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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Bulgaria
Index
The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP), which renamed itself the
Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) several months after the fall of
Zhivkov, boasted one of the highest membership-to-population ratios
(one in nine Bulgarians) in any communist country in the late
1980s. Between 1958 and 1987, membership grew by 442,000, mainly by
adding bureaucrats and blue-collar workers in younger age groups.
In 1986 women made up 32.7 percent of party membership but few
women held high positions. The proportion of worker members had
grown to 44.4 percent by 1986, and the proportion of farm members
had dropped to 16.3 percent, reflecting an even sharper drop in the
overall farming population of Bulgaria (see
table 20, Appendix).
Party recruitment in the 1980s targeted individuals already
successful in public or economic life, and the proportion of whitecollar members increased in that decade.
In 1987 the BCP was organized into 2,900 local units. Until
1990 primary party organizations were based primarily in
workplaces. The next level in the hierarchy was municipal
organizations, which were overseen by city or province and
ultimately national bodies. At every level, party and government
personnel were closely interwoven, and the principle of democratic
centralism kept the lower levels strictly subordinate to the
national party. The primary organizations were charged with
recruitment and mobilization. A major concession by the postZhivkov party was removal of party cells from all state offices,
the judiciary, educational and health agencies, as well as all
nongovernmental workplaces--a concession forced by the UDF's threat
to boycott the round table negotiations that would set a national
agenda for political reform early in 1990. That change
significantly altered the primary level of party organization.
Until 1990 the top level of party leadership was the Politburo,
of which Zhivkov was general secretary. That position had been
abolished in the 1950s in the BCP as part of de-Stalinization. It
was restored in 1981, however, to recognize Zhivkov's long service
and conform to Soviet restoration under Leonid Brezhnev. Politburo
members usually were selected from the central committee and
nominally elected by party congresses, which normally met every
five years. In 1986 the Thirteenth Party Congress elected an
eleven-member Politburo dominated by party loyalists of Zhivkov's
generation but supplemented by a few younger specialists in
politics and economics. Following tradition, the 1986 congress made
few changes in the previous Politburo. The party congresses were
nominally the top policy-making body of the party, but, like the
National Assembly, they rubber-stamped decisions handed them by the
party elite.
The BCP hierarchy also included the Central Committee, whose
members the congress unanimously approved from candidates supplied
by the party leadership. Through a number of specialized
departments, the Central Committee performed administrative party
work between sessions of congress. After considerable size
variation, the last Central Committee included 190 members and 131
candidate members in early 1990. The third elite group was the BCP
Secretariat, a group somewhat smaller than the Politburo (its
number also varied during the Zhivkov years), entrusted with
implementing party policy.
Membership in the BCP required recommendation by three
established members; if accepted at the primary and next-highest
level, a candidate received full membership with no probationary
period. Criminal or unethical behavior caused withdrawal of
membership. Without benefit of explanation, a varying number of
members also failed to receive the new party cards issued before
each party congress. Abrupt purging of cadre and membership
elements deemed potentially hostile to current programs was a
procedure that Zhivkov used with great skill to balance and weaken
opposition forces throughout his tenure in office.
The fall of Zhivkov brought immediate and dramatic changes in
the BCP, including removal of the word "communist" from its name.
The Extraordinary Fourteenth Party Congress of the BCP was held in
the winter of 1990, over a year sooner than scheduled. That
congress abolished the Central Committee and the Politburo in favor
of a Supreme Party Council headed by a presidency. To streamline
party activity, the new council had only 131 members, 59 fewer than
the last Central Committee. The Secretariat was abolished. The
party emerged from the congress with significant splits between
reform and conservative factions and a new temporary program. Only
about 10 percent of previous Central Committee members became
members of the new Supreme Party Council; several party stalwarts
who had survived the Zhivkov overthrow, including Prime Minister
Atanasov, were not elected. The BCP's constitutional guarantee of
the leading role in Bulgarian society already had been abolished.
In a compromise with the UDF shortly after the congress, party
organizations were banned from workplaces and the armed forces. The
BSP had full control of the government (the UDF refused to form a
coalition both before and after the 1990 elections), but BSP
popularity and power ebbed rapidly during 1990 and 1991. By the
first anniversary of Zhivkov's resignation, party membership had
decreased to an estimated 250,000. (Membership had been reported as
984,000 at the time of the Fourteenth Party Congress.)
Data as of June 1992
Until 1989 the BCP exerted firm control over such
nongovernmental political institutions as trade unions, youth
groups, women's groups, and the nominally oppositionist BANU. The
ouster of Zhivkov, however, brought a torrent of new and revived
groups into the political arena. In the new open political climate,
the groups' fragmented constituencies often spoke loudly for their
own special interests, greatly complicating the process of
coalition-building and compromise needed to accomplish national
reform.
The Bulgarian Communist (Socialist) Party
The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP), which renamed itself the
Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) several months after the fall of
Zhivkov, boasted one of the highest membership-to-population ratios
(one in nine Bulgarians) in any communist country in the late
1980s. Between 1958 and 1987, membership grew by 442,000, mainly by
adding bureaucrats and blue-collar workers in younger age groups.
In 1986 women made up 32.7 percent of party membership but few
women held high positions. The proportion of worker members had
grown to 44.4 percent by 1986, and the proportion of farm members
had dropped to 16.3 percent, reflecting an even sharper drop in the
overall farming population of Bulgaria (see
table 20, Appendix).
Party recruitment in the 1980s targeted individuals already
successful in public or economic life, and the proportion of whitecollar members increased in that decade.
In 1987 the BCP was organized into 2,900 local units. Until
1990 primary party organizations were based primarily in
workplaces. The next level in the hierarchy was municipal
organizations, which were overseen by city or province and
ultimately national bodies. At every level, party and government
personnel were closely interwoven, and the principle of democratic
centralism kept the lower levels strictly subordinate to the
national party. The primary organizations were charged with
recruitment and mobilization. A major concession by the postZhivkov party was removal of party cells from all state offices,
the judiciary, educational and health agencies, as well as all
nongovernmental workplaces--a concession forced by the UDF's threat
to boycott the round table negotiations that would set a national
agenda for political reform early in 1990. That change
significantly altered the primary level of party organization.
Until 1990 the top level of party leadership was the Politburo,
of which Zhivkov was general secretary. That position had been
abolished in the 1950s in the BCP as part of de-Stalinization. It
was restored in 1981, however, to recognize Zhivkov's long service
and conform to Soviet restoration under Leonid Brezhnev. Politburo
members usually were selected from the central committee and
nominally elected by party congresses, which normally met every
five years. In 1986 the Thirteenth Party Congress elected an
eleven-member Politburo dominated by party loyalists of Zhivkov's
generation but supplemented by a few younger specialists in
politics and economics. Following tradition, the 1986 congress made
few changes in the previous Politburo. The party congresses were
nominally the top policy-making body of the party, but, like the
National Assembly, they rubber-stamped decisions handed them by the
party elite.
The BCP hierarchy also included the Central Committee, whose
members the congress unanimously approved from candidates supplied
by the party leadership. Through a number of specialized
departments, the Central Committee performed administrative party
work between sessions of congress. After considerable size
variation, the last Central Committee included 190 members and 131
candidate members in early 1990. The third elite group was the BCP
Secretariat, a group somewhat smaller than the Politburo (its
number also varied during the Zhivkov years), entrusted with
implementing party policy.
Membership in the BCP required recommendation by three
established members; if accepted at the primary and next-highest
level, a candidate received full membership with no probationary
period. Criminal or unethical behavior caused withdrawal of
membership. Without benefit of explanation, a varying number of
members also failed to receive the new party cards issued before
each party congress. Abrupt purging of cadre and membership
elements deemed potentially hostile to current programs was a
procedure that Zhivkov used with great skill to balance and weaken
opposition forces throughout his tenure in office.
The fall of Zhivkov brought immediate and dramatic changes in
the BCP, including removal of the word "communist" from its name.
The Extraordinary Fourteenth Party Congress of the BCP was held in
the winter of 1990, over a year sooner than scheduled. That
congress abolished the Central Committee and the Politburo in favor
of a Supreme Party Council headed by a presidency. To streamline
party activity, the new council had only 131 members, 59 fewer than
the last Central Committee. The Secretariat was abolished. The
party emerged from the congress with significant splits between
reform and conservative factions and a new temporary program. Only
about 10 percent of previous Central Committee members became
members of the new Supreme Party Council; several party stalwarts
who had survived the Zhivkov overthrow, including Prime Minister
Atanasov, were not elected. The BCP's constitutional guarantee of
the leading role in Bulgarian society already had been abolished.
In a compromise with the UDF shortly after the congress, party
organizations were banned from workplaces and the armed forces. The
BSP had full control of the government (the UDF refused to form a
coalition both before and after the 1990 elections), but BSP
popularity and power ebbed rapidly during 1990 and 1991. By the
first anniversary of Zhivkov's resignation, party membership had
decreased to an estimated 250,000. (Membership had been reported as
984,000 at the time of the Fourteenth Party Congress.)
Data as of June 1992
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Background | | The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Northern Bulgaria attained autonomy in 1878 and all of Bulgaria became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1908. Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multiparty election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. The country joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007.
