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

Environment - international 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
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

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

People
Bulgaria

Population:

7,262,675 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 13.8% (male 514,238/female 489,608)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 2,449,812/female 2,532,845)
65 years and over: 17.6% (male 520,962/female 755,210) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 41.1 years
male: 38.9 years
female: 43.4 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

-0.813% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

9.58 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

14.3 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

-3.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 18.51 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 14.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 72.83 years
male: 69.22 years
female: 76.66 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.4 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

346 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

100 (2001 est.)

Nationality:

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)

Religions