ne: 354 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers

Terrain: mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast
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: 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: Bul