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Location | | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey
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Area(sq km) | | total: 110,879 sq km
land: 108,489 sq km
water: 2,390 sq km
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Geographic coordinates | | 43 00 N, 25 00 E
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Land boundaries(km) | | total: 1,808 km
border countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia 318 km, Turkey 240 km
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Coastline(km) | | 354 km
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Climate | | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers
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Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 m
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Natural resources | | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land
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Land use(%) | | arable land: 29.94%
permanent crops: 1.9%
other: 68.16% (2005)
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Irrigated land(sq km) | | 5,880 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 19.4 cu km (2005)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 6.92 cu km/yr (3%/78%/19%)
per capita: 895 cu m/yr (2003)
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Natural hazards | | earthquakes; landslides
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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
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Environment - international agreements | | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note | | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia
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Population | | 7,204,687 (July 2009 est.)
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Age structure(%) | | 0-14 years: 13.8% (male 509,544/female 484,816)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 2,426,060/female 2,508,772)
65 years and over: 17.7% (male 518,711/female 756,784) (2009 est.)
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Median age(years) | | total: 41.4 years
male: 39.2 years
female: 43.6 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate(%) | | -0.79% (2009 est.)
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Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 9.51 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 14.31 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
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Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | -3.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 71% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: -0.3% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 17.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.28 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 14.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 73.09 years
male: 69.48 years
female: 76.91 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 1.41 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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Nationality | | noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian
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Ethnic groups(%) | | Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001 census)
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Religions(%) | | Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, other Christian 1.2%, other 4% (2001 census)
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Languages(%) | | Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)
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Country name | | conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria
local long form: Republika Balgariya
local short form: Balgariya
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Government type | | parliamentary democracy
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Capital | | name: Sofia
geographic coordinates: 42 41 N, 23 19 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
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Administrative divisions | | 28 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast); Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Khaskovo, Kurdzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Shumen, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofiya, Sofiya-Grad, Stara Zagora, Turgovishte, Varna, Veliko Turnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Yambol
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Constitution | | adopted 12 July 1991
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Legal system | | civil and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
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Suffrage | | 18 years of age; universal
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Executive branch | | chief of state: President Georgi PARVANOV (since 22 January 2002); Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Boyko BORISSOV (since 27 July 2009); Deputy Prime Ministers Simeon DJANKOV and Tsvetan TSVETANOV (since 27 July 2009);
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 22 and 29 October 2006 (next to be held in 2011); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) elected by the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly
election results: Georgi PARVANOV reelected president; percent of vote - Georgi PARVANOV 77.3%, Volen SIDEROV 22.7%; Boyko BORISSOV elected prime minister, result of legislative vote - 162 to 77 with 1 abstension
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Legislative branch | | unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 5 July 2009 (next to be held mid-2013)
election results: percent of vote by party - GERB 39.7%, BSP 17.7%, MRF 14.4%, ATAKA 9.4%, Blue Coalition 6.8%, RZS 4.1%, other 7.9%; seats by party - GERB 116, BSP 40, MRF 38, ATAKA 21, Blue Coalition 15, RZS 10
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Judicial branch | | independent judiciary comprised of judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates who are appointed, promoted, demoted, and dismissed by a 25-member Supreme Judicial Council (consists of the chairmen of the two Supreme Courts, the Chief Prosecutor, and 22 members, half of whom are elected by the National Assembly and the other half by the bodies of the judiciary for a 5-year term in office); three levels of case review; 182 courts of which two Supreme Courts act as the last instance on civil and criminal cases (the Supreme Court of Cassation) and appeals of government decisions (the Supreme Administrative Court)
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Political pressure groups and leaders | | Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation
other: numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas
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International organization participation | | ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
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Flag description | | three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; the pan-Slavic white-blue-red colors were modified by substituting a green band (representing freedom) for the blue
note: the national emblem, formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe, has been removed
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Economy - overview | | 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. Bulgaria has averaged more than 6% growth since 2004, attracting significant amounts of foreign direct investment, but corruption in the public administration, a weak judiciary, and the presence of organized crime remain significant challenges.
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GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $93.98 billion (2008 est.)
$88.66 billion (2007 est.)
$83.48 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP (official exchange rate) | | $49.9 billion (2008)
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GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 6% (2008 est.)
6.2% (2007 est.)
6.3% (2006 est.)
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GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $12,900 (2008 est.)
$12,100 (2007 est.)
$11,300 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 7.3%
industry: 30.5%
services: 62.2% (2008 est.)
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Labor force | | 2.67 million (2008 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 7.5%
industry: 35.5%
services: 57% (2007 est.)
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Unemployment rate(%) | | 6.3% (2008 est.)
