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Bulgaria-Traditional Society

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Bulgaria Index

Town of Melnik in Pirin Mountains
Courtesy Sam and Sarah Stulberg

Traditional Bulgarian society had three classes: the peasants (almost everyone in the villages), the chorbadzhii (a small wealthy class that owned large tracts of land and hired peasants to work them), and the esnafi (skilled tradespeople in towns, who later became the bourgeoisie). Most references to traditional Bulgarian society described village or peasant society, because until the communist era the great majority of Bulgarians were peasants.

The most important institution of traditional Bulgarian society was the zadruga, an extended family composed of ten to twenty small families, related by blood, who lived and worked together, owned property jointly, and recognized the authority of a single patriarch. The extended family most often included four generations of men, the wives whom those men brought into the household through marriage, and the children produced through those marriages. Once a girl married, she would leave the zadruga of her parents for that of her husband. No member of the zadruga had any personal property other than clothes or the women's dowries.

Traditional Bulgarian society was strongly patriarchal. The zadruga leader, called the "old man" or the "lord of the house," had absolute power over his family and was treated with the utmost respect. He was considered the wisest because he had lived the longest. His duties included managing the purchase and sale of all household property; division of labor among zadruga members; and settling personal disputes. Older men within the household could offer advice, but the "old man" had the final word. Obligatory signs of familial respect included rising whenever he appeared and eating only after he had begun and before he had finished his meal. The "old man's" wife (or the senior woman if he were widowed) had similar authority over traditional women's activities such as tending the garden, observing holiday rituals, and sewing. The senior woman commanded similar respect from zadruga members, but she was never allowed to interfere in functions designated for men.

When a zadruga broke up (normally because it became too large for easy management), property was divided equally among its members. Before the twentieth century, many villages were formed as outgrowths of an enlarged zadruga. The largest of the extended family organizations in Bulgaria began breaking up in the 1840s. At that time, the Ottoman Empire instituted new inheritance laws that did not take zadruga property patterns into account. A second stage of fragmentation occurred as the expectation of automatic integration into the extended family gradually weakened in younger generations: sons began leaving the zadruga at the death of the "old man," and newly arrived wives failed to adjust to the traditional system. As a result of such pressures, smaller households began to proliferate in the nineteenth century.

The zadruga breakup accelerated after Bulgaria gained its independence and began instituting Western-style laws that gave women equal inheritance rights, although in many parts of Bulgaria women did not begin demanding their legal inheritance until well into the twentieth century. The disintegration of large family holdings gradually led to the impoverishment of the peasants as land ownership became more fragmented and scattered with each generation. The durability of the extended family was reflected in the 1934 census, however, which still listed a category of household size as "thirty-one and over." Furthermore, even after extended families broke up, many peasants continued to work cooperatively.

The familial system sometimes extended to include godparents and adopted brothers and sisters--unrelated individuals enjoying the same status as close relatives. Godparenthood included another set of traditional relationships that knit village society together. Godparents kept close ties with their godchildren throughout their lives, and the godparent/godchild relationship could be transferred from generation to generation. Godparents were treated with the utmost respect and had an important role in all important events in a godchild's life, beginning with baptism. The familial relationship was so strong that a taboo developed against the marriage of children related to the same family only through godparenthood.

After the decline of the zadruga, the patriarchal system continued to flourish in the smaller families, where husbands gained ownership of family property and all the patriarchal status the old men once had. The status of wives remained distinctly secondary. Upon marriage a woman still severed all ties with her family if her husband's family lived in another village. Thus, couples always looked forward to the birth of sons rather than daughters because sons always would remain family members. Men traditionally married between the ages of twenty and twenty-two; women, between eighteen and twenty. In areas where daughters were needed as laborers at home, marriage might be postponed until age twenty-five. Arranged marriages, common until the communist era, persisted in the most traditional villages until the 1960s.

Only in the twentieth century did men begin to consult their wives in family decisions. Until that time, wives were expected to give blind obedience to their husbands. A woman who dared question or interfere in a man's work was universally condemned. Women waited for a man to pass rather than crossing his path, and wives often walked with heavy loads while their husbands rode on horseback. The wife was responsible for all work inside the house and for helping her husband in the field as well.

Children typically began to share in household work at the age of five or six. At that age, girls began to do household work, and by age twelve they had usually mastered most of the traditional household skills. By age twelve or thirteen, boys were expected to do the same field work as adults. Alternatively, boys might begin learning a trade such as tailoring or blacksmithing at six or seven. As the size of farmland parcels diminished and field labor became less critical, more families sent children away from home to learn trades. Village boys apprenticed in cities sometimes became accustomed to city life and did not return to the village.

Data as of June 1992

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.
Location		Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey
Area(sq km)		total: 110,879 sq km land: 108,489 sq km water: 2,390 sq km
Geographic coordinates		43 00 N, 25 00 E
Land boundaries(km)		total: 1,808 km border countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia 318 km, Turkey 240 km
Coastline(km)		354 km
Climate		temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers
Elevation extremes(m)		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: 29.94% permanent crops: 1.9% other: 68.16% (2005)
Irrigated land(sq km)		5,880 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources(cu km)		19.4 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)		total: 6.92 cu km/yr (3%/78%/19%) per capita: 895 cu m/yr (2003)
Natural hazards		earthquakes; landslides
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
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
Geography - note		strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia
Population		7,204,687 (July 2009 est.)
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.)
Median age(years)		total: 41.4 years male: 39.2 years female: 43.6 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate(%)		-0.79% (2009 est.)
Birth rate(births/1,000 population)		9.51 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death rate(deaths/1,000 population)		14.31 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population)		-3.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Urbanization(%)		urban population: 71% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: -0.3% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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.)
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.)
Life expectancy at birth(years)		total population: 73.09 years male: 69.48 years female: 76.91 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate(children born/woman)		1.41 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Nationality		noun: Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian
Ethnic groups(%)		Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001 census)
Religions(%)		Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, other Christian 1.2%, other 4% (2001 census)
Languages(%)		Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)
Country name		conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria local long form: Republika Balgariya local short form: Balgariya
Government type		parliamentary democracy
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
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
Constitution		adopted 12 July 1991
Legal system		civil and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Suffrage		18 years of age; universal
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
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
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)
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
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
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
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.
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
GDP (official exchange rate)		$49.9 billion (2008)
GDP - real growth rate(%)		6% (2008 est.) 6.2% (2007 est.) 6.3% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)		$12,900 (2008 est.) $12,100 (2007 est.) $11,300 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector(%)		agriculture: 7.3% industry: 30.5% services: 62.2% (2008 est.)
Labor force		2.67 million (2008 est.)
Labor force - by occupation(%)		agriculture: 7.5% industry: 35.5% services: 57% (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate(%)		6.3% (2008 est.) 7.7% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line(%)		14.1% (2003 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share(%)		lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 25.5% (2007)
Distribution of family income - Gini index		30.7 (2007) 26.4 (2001)
Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP)		33.4% of GDP (2008 est.)
Budget		revenues: $22.24 billion expenditures: $20.74 billion (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%)		12.3% (2008 est.) 9.8% (2007 est.)
Stock of money		$14.29 billion (31 December 2008) $15.58 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money		$19.67 billion (31 December 2008) $17.03 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit		$32.04 billion (31 December 2008) $25.18 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares		$8.858 billion (31 December 2008) $21.79 billion (31 December 2007) $10.32 billion (31 December 2006)
Economic aid - recipient		$742 million (2005-06 est.)
Public debt(% of GDP)		14.1% of GDP (2008 est.) 41.9% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products		vegetables, fruits, tobacco, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets; livestock
Industries		electricity, gas, water; food, beverages, tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel
Industrial production growth rate(%)		1.5% (2008 est.)
Current account balance		-$12.65 billion (2008 est.) -$8.716 billion (2007 est.)
Exports		$22.71 billion (2008 est.) $18.58 billion (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities(%)		clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels
Exports - partners(%)		Greece 9.9%, Germany 9.2%, Turkey 8.9%, Italy 8.5%, Romania 7.2%, Belgium 5.9%, France 4.1% (2008)
Imports		$35.64 billion (2008 est.) $28.65 billion (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities(%)		machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials
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)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold		$17.93 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $17.54 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external		$51.46 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $42.62 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home		$42.91 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $33.91 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad		$1.292 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $559 million (31 December 2007 est.)
Exchange rates		leva (BGN) per US dollar - 1.3171 (2008 est.), 1.4366 (2007), 1.5576 (2006), 1.5741 (2005), 1.5751 (2004)
Currency (code)		lev (BGN)
Telephones - main lines in use		2.258 million (2008)
Telephones - mobile cellular		10.633 million (2008)
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)
Internet country code		.bg
Internet users		2.647 million (2008)
Airports		212 (2009)
Pipelines(km)		gas 2,926 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2008)
Roadways(km)		total: 40,231 km paved: 39,587 km (includes 331 km of expressways) unpaved: 644 km (2005)
Ports and terminals		Burgas, Varna
Military branches		Bulgarian Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Bulgarian Air Forces (Bulgarski Voennovazdyshni Sily, BVVS) (2009)
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)
Manpower available for military service		males age 16-49: 1,701,979 females age 16-49: 1,691,092 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service		males age 16-49: 1,351,312 females age 16-49: 1,381,017 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually		male: 38,263 female: 36,374 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures(% of GDP)		2.6% of GDP (2005 est.)
Disputes - international		none
Electricity - production(kWh)		40.25 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source(%)		fossil fuel: 47.8% hydro: 8.1% nuclear: 44.1% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption(kWh)		31.08 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - exports(kWh)		8.441 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports(kWh)		3.097 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production(bbl/day)		3,357 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - consumption(bbl/day)		124,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - exports(bbl/day)		76,570 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - imports(bbl/day)		189,000 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - proved reserves(bbl)		15 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
Natural gas - production(cu m)		300 million cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - consumption(cu m)		3.4 billion cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - exports(cu m)		0 cu m (2008)
Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m)		5.663 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%)		less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS		346 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths		100 (2001 est.)
Literacy(%)		definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.2% male: 98.7% female: 97.7% (2001 census)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years)		total: 14 years male: 13 years female: 14 years (2006)
Education expenditures(% of GDP)		4.5% of GDP (2005)