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Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey.
In the late 1300s the Bulgarians were overrun by the Ottoman Empire, from which they acquired their independence in 1908. They were on the losing side in both world wars and were occupied by the Soviet army at the end of World War II. They were within the Soviet sphere of influence until the collapse of communism in Europe around 1990. In 2004 they joined NATO.
Bulgaria is a parliamentary democracy.
Figures unless otherwise stated are from the CIA Factbook.
Factbook: "Bulgaria, a former Communist country that entered the EU on 1 January 2007, has experienced strong growth since a major economic downturn in 1996. Successive governments have demonstrated a commitment to economic reforms and responsible fiscal planning, but have failed so far to rein in rising inflation and large current account deficits."
2009: $12,600
2008: $13,100
2007 $12,200
2009: -4.9%
2008: 6.1%
2007: 6.2%
2009: 9.1%
2008: 6.3%
Inflation rate, 2009: 1.6%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
2008: top ten percent of the population, 24.1%; bottom ten percent, 2.9%.
Agriculture has been 12.5 percent of its GDP, declining as of the 2004 estimate to 11.5 percent.
2003: 14.3%
2004: 12.7 %
Living in an urban area: 71% (2008)
July 2009: 7.20 million. Growth rate: -0.79%
July 2008: 7.26 million
July 2005: 7.45 million.
2009: More leaving than arriving; a net loss of 3.11 persons per 1,000 population.
2008: More leaving than arriving; a net loss of 3.41 persons per 1,000, population
2009: 17.87 (ranks 112th)
2008: 18.51
2005: 20.55
2009: 73.09
2008: 72.83
2005: 72.03
Living with HIV/AIDS, ages 15 to 49: less than 0.1 percent (2001).
Turkic people from Central Asia mixed with local Slavic people in the late 600s.
SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
Copyright © 2010 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.