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BASIC DATA

Area, 110,910 km²
Population, 7,050,034 h (2018)
Density, 63.5 h / km2
Capital, Sofija (Sofia)
Languages: Bulgarian (official), Turkish.
Ethnic composition: Bulgarians 84.8%, Turks 8.8%, Gypsies 4.9%, Others (Russians, Armenians, Ukrainians,
Macedonians) 1.5% (est. 2011).
Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox 59.5%, Muslim 7.9%, others (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish) 1.7%, no
religion 31.1% (est. 2011).
Literacy rate, 98.7%
Human Development Index (HDI), 0.813 (UN-2018) (51st in the world).
Political system, parliamentary republic.

Vista parcial de Sofija/Sofía, capital de Bulgaria.

DEMOGRAPHIC INDICATORS

Birth rate, 8.7 ‰
Mortality rate, 14.5 ‰
Vegetative growth, -0.58%
Life expectancy at birth: men, 71.4 years; women, 78.2 years (est. 2017).

ECONOMY

Agriculture: cereals, forage plants, chickpeas, tobacco, potatoes, tomatoes, vegetables, fruits, vine.
Livestock: sheep, swine, bovine.
Mining: lignite, iron, copper, zinc, lead, manganese, phosphorite, uranium, bauxite, asbestos.
Industry: electrical, food, machinery, steel, chemicals, oil.
GDP per capita, $ 20,329 (2017)
Sectoral distribution of GDP:
• Agriculture, 4.3%
• Industry, 28%
• Services, 67.7% (2017 est.)
Foreign trade:
• Exports: electrical and chemical products, textiles, food, metals, energy.
  26,500 million dollars
• Imports: electronic and chemical products, oil, textiles, metals, vehicles, food.
  29,200 million dollars (2016)

HISTORY (XX-XXI centuries)

1908: Bulgaria declared itself independent of the Ottoman Empire and Ferdinand I took the title of Tsar.
1915: In the First World War the Bulgarian troops fought on the fronts of Romania and Greece.
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1918: The strong allied offensive in Macedonia forced Bulgaria to surrender and the king abdicated in favor of his
son Boris III.
1919: Alexander Stamboliiski occupied the position of head of the Government, that tried energetically to impose
agrarian reforms, with a view to limiting the benefits of capitalist industrial enterprises.
1923: The rightist parties grouped against Stamboliiski, and the Revolutionary Organization
Internal Macedonia carried out a coup d’etat, in which Stamboliiski was killed.
1934: Coup d’état organized by the political group «Zveno» and the League of Officers, who announced
a policy of hardness to deal with economic problems.
1938: Bulgaria proceeded to the rearmament, before its disputes with Rumania, Greece and Yugoslavia.
1941: Declared war to the United States, Great Britain and allied powers, except the USSR.
1943: King Boris III died and his six-year-old son Simeon II succeeded him.
1944: A new government broke its relations with Germany and approached the Allies, so the
USSR occupied the country and established a pro-Soviet regime.
1946: The Monarchy was abolished after a plebiscite, and days later the Republic was proclaimed.
1947: Bulgaria approved the new Constitution, which established a regime modeled on the Soviet. The
repression intensified with the absorption of social democracy by the Communist Party.
1949: Prime Minister Georgi Dimitrov died, succeeding him at the head of the Government V. Karalov.
1950-52: The Stalinist leadership of the Communist Party, led by Vălko Červenkov organized a
massive purge of 92,500 party militants and the deportation of 250,000 members of the Turkish minority.
1954: Todor Zhivkov became the first secretary of the Party.
1956: The full party condemned the so-called cult of personality, thus eliminating T. Zhivkov.
1968: Bulgaria, member of the Pact of Warsaw, participated in the invasion of Czechoslovakia.

1971: After the referendum a new Constitution was promulgated. Zhivkov was named president of the
State Council and Stanko Todorov became head of the Government.
1984-89: The bulgarization of names and other measures of forced assimilation of the Turkish minority
caused clashes that caused several hundred deaths. The Government lifted the
exit restrictions and some 300,000 Turks left the country.
1990: Multiparty elections were held, with the triumph of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (PSB). Before
a strong campaign of strikes and demonstrations P. Mladenov presented his resignation as president.
1991: Bulgaria adopted a democratic constitution and held legislative elections that gave the
victory to Union of Democratic Forces (UFD).
1992: Presidential re-election of Zhelev. Former President Zhivkov was sentenced to seven years of
jail for corruption and abuse of power.
1994: New legislative elections that returned power to the PSB.
1995: Zhan Videnov (PSB) went on to head the government.
1996: The strong economic crisis caused the triumph of UFD in the presidential elections, and Petar Stoyanov
He replaced Zhelev.
1997: General elections with Ivan Kostov as prime minister of the new Government, which adopted a
policy oriented to the application of economic and agrarian reforms, with the firm will to enter
in NATO and in the EU.
1998: Bulgaria focused its policy towards a progressive international opening establishing narrow
relations with Turkey, the support of the Government of Japan and the understanding with the United States.
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1999: Various Western governments compensated Bulgaria with additional financial assistance,
because of the war in Kosovo in neighboring Yugoslavia.
2000: The country was officially accepted by the European Union as a candidate for future incorporation.
2001: The Simeon II National Movement party won the parliamentary elections, and the former king
Simeón II became Prime Minister. However, there were numerous protests in the capital
against Simeon. Georgi Parvanov, of the Socialist Party won the presidential elections.
2004: Bulgaria was admitted to NATO.
2007: Bulgaria, together with Romania, was admitted by the European Union. The European Commission demanded
Bulgaria to expand its efforts to fight corruption.
2009: The Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria won the general election, and
Boiko Borisov became Prime Minister.
2010: Germany and France blocked Bulgaria’s entry into the Schengen treaty, claiming that
Bulgaria still had to make progress in its fight against corruption and organized crime.
2012: Bulgaria was the second European country to ban «fracking». There was a suicide attack, which
it ended with the lives of five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian driver.
2013: The president called elections, in which the Citizens for European Development
Bulgaria won again. However, the Socialist Party supported the technocratic coalition led by
Plamen Oresharski.
2014: Plamen Oresharski resigned, calling for early elections and Boiko Borisov returned to
become Prime Minister after forming a coalition with the Reformist Bloc.
2015: Bulgaria approved a plan to build a wall on its border with Turkey, to try to contain
the illegal flow of immigrants.
2016: The socialist Rumen Radev won the presidential elections, causing the resignation of Boiko
Borisov.

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