ear Turkish Straits; controls
key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia

@Bulgaria:People

Population: 8,290,988 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 17% (male 720,499; female 685,258)
15-64 years: 67% (male 2,769,288; female 2,823,431)
65 years and over: 16% (male 558,028; female 734,484) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.63% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 8.05 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 13.38 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years : 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 13.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.65 years
male: 68.06 years
female: 75.44 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.14 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian

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

@Bulgaria:Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria

Data code: BU

Government type: emerging democracy

National 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)

Constitution: adopted 12 July 1991

Legal system: based on civil law system with Soviet law influence;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Petar STOYANOV (since 22 January 1997); Vice
President Todor KAVALDZHIEV (since 22 January 1997)
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime
Minister) Ivan Kostov (since 19 May 1997); Deputy Prime Ministers
Aleksan