nce 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 the EU. The country joined NATO in 2004.
Geography Bulgaria
Location:
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and
Turkey
Geographic coordinates:
43 00 N, 25 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 110,910 sq km
water: 360 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries:
total: 1,808 km
border countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km,
Serbia and Montenegro 318 km, Turkey 240 km
Coastline:
354 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:
temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers
Terrain:
mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 m
Natural resources:
bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 40.02%
permanent crops: 1.92%
other: 58.06% (2001)
Irrigated land:
8,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
earthquakes, landslides
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
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85,
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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulfur 94
Geography - note:
strategic location near Turkish Straits; con
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