Burundi

Republic of Burundi Republika y'u Burundi République du Burundi
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Ubumwe, Ibikorwa, Iterambere" (Kirundi) "Unité, Travail, Progrès" (French) "Unity, Work, Progress" 1
Anthem: Burundi bwacu
Capital (and largest city)		Bujumbura 3°30′S 30°00′E / -3.5, 30
Official languages		Kirundi, French, Swahili
Demonym		Burundian
Government		Republic
-	President	Pierre Nkurunziza
Independence		from Belgium
-	Date	July 1, 1962
Area
-	Total	27,830 km2 (145th) 10,745 sq mi
-	Water (%)	7.8%
Population
-	1978 census	3,589,434
-	Density	271/km2 (43rd) 533.8/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2007 estimate
-	Total	$2.897 billion[1] (142nd)
-	Per capita	$371[1] (163rd)
GDP (nominal)		2007 estimate
-	Total	$974 million[1] (162nd)
-	Per capita	$124[1] (182nd)
Gini (1998)		42.4 (medium)
HDI (2007)		▲ 0.413 (low) (167th)
Currency		Burundi franc (FBu) (BIF)
Time zone		CAT (UTC+2)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+2)
Drives on the		right
Internet TLD		.bi
Calling code		257
1	Before 1966, "Ganza Sabwa".
2	Estimate is based on regression; other PPP figures are extrapolated from the latest International Comparison Program for benchmark estimates.

Burundi (pronounced [buˈɾundi]), officially the Republic of Burundi, is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the south and east, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Although the country is landlocked, much of the southwestern border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika.

The Twa, Tutsi, and Hutu tribes have occupied Burundi since the country's formation five centuries ago. Burundi was ruled as a kingdom by the Tutsi for over two hundred years. However, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Germany and Belgium occupied the region, and Burundi and Rwanda became a European colony known as Ruanda-Urundi. Political unrest occurred throughout the region because of social differences between the Tutsi and Hutu, provoking civil war in Burundi throughout the middle twentieth century. Presently, Burundi is governed as a presidential representative democratic republic. Sixty-two percent of Burundians are Roman Catholic, eight to ten percent are Muslims and the rest follow indigenous beliefs and other Christian denominations.

Burundi is one of the ten poorest countries in the world.^[2] Due to civil wars, Burundi has a low gross domestic product, unstable population growth, and sparse resources. Cobalt and copper are among Burundi's natural resources. Some of Burundi's main exports include coffee and sugar.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early settlement 1.2 European conquest 1.3 Independence and civil war 1.4 First Attempt at Democracy 1.5 Peace Agreements 1.6 UN Involvement 1.7 2006 to Present 2 Politics 3 Provinces, communes, and collines 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture 8 References 9 External links

History

Main article: History of Burundi

Early settlement

Archaeological evidence shows that a pygmoid hunter gathering tribe, the Twa, first settled the region in 70,000 B.C.^[3] However, approximately 5,000 years ago, the Hutu, a Bantu-speaking people from the mountainous regions of central Africa, immigrated and provided Burundi's first language.^[4] The Hutu served as the main farming group in the country.^[5] Following the Hutu, the Tutsi tribe settled the region in the late fifteenth century.^[6] The Tutsi were descendants of Nilo-Hamitic-speaking people from Ethiopia.^[5] From the Tutsi's early occupation in the region, agricultural techniques were introduced, and a feudal system was established within local chiefdoms.^[7] The Tutsi's relationship with the Hutu remained stable during this period.^[6]

With the settlement of the Tutsi and Hutu tribes, Burundi's kingdom expanded in land size until the seventeenth century.^[8] At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Tutsi dynasty reigned over Burundi's kingdom.^[5] The kingdom continued through rulers until the late nineteenth century.^[8] King Mwezi IV reigned from 1852 to 1908. During this time he allied with the Germans in order to gain control over his opponents.^[9] Mwezi's opponents, two chiefs named Maconco and Birori, were rebelling to take away Burundi's throne.^[10] As a result, the kingdom of Burundi became a German colony in 1899.^[11]

European conquest

After its defeat in World War I, Germany handed control of Burundi to Belgium.^[7] On October 20, 1924, Burundi officially became a part of the Belgian colonial empire and was known as Ruanda-Urundi, and consisted of Rwanda and Burundi. However, the Belgians allowed Ruanda-Urundi to continue its kingship dynasty.^[11][12]

Following World War II, Ruanda-Urundi was a United Nations Trust Territory under Belgian administrative authority.^[11] During the 1940s, a series of policies caused divisions throughout the country. On October 4, 1943, powers were split in the legislative division of Burundi's government between chiefdoms and lower chiefdoms. Chiefdoms were in charge of land, and lower sub-chiefdoms were established. Native authorities also had powers.^[12] In 1948, Belgium allowed the region to form political parties.^[7] These factions would be one of the main influences for Burundi's independence from Belgium.

Independence and civil war

On January 20, 1959, Burundi's ruler Mwami Mwambutsa IV requested from the Belgian Minister of Colonies a separation of Burundi and Rwanda and a dissolution of Ruanda-Urundi.^[13] Six months later, political parties formed to bring attention to Burundi's independence from Europe and to separate Rwanda from Burundi.^[13] The first of these political parties was the African National Union of Ruanda-Urundi (UNARU).

During Burundi's push for independence, instability and ethnic persecution occurred between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes. In November 1959, a dispute over land possession sparked a revolt in Rwanda between Hutu teachers and Tutsi soldiers.^[13] From 1959 to 1962, Hutu refugees escaped to Rwanda to avoid persecution.^[14] In turn, the Hutu in Rwanda murdered thousands of Tutsi, causing the Tutsi to flee to Burundi for freedom. While in Burundi, Tutsi fought against the Hutu. Many Tutsi soldiers killed Hutu peasants in retaliation for Hutu violence in Rwanda.^[15] The Hutu managed to take power in Rwanda by winning Belgian-run elections in 1960.^[16][14]

The Union for National Progress (UPRONA), a multi-ethnic unity party led by Tutsi Prince Louis Rwagasore and Christian Democratic Party (PDC) members, became popular throughout Burundi-Urundi. Following an UPRONA victory in legislative elections, Prince Rwagasore was assassinated in 1961 by a Greek national named Georges Kageorgis;^[7] the event caused infighting between the two groups. ^[17]

The country claimed independence in July 1, 1962,^[7] and legally changed its name from Ruanda-Urundi to Burundi.^[18] Mwami Mwambutsa IV was named king.^[14] On September 18, 1962, just over a month after declaring independence from Belgium, Burundi joined the United Nations.^[19]

Upon Burundi’s independence, a constitutional monarchy was established and the Hutus and Tutsis held equal representation in Parliament. However, during Burundi's move to become an independent nation, Hutu forces took control of the country, forcing the Tutsi out of the country; many fled to Rwanda to escape ethnic persecution and death. During 1962 and 1963, approximately 12,000 Tutsi were killed, while between 140,000 to 250,000 people escaped to Rwanda.^[20]

In 1965, King Mwambutsa refused to appoint a Hutu prime minister, even though Hutus win a majority in parliamentary elections. An attempted coup by Hutu police led by Michel Micombero was brutally suppressed.^[21] When the next Hutu Prime Minister was assassinated in 1965, Hutus engaged in a series of revolts that the government repressed, and, fearing the killings of Tutsis by the neighboring Rwandan Hutu regime, the police and military became under the control of the Tutsis.

Mwambutsa was deposed in 1966 by his son, Prince Ntare V, who claimed the throne. That same year, Tutsi Prime Minister Captain Michel Micombero deposed Ntare, abolished the monarchy, and created a republic state, which was, in effect, a military regime.^[22]

A Hutu attack on a military-affiliated town in 1972 resulted in a systematic retaliation by the military against the Hutus. Roughly 200,000 Hutus were killed and about 150,000 became asylum-seekers.Another Tutsi, Colonel Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, led a bloodless coup in 1976 and promoted various reforms. A new constitution was created in 1981, making Burundi a one-party state.^[23] Bagaza was elected head of state. However, Bagaza suppressed political opponents and religious freedoms.

