Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey

Geographic Coordinates: 43 00 N, 25 00 E

Total Area: 110,879 sq km

Rank by Size: 104

Land Area: 108,489 sq km

Water Area: 2,390 sq km

Comparison: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land Boundaries: 1,808 km

Bordering Countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia 318 km, Turkey 240 km

Coastline: 354 km

temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers

mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast

Lowest Point: Black Sea 0 m

Highest Point: Musala 2,925 m

bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land

Arable land: 29.94%

Permanent Crops: 1.9%

Other: 68.16% (2005)

Irrigated Land: 5,880 sq km (2003)

Renewable Water Resources: 19.4 cu km (2005)

Total Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): 6.92 cu km/yr (3%/78%/19%)

Freshwater Withdrawal Per Capita: 895 cu m/yr (2003)

Natural Hazards: earthquakes; landslides

Environmental Issues: air pollution from industrial emissions; rivers polluted from raw sewage, heavy metals, detergents; deforestation; forest damage from air pollution and resulting acid rain; soil contamination from heavy metals from metallurgical plants and industrial wastes

Environmental Agreements: Party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia

Population: 7,204,687 (July 2010 est.) Rank: 98

0-14 years: 13.8% (male 509,544/female 484,816)

15-64 years: 68.5% (male 2,426,060/female 2,508,772)

65 years and over: 17.7% (male 518,711/female 756,784) (2010 est.)

Median Age: 39.4 years

Growth Rate: -0.79% (2010 est.) Rank: 230

Birth Rate: 9.51 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) Rank: 204

Death Rate: 14.31 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) Rank: 19

Net Migration Rate: -3.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) Rank: 144

Urban Population: 71% of total population (2008)

Rate of Urbanization: -0.3% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate: 17.87 deaths/1,000 live births Rank: 112

Life Expectancy at Birth: 73.09 years Rank: 114

Fertility Rate: 1.41 children born/woman (2010 est.) Rank: 193

HIV/AIDS - Adult Prevalence Rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.) Rank: 141

People living with HIV/AIDS: 346 (2001 est.) Rank: 153

HIV/AIDS Deaths: 100 (2001 est.) Rank: 149

Noun: Bulgarian(s)

Adjective: Bulgarian

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

Religion: Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, other Christian 1.2%, other 4% (2001 census)

Languages: Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)

Literacy (Meaning, age 15 and over can read and write): 98.2% Male: 98.7% Female: 97.7% (2001 census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): 14 years Male: 13 years Female: 14 years (2006)

Education expenditures: 4.5% of GDP (2005) Rank: 86

Conventional Long Form: Republic of Bulgaria

Conventional Short Form: Bulgaria

Local Long Form: Republika Balgariya

Local Short Form: Balgariya

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 (Sofia City), Stara Zagora, Turgovishte, Varna, Veliko Turnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Yambol

Chief of State: President Georgi PARVANOV (since 22 January 2002); Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002)

Head of Government: Prime Minister Boyko BORISSOV (since 27 July 2009); Deputy Prime Ministers Simeon DJANKOV and Tsvetan TSVETANOV (since 27 July 2009)

Cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly

Elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 22 and 29 October 2006 (next to be held in 2011); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) elected by the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly

Election Results: Georgi PARVANOV reelected president; percent of vote - Georgi PARVANOV 77.3%, Volen SIDEROV 22.7%; Boyko BORISSOV elected prime minister; result of legislative vote - 162 to 77 with 1 abstention

unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

Elections: last held on 5 July 2009 (next to be held in mid-2013)

Election Results: percent of vote by party - GERB 39.7%, BSP 17.7%, MRF 14.4%, ATAKA 9.4%, Blue Coalition 6.8%, RZS 4.1%, other 7.9%; seats by party - GERB 117, BSP 40, MRF 37, ATAKA 21, Blue Coalition 15, RZS 8, independents 2

independent judiciary comprised of judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates who are appointed, promoted, demoted, and dismissed by a 25-member Supreme Judicial Council (consists of the chairmen of the two Supreme Courts, the Chief Prosecutor, and 22 members, half of whom are elected by the National Assembly and the other half by the bodies of the judiciary for a 5-year term in office); three levels of case review; 182 courts of which two Supreme Courts act as the last instance on civil and criminal cases (the Supreme Court of Cassation) and appeals of government decisions (the Supreme Administrative Court)

Political Parties and Leaders: Agrarian National Union or ANU [Stefan LICHEV]; ATAKA (Attack party) [Volen SIDEROV]; Blue Coalition [Ivan KOSTOV and Martin DIMITROV] (a coalition of center-right parties dominated by UDF and DSB); Bulgarian New Democracy [Borislav RALCHEV]; Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria or GERB [Boyko BORISSOV]; Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB [Sergei STANISHEV] (coalition of parties dominated by BSP); Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria or DSB [Ivan KOSTOV]; Gergyovden [Petar STOYANOVICH]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or IMRO [Krasimir KARAKACHANOV]; Liberal Initiative for Democratic European Development or LIDER [Khristo KOVACHKI]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Stability and Progress or NDSV [Hristina HRISTOVA] (formerly National Movement Simeon II or NMS2); New Time [Emil KOSHLUKOV]; Order, Law, Justice or RZS [Yane YANEV]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Martin DIMITROV]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Agrarians [Anastasia MOZER]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation

Other: numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas

International Organization Participation: ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Flag Description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; the pan-Slavic white-blue-red colors were modified by substituting a green band (representing freedom) for the blue

Note: the national emblem, formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe, has been removed

GDP (purchasing power parity): $90.1 billion (2009 est.) Rank: 71

GDP - real growth rate: -5% (2009 est.) Rank: 185

GDP - per capita (PPP): $12,500 (2009 est.) Rank: 89

GDP - Composition by Sector: Agriculture: 7.5% Industry: 27.6% Services: 64.9% (2009 est.)

Labor Force: 3.2 million (2009 est.) Rank: 99

Labor force - by occupation: Agriculture: 7.5% Industry: 36.4% Services: 56.1% (2008 est.)

Unemployment Rate: 9.1% (2009) Rank: 105

Population below poverty line: 14% (2008)