Overview
Bulgaria
Quick Reference
Bulgaria is now politically more stable and is about to join the European Union
Bulgaria has three main natural regions, each of which extends across the country from west to east. The most northerly, starting from the banks of the Danube, which marks the border with Romania, is a plain with low hills that takes up around one-third of the country. To the south of this plain is the second main region, the Balkan Mountains. Further south still, separated from these mountains by the narrow Thracian Plain, is the third region, the Rhodope Mountains, which form the border with Greece.
Bulgaria has a fairly homogenous population and has so far avoided serious ethnic conflict. The largest minority are around 750,000 ethnic Turks, who live largely in the north-east or in the east of the Rhodope Mountains. The Turks tend to be worse off than most Bulgarians, and in the communist era suffered legal discrimination. They have their own political party but are not very assertive and many have been emigrating to Turkey. Even worse off are the Roma, or gypsies, who are economically marginalized and frequently the victims of heavy-handed policing. More than 80% live below the poverty line.
Like many other countries of Eastern Europe, Bulgaria now has a shrinking population—a result of a falling birth rate, a higher death rate, and emigration, particularly of ethnic Turks, around 200,000 of whom left during the 1990s. From 1998 to 2007 the total population fell from 9 to 8 million.
Public services deteriorated after the collapse of communism. Education had been one of Bulgaria's strong points but spending has fallen and the quality has declined. Health standards too have suffered.
During the communist era, Bulgaria's economy was heavily industrialized, but production fell steeply during the transition. The industries that held up better were basic metallurgy and chemicals, which along with textiles have been the major exports.
One problem was an erratic and slow process of privatization, though by 2006 around 80% of formal production was in private hands, added to which Bulgaria has a large black market, estimated at around one-fifth of GDP.
A leading wine exporter to the UK
One-quarter of the population still make their living from agriculture, growing basic grains, mostly wheat. Most output is now in the private sector. Harvests are vulnerable to an erratic climate with regular droughts. One successful crop is grapes for the production of wine—with most exports going to the UK.
Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007 but is struggling to meet EU standards in a number of areas, especially in the dairy industry. In 2008 the EU froze some of its $1 billion in transitional aid following allegations of fraud and the padding of contracts. Indeed many argue that Bulgaria was admitted to the EU too early given the scale of corruption, a weak judicial system, and the extent of organized crime. On the other hand the government finances are in reasonable shape with a budget surplus and very little debt.
Bulgaria's post-communist political development has often been conflictive. Indeed no government has been elected for two consecutive terms. One of the most important parties has been the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) formed by former communists, which has support among older people in the rural areas and among those with strong nationalist sentiments.
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