Nation at a Glance - Bulgaria

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.

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

Border Countries: Greece 472 km, Macedonia 162 km, Romania 605 km, Serbia 344 km, Turkey 223 km

Total Area: 110,879 sq km Land: 108,489 sq km Water: 2,390 sq km

Climate: Temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers

Terrain: Mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast

Natural resources: Bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land

Land use: Agricultural land: 46.9% arable land 29.9%; permanent crops 1.5%; permanent pasture 15.5% Forest: 36.7% Other: 16.4% (2011 est.)

Ethnic groups: Bulgarian 76.9%, Turkish 8%, Roma 4.4%, Other 0.7% (including Russian, Armenian, and Vlach), Other (unknown) 10% (2011 est.)

Languages: Bulgarian (official) 76.8%, Turkish 8.2%, Roma 3.8%, Other 0.7%, Unspecified 10.5% (2011 est.)

Religions: Eastern Orthodox 59.4%, Muslim 7.8%, Other (including Catholic, Protestant, Armenian Apostolic Orthodox, and Jewish) 1.7%, None 3.7%, Unspecified 27.4% (2011 est.)

Population: 7,144,653 (July 2016 est.)

Literacy: 98.4%; Male: 98.7%; Female: 98.1% (2015 est.)

Administrative divisions: 28 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast); Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Haskovo, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Shumen, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Sofia-Grad (Sofia City), Stara Zagora, Targovishte, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Yambol

Economy: Bulgaria, a former communist country that entered the EU in 2007, has an open economy that historically has demonstrated strong growth, but its per-capita income remains the lowest among EU members and its reliance on energy imports and foreign demand for its exports makes its growth sensitive to external market conditions. The government undertook significant structural economic reforms in the 1990s to move the economy from a centralized, planned economy to a more liberal, market-driven economy. These reforms included privatization of state-owned enterprises, liberalization of trade, and strengthening of the tax system - changes that initially caused some economic hardships but later helped to attract investment, spur growth, and make gradual improvements to living conditions. From 2000 through 2008, Bulgaria maintained robust, average annual real GDP growth in excess of 6%, which was followed by a deep recession in 2009 as the financial crisis caused domestic demand, exports, capital inflows and industrial production to contract, prompting the government to rein in spending. Real GDP growth remained slow - less than 2% annually - until 2015, when demand from EU countries for Bulgarian exports, plus an inflow of EU development funds, boosted growth to more than 3%. In recent years, strong domestic demand combined with low international energy prices have contributed to Bulgaria’s economic growth approaching 4% and have also helped to ease inflation which turned positive in 2017. Bulgaria’s prudent public financial management contributed to a balanced budget in 2016 and a near-balanced budget for 2017. Bulgaria is heavily reliant on energy imports from Russia, a potential vulnerability, and is a participant in EU-backed efforts to diversify regional natural gas supplies. In late 2016, the Bulgarian Government provided funding to Bulgaria’s National Electric Company to cover the $695 million compensation owed to Russian nuclear equipment manufacturer Atomstroyexport for the cancellation of the Belene Nuclear Power Plant project, which the Bulgarian Government terminated in 2012. The natural gas market, however, continues to be dominated by state-owned Bulgargaz, which is almost entirely supplied by Russia. Infrastructure projects such as the Inter-Connector Greece-Bulgaria and Inter-Connector Bulgaria-Serbia, which would enable Bulgaria to have access to non-Russian gas, have either stalled or made limited progress. In 2016, the Bulgarian Government established the State eGovernment Agency. This new agency is responsible for the implementation of projects related to electronic governance as well as coordination of national policies in this area with the EU requirements and practices, as well as to strengthen cybersecurity. Despite a favorable investment regime, including low, flat corporate income taxes, significant challenges remain. Corruption in public administration, a weak judiciary, low productivity, and the presence of organized crime continue to hamper the country's investment climate and economic prospects.

Agriculture - products: Vegetables, fruits, tobacco, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets; livestock

Industries: Electricity, gas, water; food, beverages, tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel