_#_Disputes: Macedonia question with Greece and Yugoslavia
_#_Climate: temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers
_#_Terrain: mostly mountains with lowlands in north and south
_#_Natural resources: bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber,
arable land
_#_Land use: arable land 34%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures
18%; forest and woodland 35%; other 10%; includes irrigated 11%
_#_Environment: subject to earthquakes, landslides; deforestation;
air pollution
_#_Note: strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key
land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia
_*_People
_#_Population: 8,910,622 (July 1991), growth rate - 0.2% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 12 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 3 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 13 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 76 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Bulgarian(s); adjective--Bulgarian
_#_Ethnic divisions: Bulgarian 85.3%, Turk 8.5%, Gypsy 2.6%,
Macedonian 2.5%, Armenian 0.3%, Russian 0.2%, other 0.6%
_#_Religion: Bulgarian Orthodox 85%; Muslim 13%; Jewish 0.8%;
Roman Catholic 0.5%; Uniate Catholic 0.2%; Protestant,
Gregorian-Armenian, and other 0.5%
_#_Language: Bulgarian; secondary languages closely correspond to
ethnic breakdown
_#_Literacy: 93% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1970 est.)
_#_Labor force: 4,300,000; industry 33%, agriculture 20%, other 47%
(1987)
_#_Organized labor: Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of
Bulgaria (KNSB); Edinstvo (Unity) People's Trade Union (splinter
confederation from KNSB); Podkrepa (Support) Labor Confederation,
legally registered in January 1990
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of Bulgaria
_#_Type: emerging democracy, continuing significant Communist party
influence
_#_Capital: Sofia
_#_Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (oblasti, singular--oblast);
Burgas, Grad Sofiya, Khaskovo, Lovech, Mikhaylovgrad, Plovdiv, Razgrad,
Sofiya, Varna
_#_Independence: 22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)
_#_Constitution: 16 May 1971, effective 18 May 1971; a new
constitution is likely to be adopted in 1991
_#_Legal system: based on civil law system, with Soviet law influence;
judicial review of legislative acts in the State Council; has accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire,
3 March (1878)
_#_Executive branch: president, chairman of the Council of Ministers
(premier), three deputy chairmen of the Council of Ministers,
Council of Ministers
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Narodno
Sobranie)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--President Zhelyu ZHELEV (since 1 August 1990);
Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers
(Premier) Dimitur POPOV (since 19 December 1990);
Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Aleksandur TOMOV
(since 19 December 1990);
Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Viktor VULKOV (since
19 December 1990);
Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Dimitur LUDZHEV
(since 19 December 1990);
_#_Political parties and leaders: government--Bulgarian
Socialist Party (BSP), formerly Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP),
Aleksandur LILOV, chairman;
opposition--Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), Filip DIMITROV,
chairman, consisting of Nikola Petkov Bulgarian Agrarian National
Union, Milan DRENCHEV, secretary of Permanent Board;
Bulgarian Social Democratic Party, Petur DERTLIEV;
Green Party;
Christian Democrats;
Radical Democratic Party;
Rights and Freedoms Movement (pro-Muslim party), Ahmed DOGAN;
Bulgarian Agrarian National Union (BZNS), Viktor VULKOV
_#_Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
_#_Elections:
Chairman of the State Council--last held 1 August 1990
(next to be held May 1991);
results--Zhelyo ZHELEV was elected by the National Assembly;
National Assembly--last held 10 and 17 June 1990 (next to be held
in autumn 1991);
results--BSP 48%, UDF 32%;
seats--(400 total) BSP 211, UDF 144, Rights and Freedoms Movement
23, Agrarian Party 16, Nationalist parties 3, independents and other 3
_#_Communists: Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), formerly
Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP), 501,793 members
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Ecoglasnost; Podkrepa
(Support) Labor Confederation; Fatherland Union; Bulgarian
Democratic Youth (formerly Communist Youth Union); Confederation
of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (KNSB);
Committee for Defense of National Interests;
Peasant Youth League; National Coalition of Extraparliamentary
Political Forces;
numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various
agendas
_#_Member of: BIS, CCC, CSCE, ECE, FAO, G-9, IAEA, IBEC,
ICAO, IIB, ILO, IMO, INMARSAT, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ognyan PISHEV;
Chancery at 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
387-7969;
US--Ambassador H. Kenneth HILL; Embassy at 1 Alexander Stamboliski
Boulevard, Sofia (mailing address is APO New York 09213-5740);
telephone [359] (2) 88-48-01 through 05
_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red;
the national emblem formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe has
been removed--it contained a rampant lion within a wreath of wheat ears
below a red five-pointed star and above a ribbon bearing the dates 681
(first Bulgarian state established) and 1944 (liberation from Nazi
control)
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Growth in the lackluster Bulgarian economy fell to the
2% annual level in the 1980s. By 1990 Sofia's foreign debt had
skyrocketed to over $10 billion--giving a debt service ratio of more
than 40% of hard currency earnings and leading the regime to declare
a moratorium on its hard currency payments. The post-Zhivkov regime
faces major problems of renovating an aging industrial plant;
coping with worsening energy, food, and consumer goods shortages;
keeping abreast of rapidly unfolding technological developments;
investing in additional energy capacity (the portion of electric
power from nuclear energy reached over one-third in 1990); and
motivating workers, in part by giving them a share in the earnings of
their enterprises. A major decree of January 1989 summarized and
extended the government's economic restructuring efforts, which include
a partial decentralization of controls over production decisions and
foreign trade. In October 1990 the Lukanov government proposed an
economic reform program based on a US Chamber of Commerce study. It was
never instituted because of a political stalemate between the BSP and the
UDF. The new Popov government launched a similar reform program in
January 1991, but full implementation has been slowed by continuing
political disputes.