Major Pierre Buyoya, a Tutsi, overthrew Bagaza in 1987 and suspended the constitution, dissolved the political parties, and reinstated military rule under the Military Committee for National Salvation (CSMN).^[24] In 1988, tensions between Hutus, Tutsis, and the military resulted in roughly 20,000 deaths. In response, Buyoya approved a new constitution in 1992 that attempted to create a non-ethnic government with a presidency and a parliament. The constitution provided for a multi-party system.^[25] Buyoya also created a commission to investigate the 1988 killings. ^[26]

An estimated 250,000 people died between 1962 and 1993.^[27]

First Attempt at Democracy

In June 1993, Melchior Ndadaye, leader of the Hutu-dominated Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU), won the first democratic election and became the first Hutu head of the state, leading a pro-Hutu government. However, in October 1993, Tutsi soldiers assassinate Ndadaye, which is became another starting point for years of violence between Hutus and Tutsis. It is estimated that some 300,000 were killed in 1993.^[28]

In early 1994, the parliament elected Cyprien Ntaryamira, also a Hutu, to the office of president. He and the president of Rwanda were killed together when their airplane was shot down. More refugees started fleeing to Rwanda. Another Hutu, parliament speaker Sylvestre Ntibantunganya was appointed as president in October 1994. Within months, a wave of ethnic violence began, starting with the massacre of Hutu refugees in the capital, Bujumbura, and the withdrawal of the mainly Tutsi Union for National Progress from the government and parliament.

In 1996, Pierre Buyoya, a Tutsi, took power through a coup d’état. He suspended the constitution and was sworn in as president in 1998. In response to the rebel attacks, the population was forced by the government to relocate in regroupment camps.^[29] Under his rule, long peace talks started, mediated by South Africa. Both parties signed agreements in Arusha, Tanzania and Pretoria, South Africa, to share power in Burundi. The agreements took four years to plan, and on August 28, 2000, a transitional government for Burundi was planned as a part of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement. The transitional government was placed on a trial basis for five years. After several aborted cease-fires, a 2001 peace plan with power sharing agreement has been relatively successful. . After several more years of genocide against the Hutu, a cease-fire was signed in 2003 between the Tutsi-controlled Burundian government and the largest Hutu rebel group, CNDD-FDD (National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy).^[30] In 2003, FRODEBU Hutu leader Domitien Ndayizeye was elected president.^[31] > In early 2005, ethnic quotas were formed for determining positions in Burundi's government. Throughout the year, elections for parliamentary and president occurred.^[32] To this day, conflicts between the Hutu and the Tutsi continue. As of 2008, the Burundian government is talking with the Hutu-led Palipehutu-National Liberation Forces (NLF)^[33] to bring peace within the country.^[34] In 2008, Pierre Nkurunziza, once a leader of a Hutu rebel group, was elected to president.

Peace Agreements

Following the request of the United Nation Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to intervene in the humanitarian crisis, African leaders began a series of peace talk between the warring factions. Talks were initiated under the aegis of former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere in 1995; following his death, South African President Nelson Mandela took the helm. As the talks progressed, South African President Thabo Mbeki and United States President Bill Clinton would also lend their respective weight.

The peace talks took the form of Track I mediations. This method of negotiation can be defined as a form of diplomacy involving governmental or intergovernmental representatives, who may use their positive reputations, mediation or the “carrot and stick” method as a means of obtaining or forcing an outcome, frequently along the lines of “bargaining” or “win-lose”.^[35]

The main objective framing the talks was a structural transformation of the Burundian government and military as a way to bridge the ethnic gap between the Tutsis and Hutus. This would be accomplished in two ways. First, a transitional power sharing government would be established, with the president holding office for three year terms. The second objective involved a restructuring of the military, where the two groups would be represented equally.

