Bulgaria - geografic characterization
Area: 110,993.6 sq km
Population: 7,973, 673 (2001)
Capital city: Sofia
Official language: Bulgarian
Alphabet: Cyrillic
Religion: There is freedom of religious confessions. Traditional religion in the Republic of
Bulgaria is Eastern Orthodox Christianity
National holiday: March 3, the day of the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman domination
(1878)
Monetary unit: the Bulgarian Lev
Administrative division: 28 regions, named after their respective regional centres.
State system: a parliamentary republic with a one-chamber parliament (National Assembly),
consisting of 240 national representatives, elected for a four-year term of service. The head of
state of the republic is the President, elected for a five-year term of service. The Council of
Ministers is the main body of executive power.
Relief: most diverse. Average height above sea level ? 470 m. Some 31.5% of the country?s
territory is plain (up to 200 m above sea level), 41% are lowlands and hilly regions (from 200
to 600 m above sea level), and 27.5% are mountains (from 600 to more than 1,600 m above
sea level).
Climate: moderate continental with Black Sea influence in the east and Mediterranean ? in the
south.
Waters: rivers (main rivers are Danube, Maritsa, Mesta, Strouma, Iskar, Yantra); warm and
cold mineral springs (more than 600); lakes ? coastal (some with curative mineral mud) and of
glacial origin (in the Rila and Pirin mountains).
Plant and animal world: extremely diverse. An Act on the Protected Territories is operating in
Bulgaria, aimed at the preservation of the country?s flora and fauna. It has specified the
following categories in the country: a national and nature park, a reserve and a tended reserve,
a natural sight, a protected locality.
Economy: Bulgaria has been an associated member of the European Union (EU) since 1992.
In 1997 an agreement was signed with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank
for economic stabilization and for the carrying through of economic reforms in the country. A
currency board was introduced. The national monetary unit has been referred to the EURO. A
structural reform is underway aimed at an economic growth, a functioning market economy
and at paving the way for foreign investments in the country.
Transport: railway, automobile, air and water.
International telephone code: +359
International automobile sign: BG
Ancient city of Nessebar
The old town of Nessebur is situated on a small Black Sea peninsula, and is connected to the
land via a narrow isthmus. It was first inhabited in the Bronze Age, when the neck of land was
barricaded in the event of danger. The first Thracian settlement, Messembria, was built
around 2000 BC. Greek colonists settled there in the 6th century BC. The town started to
decline after its seizure by a Roman garrison in 72 BC. Later it passes under Greek rule again
and becomes an important maritime base. Greek and Bulgarian rule alternated until the
second Bulgarian Kingdom, when the town became an important centre of the state under tsar
Предмет: | Английски, Чужди езици |
Тип: | Теми |
Брой страници: | 6 |
Брой думи: | 1684 |
Брой символи: | 13795 |