_#_GNP: $47.3 billion, per capita $5,300; real growth rate - 6.0%
(1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 100% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 2% (1990 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $26 billion; expenditures $28 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA billion (1988)
_#_Exports: $16.0 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--machinery and equipment 60.5%; agricultural products
14.7%; manufactured consumer goods 10.6%; fuels, minerals, raw materials,
and metals 8.5%; other 5.7%;
partners--Communist countries 82.5% (USSR 61%, GDR 5.5%,
Czechoslovakia 4.9%); developed countries 6.8% (FRG 1.2%, Greece 1.0%);
less developed countries 10.7% (Libya 3.5%, Iraq 2.9%)
_#_Imports: $15.0 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--fuels, minerals, and raw materials 45.2%; machinery
and equipment 39.8%; manufactured consumer goods 4.6%; agricultural
products 3.8%; other 6.6%;
partners--Communist countries 80.5% (USSR 57.5%, GDR 5.7%),
developed countries 15.1% (FRG 4.8%, Austria 1.6%); less developed
countries 4.4% (Libya 1.0%, Brazil 0.9%)
_#_External debt: $10 billion (1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 10.7% (1990); accounts for
about 50% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 11,500,000 kW capacity; 45,000 million kWh produced,
5,040 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: machine and metal building,food processing, chemicals,
textiles, building materials, ferrous and nonferrous metals
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GNP; climate and soil conditions
support livestock raising and the growing of various grain crops,
oilseeds, vegetables, fruits and tobacco; more than one-third of the
arable land devoted to grain; world's fourth-largest tobacco exporter;
surplus food producer
_#_Economic aid: donor--$1.6 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist
less developed countries (1956-89)
_#_Currency: lev (plural--leva); 1 lev (Lv) = 100 stotinki
_#_Exchange rates: leva (Lv) per US$1--16.13 (March 1991),
0.7446 (November 1990), 0.84 (1989), 0.82 (1988), 0.90 (1987), 0.95
(1986), 1.03 (1985); note--floating exchange rate since February 1990
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 4,300 km total, all government owned (1987); 4,055 km
1.435-meter standard gauge, 245 km narrow gauge; 917 km double track;
2,510 km electrified
_#_Highways: 36,908 km total; 33,535 km hard surface (including 242 km
superhighways); 3,373 km earth roads (1987)
_#_Inland waterways: 470 km (1987)
_#_Pipelines: crude, 193 km; refined product, 418 km; natural gas,
1,400 km (1986)
_#_Ports: Burgas, Varna, Varna West; river ports are Ruse, Vidin, and
Lom on the Danube
_#_Merchant marine: 112 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 1,227,817
GRT/1,860,294 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 33 cargo, 2 container,
1 passenger-cargo training, 6 roll-on/roll-off, 18 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical carrier, 2 railcar carrier, 47 bulk;
Bulgaria owns 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 51,035 DWT operating
under Liberian registry
_#_Civil air: 86 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 380 total, 380 usable; about 120 with permanent-surface
runways; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 20 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: 2.5 million telephones; direct dialing to 36
countries; phone density is 25 phones per 100 persons; 67% of Sofia
households now have a phone (November 1988); stations--21 AM, 16 FM,
and 19 TV, with 1 Soviet TV relay in Sofia; 2.1 million TV sets (1990);
92% of country receives No. 1 television program (May 1990)
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Bulgarian People's Army, Bulgarian Navy, Air and Air
Defense Forces, Frontier Troops, Civil Defense
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,183,539; 1,826,992 fit for
military service; 67,836 reach military age (19) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: 1.615 billion leva, NA% of GDP (1990);
note--conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the
current exchange rate would produce misleading results
_%_
_@_Burkina
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 274,200 km2; land area: 273,800 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Colorado
_#_Land boundaries: 3,192 km total; Benin 306 km, Ghana 548 km,
Ivory Coast 584 km, Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km
_#_Coastline: none--landlocked
_#_Maritime claims: none--landlocked
_#_Disputes: the disputed international boundary between Burkina and
Mali was submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in October
1983 and the ICJ issued its final ruling in December 1986, which both
sides agreed to accept; Burkina and Mali are proceeding with boundary
demarcation, including the tripoint with Niger
_#_Climate: tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers
_#_Terrain: mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west
and southeast
_#_Natural resources: manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits
of gold, antimony, copper, nickel, bauxite, lead, phosphates, zinc,
silver
_#_Land use: arable land 10%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 37%; forest and woodland 26%; other 27%, includes irrigated
NEGL%
_#_Environment: recent droughts and desertification severely affecting
marginal agricultural activities, population distribution, economy;
overgrazing; deforestation
_#_Note: landlocked
_*_People
_#_Population: 9,359,889 (July 1991), growth rate 3.1% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 50 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 3 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 119 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 53 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 7.1 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Burkinabe; adjective--Burkinabe
_#_Ethnic divisions: more than 50 tribes; principal tribe is Mossi
(about 2.5 million); other important groups are Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi,
