1% Roman Catholic
1.7%, Jewish : 0.1%,Others: 2.3% |
| Languages |
Primary language is Bulgarian, secondary languages
closely correspond to ethnic breakdown. Although Official Language is
Bulgarian but Russian , English, German and French are
spoken in the in the country's resorts, major hotels and restaurants. |
| Alphabet |
Alphabet- .Cyrillic. Signs in Motorways, Airports , resorts are
also spelled in Roman letters. |
| Climate |
Temperate; cold, wet winters; hot, dry summers |
| Terrain |
Mostly mountains with low lands in north and southeast |
| Capital |
Sofia . Other Major cities are
Plovdiv, Varna, Bourgas, Veliko, Turnovo, |
| Time difference |
Winter time :GMT+ 2 hours(October through
March)
Summer time : GMT+ 3 hours( April through September)
|
| Currency |
Bulgarian currency is Lev. Exchange rate is now
determined by market forces. For simplicity 1 lev= $1.6 = £2.93.
Credit cards such as Visa, Master cards , American Express, Access etc
can be used for payment of standard services in Hotels
, restaurants , car rentals, plane tickets etc.
See the
directory for
up to date currency info.
|
| Telephone |
International dialing code is +359,
Sofia 3592
Plovdiv 35932
Direct calls possible through phone booths or phone cards. Post
offices offers services such as phone calls abroad, fax, telegram etc.
|
| National holidays |
January -1-New Year
March 3rd -National day ( Bulgarian liberation from Ottoman Rule )
Easter-One week after Catholic Easter
May-1 - Labour day
May-6 - Bulgarian Army day
May24-day of the Bulgarian culture and the Slav script.
September 6- Bulgaria's unification
September 26th-Independence Day
December 25th- Christmas
|
Government :
Bulgaria is an independent country and the form of
government is of Parliamentary democracy. Every citizens have equal
rights in terms of sex, nationality, race, religion, education, occupation,
social and material status. The Republic of Bulgaria approved a
new constitution in 1991. The Members of the Parliament are elected
through free democratic elections. The main points of Bulgarian Government is given below.
| Country Name |
Republic of Bulgaria |
| Type of Government |
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 |
| Constitution |
adopted 12 July 1991 |
| Legal System |
civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Executive Branch |
chief of state: President Georgi PURVANOV (since 22
January 2002); Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002)
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime
Minister) Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA (since 24 July 2001); Deputy Prime
Ministers Nikolay VASILEV (since 24 July 2001), and Lidiya SHULEVA
(since 24 July 2001), Plamen PANAYOTOV (since 17 July 2003)
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 11
November and 18 November 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); chairman of the
Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by the president; deputy
prime ministers nominated by the prime minister
election results: Georgi PURVANOV elected president; percent of
vote - Georgi PURVANOV 54.13%, Petar STOYANOV 45.87% |
| 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 - NMS2 42.74%, UtdDF
18.18%, CfB 17.15%, MRF 7.45%; seats by party - NMS2 120, UtdDF 51, CfB
48, MRF 21; note - seating as of March 2003 - NMS2 110, UtdDF 50, CfB
48, MRF 20, independents 12 |
| 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 |
Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei
STANISHEV];
Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB (coalition of parties dominated by BSP) [Sergei
STANISHEV]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or VMRO [Krasimir
KARAKACHANOV]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN];
National Movement for Simeon II or NMS2 [Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA];
Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Nadezhda MIKHAYLOVA]; Union of Free
Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces or UtdDF
(a coalition between the UDF and other center-right parties) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders |
Agrarian movement; Confederation of Independent Trade
Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous
regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas |
| International Organisation participation |
ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE,
CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC,
IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP,
UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE,
UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
| Flag description |
three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and
red; the national emblem formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe
has been removed - it contained a rampant lion within a wreath of wheat
ears below a red five-pointed star and above a ribbon bearing the dates
681 (first Bulgarian state established) and 1944 (liberation from Nazi
control) |
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Economy :
| Economy overview |
Bulgaria, a former communist country striving to enter the
European Union, has experienced macroeconomic stability and strong
growth since a major economic downturn in 1996 led to the fall of the
then socialist government. As a result, the government became committed
to economic reform and responsible fiscal planning. A $300 million
stand-by agreement negotiated with the IMF at the end of 2001 has
supported government efforts to overcome high rates of poverty and
unemployment. |
| GDP |
Purchasing power parity $49.23 billion ( 2002est) |
| GDP-real growth rate |
4.8% (2002 est) |
| GDP-per capita |
Purchasing power parity-
$6500 (2002 est.)
|
| GDP composition by sector |
agriculture: 13.7%
industry: 28.5%
services: 57.9% (2001) |
| Population below poverty line |
12.6% (2001 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share |
lowest 10%: 4.5%
highest 10%: 22.8% (1997) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
26.4 (2001) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) |
5.9% (2002 est.) |
| Labour force |
3.83 million (2000 est.) |
| Unemployment rate |
18%( 2002 est.) |
| Budget |
Revenues : 5.57 billion
Expenditures : $5.68 billion
(2001 est.)
|
| Industries |
electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco;
machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined
petroleum, nuclear fuel |
| Industrial production growth rate |
2% (2002 est.) |
| Electricity production |
41.38 billion kWh(2001) |
| Electricity production by source |
fossil fuel: 47.8%
hydro: 8.1%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 44.1% |
| Electricity consumption |
32.52 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity exports |
6.79 billion kWh(2001) |
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Territory
& Population
Main
Cities
Historical
Review
National
Holidays
Currency
Business
Hours
International
Dialing
Business
Practice
Overview
Inflation
Rates
GDP
Income
Taxes
Tax
Exempt Income
Tax
Reductions
Other
Taxes
Foreign Resident Investments
Encouragement
Laws
Double
Taxation Prevention Treaty
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and Work Permits
Embassies & Consulates
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