7.7% (2007 est.)
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Population below poverty line(%) | | 14.1% (2003 est.)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.5% (2007)
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Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 30.7 (2007)
26.4 (2001)
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Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 33.4% of GDP (2008 est.)
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Budget | | revenues: $22.24 billion
expenditures: $20.74 billion (2008 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 12.3% (2008 est.)
9.8% (2007 est.)
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Stock of money | | $14.29 billion (31 December 2008)
$15.58 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of quasi money | | $19.67 billion (31 December 2008)
$17.03 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of domestic credit | | $32.04 billion (31 December 2008)
$25.18 billion (31 December 2007)
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Market value of publicly traded shares | | $8.858 billion (31 December 2008)
$21.79 billion (31 December 2007)
$10.32 billion (31 December 2006)
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Economic aid - recipient | | $742 million (2005-06 est.)
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Public debt(% of GDP) | | 14.1% of GDP (2008 est.)
41.9% of GDP (2004 est.)
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Agriculture - products | | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets; livestock
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Industries | | electricity, gas, water; food, beverages, tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel
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Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 1.5% (2008 est.)
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Current account balance | | -$12.65 billion (2008 est.)
-$8.716 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports | | $22.71 billion (2008 est.)
$18.58 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports - commodities(%) | | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels
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Exports - partners(%) | | Greece 9.9%, Germany 9.2%, Turkey 8.9%, Italy 8.5%, Romania 7.2%, Belgium 5.9%, France 4.1% (2008)
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Imports | | $35.64 billion (2008 est.)
$28.65 billion (2007 est.)
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Imports - commodities(%) | | machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials
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Imports - partners(%) | | Russia 14.6%, Germany 11.8%, Italy 7.9%, Ukraine 7.3%, Romania 5.6%, Turkey 5.5%, Greece 5.4%, Austria 4.1% (2008)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $17.93 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$17.54 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Debt - external | | $51.46 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$42.62 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | | $42.91 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$33.91 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | | $1.292 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$559 million (31 December 2007 est.)
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Exchange rates | | leva (BGN) per US dollar - 1.3171 (2008 est.), 1.4366 (2007), 1.5576 (2006), 1.5741 (2005), 1.5751 (2004)
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Currency (code) | | lev (BGN)
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Telephones - main lines in use | | 2.258 million (2008)
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Telephones - mobile cellular | | 10.633 million (2008)
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Telephone system | | general assessment: an extensive but antiquated telecommunications network inherited from the Soviet era; quality has improved; the Bulgaria Telecommunications Company's fixed-line monopoly terminated in 2005 when alternative fixed-line operators were given access to its network; a drop in fixed-line connections in recent years has been more than offset by a sharp increase in mobile-cellular telephone use fostered by multiple service providers; the number of cellular telephone subscriptions now greatly exceeds the population
domestic: a fairly modern digital cable trunk line now connects switching centers in most of the regions; the others are connected by digital microwave radio relay
international: country code - 359; submarine cable provides connectivity to Ukraine and Russia; a combination submarine cable and land fiber-optic system provides connectivity to Italy, Albania, and Macedonia; satellite earth stations - 3 (1 Intersputnik in the Atlantic Ocean region, 2 Intelsat in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (2008)
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Internet country code | | .bg
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Internet users | | 2.647 million (2008)
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Airports | | 212 (2009)
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Pipelines(km) | | gas 2,926 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2008)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 40,231 km
paved: 39,587 km (includes 331 km of expressways)
unpaved: 644 km (2005)
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Ports and terminals | | Burgas, Varna
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Military branches | | Bulgarian Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Bulgarian Air Forces (Bulgarski Voennovazdyshni Sily, BVVS) (2009)
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 18-27 years of age for voluntary military service; as of May 2006, 67% of the Bulgarian Army comprised of professional soldiers; conscription ended January 2008; Air Forces and Naval Forces became fully professional at the end of 2006 (2008)
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,701,979
females age 16-49: 1,691,092 (2008 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,351,312
females age 16-49: 1,381,017 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 38,263
female: 36,374 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 2.6% of GDP (2005 est.)
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Disputes - international | | none
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 40.25 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 47.8%
hydro: 8.1%
nuclear: 44.1%
other: 0% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 31.08 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 8.441 billion kWh (2008 est.)
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Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 3.097 billion kWh (2008 est.)
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Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 3,357 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 124,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 76,570 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 189,000 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 15 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 300 million cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 3.4 billion cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
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Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 5.663 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 346 (2001 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths | | 100 (2001 est.)
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Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.2%
male: 98.7%
female: 97.7% (2001 census)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 14 years
male: 13 years
female: 14 years (2006)
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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 4.5% of GDP (2005)
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