As the protracted nature of the peace talks demonstrated, there were several obstacles facing the mediators and negotiating parties. First, the Burundian officials perceived the goals as “unrealistic” and viewed the treaty as ambiguous, contradictory and confusing. Second, and perhaps most importantly, the Burundians believed the treaty would be irrelevant without an accompanying cease fire. This would require separate and direct talks with the rebel groups. The main Hutu party was skeptical of the offer of a power-sharing government; they alleged that they were deceived by the Tutsis in past agreements.^[36]

In 2000, the Burundian President signed the treaty, as well as 13 of the 19 warring Hutu and Tutsi factions. However, disagreements persisted over which group would preside over the nascent government and when the ceasefire would commence. The spoilers of the peace talks were the hardliner Tutsi and Hutu groups who refused to sign the accord; as a result, violence intensified. Three years later at a summit of African leaders in Tanzania, the Burundian president and the main opposition Hutu group signed an accord to end the conflict; the signatory members were granted ministerial posts within the government. However, smaller militant Hutu groups – such as the Forces for National Liberation - remained active.

UN Involvement

Between 1993 and 2003, many rounds of peace talks, overseen by regional leaders in Tanzania, South Africa, and Uganda, gradually established power-sharing agreements to satisfy the majority of the contending groups. African Union (AU) peacekeepers were deployed to help oversee the installation of a transitional government. In June 2004, the UN stepped in and took over peacekeeping responsibilities as a signal of growing international support for the already markedly advanced peace process in Burundi.^[37]

The mission’s mandate, under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, has been to monitor cease-fire; carry out disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of former combatants; support humanitarian assistance and refugee and IDP return; assist with elections; protect international staff and Burundian civilians; monitor Burundi’s troublesome borders including halting illicit arms flows; and assist in carrying out institutional reforms including those of the Constitution, judiciary, armed forces, and police. The mission has been allotted 5,650 military personnel, 120 civilian police, and about 1,000 international and local civilian personnel. The mission has been functioning well and has greatly benefited from the existence of a fairly functional transitional government, which is in the process of transitioning into a more legitimate, elected entity.^[38]

The main difficulty the operation faced at first was the continued resistance to the peace process by the last Tutsi nationalist rebel group. This organization continued its violent conflict on the outskirts of the capital despite the UN’s presence. By June 2005, the group had stopped fighting and was brought back into the political process. All political parties have accepted a formula for inter-ethnic power-sharing, which means no political party can gain access to government offices unless it is ethnically integrated.^[39]

The focus of the UN’s mission had been to enshrine the power-sharing arrangements in a popularly voted constitution, so that elections may be held and a new government installed. Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration were done in tandem with elections preparations. In February 2005, the Constitution was approved with over 90% of the popular vote. In May, June, and August 2005, three separate elections were also held at the local level for the Parliament and the presidency.

While there are still some difficulties with refugee returns and securing adequate food supplies for the war-weary population, the mission has overall managed to win the trust and confidence of a majority of the formerly warring leaders as well as the population at large.^[40] It has also been involves with several “quick impact” projects including rehabilitating and building schools, orphanages, health clinics, and rebuilding infrastructure such as water lines.

2006 to Present

Reconstruction efforts in Burundi started to practically take effect after 2006. The UN shut down its peacekeeping mission and re-focused on helping with reconstruction.^[41] Toward achieving economic reconstruction, Rwanda, D.R.Congo and Burundi relaunched the regional economic bloc: The Great Lakes Countries Economic Community.^[42] In addition, Burundi, along with Rwanda, joined the East African Community in 2007.