Bobo, Mande, and Fulani
_#_Religion: indigenous beliefs about 65%, Muslim 25%,
Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 10%
_#_Language: French (official); tribal languages belong to Sudanic
family, spoken by 90% of the population
_#_Literacy: 18% (male 28%, female 9%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 3,300,000 residents; 30,000 are wage earners;
agriculture 82%, industry 13%, commerce, services, and government 5%;
20% of male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for
seasonal employment (1984); 44% of population of working age (1985)
_#_Organized labor: four principal trade union groups represent less
than 1% of population
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Burkina Faso
_#_Type: military; established by coup on 4 August 1983
_#_Capital: Ouagadougou
_#_Administrative divisions: 30 provinces; Bam, Bazega, Bougouriba,
Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houet, Kadiogo,
Kenedougou, Komoe, Kossi, Kouritenga, Mouhoun, Namentenga, Naouri,
Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Sanguie, Sanmatenga, Seno,
Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Yatenga, Zoundweogo
_#_Independence: 5 August 1960 (from France; formerly Upper Volta)
_#_Constitution: none; constitution of 27 November 1977 was abolished
following coup of 25 November 1980; constitutional referendum scheduled
for June 1991
_#_Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law
_#_National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 4 August (1983)
_#_Executive branch: chairman of the Popular Front, Council of
Ministers
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee
Nationale) was dissolved on 25 November 1980
_#_Judicial branch: Appeals Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--Chairman of the
Popular Front Captain Blaise COMPAORE (since 15 October 1987)
_#_Political parties and leaders: all political parties banned
following November 1980 coup
_#_Suffrage: none
_#_Elections: the National Assembly was dissolved 25 November 1980;
presidential elections are scheduled for 3 November 1991 and legislative
elections for 8 December 1991
_#_Communists: small Communist party front group; some sympathizers
_#_Other political or pressure groups: committees for the defense of
the revolution, watchdog/political action groups throughout the country
in both organizations and communities
_#_Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO,
FZ, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Paul Desire KABORE;
Chancery at 2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 332-5577 or 6895;
US--Ambassador Edward P. BRYNN; Embassy at Avenue Raoul Follerau,
Ouagadougou (mailing address is 01 B. P. 35, Ouagadougou);
telephone [226] 30-67-23 through 25 and [226] 33-34-22
_#_Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a
yellow five-pointed star in the center; uses the popular pan-African
colors of Ethiopia
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: One of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina
has a high population density, few natural resources, and relatively
infertile soil. Economic development is hindered by a poor communications
network within a landlocked country. Agriculture provides about 40% of
GDP and is entirely of a subsistence nature. Industry, dominated by
unprofitable government-controlled corporations, accounts for about
15% of GDP.
_#_GDP: $1.75 billion, per capita $205 (1988); real growth rate 3%
(1989)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): - 0.5% (1989)
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $275 million; expenditures $287 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1989)
_#_Exports: $262 million (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--oilseeds, cotton, live animals, gold;
partners--EC 42% (France 30%, other 12%), Taiwan 17%,
Ivory Coast 15% (1985)
_#_Imports: $619 million (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--grain, dairy products, petroleum, machinery;
partners--EC 37% (France 23%, other 14%), Africa 31%, US 15%
(1985)
_#_External debt: $962 million (December 1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 5.7% (1990est.), accounts for
about 15%
of GDP (1988)
_#_Electricity: 121,000 kW capacity; 320 million kWh produced, 37
kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing,
soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold
_#_Agriculture: accounts for about 40% of GDP; cash crops--peanuts,
shea nuts, sesame, cotton; food crops--sorghum, millet, corn, rice;
livestock; not self-sufficient in food grains
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $294
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $2.7 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $113 million
_#_Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc
(plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
_#_Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1--256.54 (January 1991),
272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30
(1986), 449.26 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 620 km total; 520 km Ouagadougou to Ivory Coast border
and 100 km Ouagadougou to Kaya; all 1.00-meter gauge and single track
_#_Highways: 16,500 km total; 1,300 km paved, 7,400 km improved,
7,800 km unimproved (1985)
_#_Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 50 total, 43 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 7 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: all services only fair; radio relay, wire, and
radio communication stations in use; 13,900 telephones; stations--2 AM,
2 FM, 2 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,838,000; 937,304 fit for
military service; no conscription
_#_Defense expenditures: $55 million, 2.7% of GDP (1988)
_%_
_@_Burma
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 678,500 km2; land area: 657,740 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas
_#_Land boundaries: 5,876 km total; Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km,
India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km
_#_Coastline: 1,930 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;