Bulgaria
Republic of Bulgaria
Capital: Sofia
History
The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Northern Bulgaria attained autonomy in 1878 and all of Bulgaria became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1908. 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 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multiparty election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. The country joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007.
Geography
Metric Units
|
Total Area
|
110,879
sq km
|
| Land Boundaries |
1,808
km
|
| Border Countries |
Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia 318 km, Turkey 240 km |
| Coastline |
354
km
|
| Terrain |
mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast |
| Minimum Elevation |
0
m
|
| Maximum Elevation |
2,925
m
|
| Climate |
temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers |
| Natural Resources |
bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land |
| Arable Land |
29.28% |
| Permanent Crops |
1.44% |
Economy
Budget & Debt
Trade
| Exports |
$27.67 billion |
| Export Items |
clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels |
| Export Partners |
Germany 12.2%, Romania 9.7%, Italy 8.7%, Turkey 8.1%, Greece 7.2%, Belgium 5.2%, France 4.3% (2011) |
| Imports |
$30.32 billion |
| Import Items |
machinery and equipment |
| Import Partners |
Russia 17.8%, Germany 11.1%, Italy 7.2%, Romania 7%, Greece 5.7%, Spain 5.1%, Turkey 4.6% (2011) |
People
| Population |
6,981,642 |
| Population Growth |
-0.81% |
| Ethnic Groups |
Bulgarian 76.9%, Turk 8%, Roma 4.4%, other 0.7% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian), other (unknown) 10% (2011 census) |
| Religion |
Eastern Orthodox 59.4%, Muslim (Sunni) 7.4%, Muslim (Shia) 0.4%, other (including Catholic, Protestant, Armenian Apostolic Orthodox, and Judaism) 1.7%, other (unknown) 27.4%, none 3.7% (2011 census) |
| Life Expectancy |
74.08 years |
| Infant Mortality |
0.92 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Maternal Mortality |
-0.3 deaths/100,000 live births |
Energy
