General background: 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. Bulgaria regained its independence
in 1878, but having fought on the losing side in both
World Wars, it 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. Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria
on a path toward eventual integration into NATO and
the EU - with which it began accession negotiations
in 2000.
Area comparative: Slightly
larger than Tennessee
Climate: Temperate;
cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers
Terrain:
Mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast
Population: 7,621,337 (July 2002 est.)
Ethnic groups: Bulgarian 83.6%, Turk 9.5%,
Roma 4.6%, other 2.3% (including Macedonian, Armenian,
Tatar, Circassian) (1998)
Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox 83.8%, Muslim
12.1%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, Jewish 0.8%, Protestant,
Gregorian-Armenian, and other 1.6% (1998)
Language: Bulgarian, secondary languages closely
correspond to ethnic breakdown.
Government type: Parliamentary democracy
Capital: Sofia
Legal system: Civil law and criminal law based
on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.
Economic overview: Bulgaria, a former communist
country striving to enter the European Union, has
experienced macroeconomic stability and positive growth
rates since a major economic downturn in 1996 led
to the fall of the then socialist government. The
current government, elected in 2001, has pledged to
maintain the fundamental economic policy objectives
of its predecessor, i.e., retaining the Currency Board,
practicing sound financial policies, accelerating
privatisation, and pursuing structural reforms. A
$300 million stand-by agreement negotiated with the
IMF at the end of 2001 will help the government maintain
economic stability as it seeks to overcome high rates
of poverty and unemployment.
Communication/Telephone system: Extensive
but antiquated, more than two-thirds of the lines
are residential; telephone service is available in
most villages; a fairly modern digital cable trunk
line now connects switching centres in most of the
regions, the others are connected by digital microwave
radio relay. Direct dialling to 58 countries; satellite
earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region);
2 Intelsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions).
Places of interest: Enjoy Bulgaria's dramatic
mountains, haven-like monasteries, churches, mosques,
Roman and Byzantine ruins, and the excellent coffee
you'll be offered wherever you go.
Travel Tips: What high inflation means for
visitors with stronger currencies (that's most of
you), is that the ski and beach resorts are ridiculously
cheap.
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