Part 111

Land use: arable land: 34% permanent crops: 3% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 35% other: 10%

Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment: current 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 natural hazards: earthquakes, landslides international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Law of the Sea

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

People ------

Population: 8,612,757 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 17% (male 769,025; female 732,119) 15-64 years: 68% (male 2,891,197; female 2,923,440) 65 years and over: 15% (male 561,944; female 735,032) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.46% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 8.33 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 13.55 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 9.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 15.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71 years male: 67.07 years female: 75.12 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.17 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality: noun: Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian

Ethnic divisions: Bulgarian 85.3%, Turk 8.5%, Gypsy 2.6%, Macedonian 2.5%, Armenian 0.3%, Russian 0.2%, other 0.6%

Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox 85%, Muslim 13%, Jewish 0.8%, Roman Catholic 0.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 0.5%

Languages: Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1992 est.) total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97%

Government ----------

Name of country: conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria

Data code: BU

Type of government: emerging democracy

Capital: Sofia

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast); Burgas, Grad Sofiya, Khaskovo, Lovech, Montana, Plovdiv, Ruse, Sofiya, Varna

Independence: 22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)

National holiday: Independence Day, 3 March (1878)