To see our current resources, please visit:
Environmental Resources | Health Resources | Regional Resources | Okno Home

---

Bulgaria

General Background

Population: 8.78 million (July 1995)

Area: 110,550 square kilometers (42,672 sq. miles)

Capital: Sofia (population 1,141,140)

Other cities: Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Ruse

Language: Bulgarian

Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox (85%), Muslim (13%), Jewish (0.8%), Roman Catholic (0.5%), Protestant (0.5%)

Economy and Economic Data

GDP per capita: US$1,075 (1996)

Currency: lev ( 238 leva = US$1, November 1996)

Average wage: $ per month

Major industries: coal, processed foods, machinery, chemicals, metals

Agriculture: wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflowers, tobacco, fruit

Natural resources: bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land

Government

Constitutional Parliamentary Democracy -- parliament and president, both directly elected

Head of State: President Petar Stoyanov (elected November 1996)

Prime Minister:

Parliament: unicameral

Government coalition:

Elections: last held April 1997

Treaties and Agreements in Force

European Union: Associate member agreement, March 1993

OECD: no

Central European Free Trade Agreement: no

World Trade Organization: no

GATT: no

EFTA: free trade agreement, July 1993

Most-Favored-Nation status with United States: yes (Bilateral Trade Agreement with U.S.)

General System of Preferences with United States: yes

International environmental agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution -Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, 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, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

Recent policy developments in Bulgaria

Articles related to Bulgaria in the East/West Letter

• "Bulgarian Currency Crisis: Tight Money will add to Pain of Delayed Reforms" by Lynda Maillet, January/February 1997.
• "Privatization Watch: Bulgarian voucher auctions begin in October" in September/October 1996.
• "Black Sea Promises Black Gold" in July/August 1996.
• "Bulgaria passes new clean air law" [brief] in July/August 1996.
• "Tax changes in Bulgaria" [brief] in July/August 1996.
• "Bulgaria Launches Voucher Program: Citizens, Burned by Ponzi Schemes, Are Wary" by Lynda Maillet, March/April 1996.
• "Bulgaria joins Basel Convention on hazardous waste" [brief] in March/April 1996.
• "Environmental Monitor: Funds to protect ozone" [brief] in December/January 1995/6.
• "Back, By Popular Demand...: Bulgarians Hand Socialists Election Victory" by Jeffery Brown, January/February 1995.
• "Bulgaria Braces for Elections: Post-Communist Party Expected to Win" by Jeffery Brown, November/December 1994.
• "Reform Speeds up in East Europe: Privatization update, part I" by Lynda Maillet in January/February 1994.
• "Environmental Law in East Europe: Legislation Update: Catching Up with the West" in Winter 1993.
• "Tax Trends: Taxation in East Europe and the ex-USSR" [Legislation Update], Summer 1992.
• "Cleaning Up is Hard to Do: Foreign Investment & the Environment in Eastern Europe" by Lynda Maillet in Spring 1992.

Links to other Bulgaria-related web sites

Copyright (c)1997 Okno Group