However, the terms of the September 2006 Ceasefire between the government and the last remaining armed opposition group, the FLN (Forces for National Liberation, also called NLF or FROLINA), were not totally implemented, and senior FLN members subsequently left the truce monitoring team, claiming that their security was threatened.^[43] In September, rival FLN factions clashed in the capital, killing 20 fighters and causing residents to begin fleeing. Rebel raids were reported in other parts of the country.^[44] The rebel factions disagreed with the government over disarmament and the release of political prisoners.^[45] In late 2007 and early 2008, FLN combatants attacked government-protected camps where former combatants now live, in search of peace. The homes of rural residents were also pillaged.^[46]

The 2008 report^[47] of Amnesty International mentions many areas where improvement is required. Civilians are victims of repeated acts of violence done by the FLN. The latter also recruits child soldiers. The rate of violence against women is high. Perpetrators regularly escape prosecution and punishment by the state. There is an urgent need for reform of the judicial system. Genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity remain unpunished. The establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Special Tribunal for investigation and prosecution has not yet been implemented. The freedom of expression is limited, journalists are frequently arrested for carrying our legitimate professional activities. A total of 38,087 Burundian refugees have been repatriated between January and November 2007.

In late March 2008, the FLN sought for the parliament to adopt a law guaranteeing them ‘provisional immunity’ from arrest. This would cover ordinary crimes, but not grave violations of international humanitarian law like war crimes or crimes against humanity .^[48] Even though the government has granted this in the past to people, the FLN is unable to obtain the provisional immunity.

On April 17, 2008, the FLN bombarded Bujumbura. The Burundian army fought back and the FLN suffered heavy losses. A new ceasefire was signed on May 26, 2008. In August 2008, President Nkurunziza met with the FLN leader Agathon Rwasa, with the mediation of Charles Nqakula, South Africa’s Minister for Safety and Security. This was the first direct meeting since June 2007. Both agree to meet twice a week to establish a commission to resolve any disputes that might arise during the peace negotiations.^[49]

Refugee camps are now closing down, and 450,000 refugees have returned. The economy of the country is shattered - Burundi has the lowest per capita gross income in sub-Saharan Africa. With the return of refugees, amongst others, property conflicts have started.

Politics

Pierre Nkurunziza, president of Burundi

Main article: Politics of Burundi

Burundi's political system is a transitional presidential representative democratic republic based upon a multi-party state. The President of Burundi is the head of state and head of government. There are currently 21 registered parties in Burundi.^[7] On March 13, 1992, Tutsi coup leader Pierre Buyoya established a constitution,^[50] which provided for a multi-party political process^[51] and reflected multi-party competition. Six years later, on June 6, 1998, the constitution was changed, broadening National Assembly's seats and making provisions for two vice presidents. Because of the Arusha Accord, Burundi enacted a transitional government in 2000.^[52]

Burundi's legislative branch is a bicameral assembly, consisting of the Transitional National Assembly and the Transitional Senate. As of 2004, the Transitional National Assembly consists of 170 members, with the Front for Democracy in Burundi holding 38% of seats, and 10% of the assembly is controlled by UPRONA. Fifty-two seats are controlled by other parties. Burundi's constitution mandates representation in the Transitional National Assembly to be consistent with 60% Hutu, 40% Tutsi, and 30% female members, as well as three Batwa members.^[7] Members of the National Assembly are elected by popular vote and serve for five year terms.^[53]

The Transitional Senate has fifty-one members, and three seats are reserved for former presidents. Due to stipulations in Burundi's constitution, 30% of Senate members must be female. Members of the Senate are elected by electoral colleges, which consist of members from each of Burundi's provinces and communes.^[7] For each of Burundi's seventeen provinces, one Hutu and one Tutsi senator are chosen. One term for the Transitional Senate is five years.^[54]

Together, Burundi's legislative branch elect the President to a five-year term.^[55] Burundi's president appoints officials to his Council of Ministers, which is also part of the executive branch.^[52] The president can also pick fourteen members of the Transitional Senate to serve on the Council of Ministers.^[7] Members of the Council of Ministers must be approved by two-thirds of Burundi's legislature. The president also chooses two vice-presidents.^[55] As of 2008, the President of Burundi is Pierre Nkurunziza. The First Vice President is Dr. Yves Sahinguvu, and the Second Vice President is Gabriel Ntisezerana.^[56]

The Court Supreme (Supreme Court) is Burundi's highest court. There are three Courts of Appeals directly below the Supreme Court. Tribunals of First Instance are used as judicial courts in each of Burundi's provinces as well as 123 local tribunals.^[52]

Provinces, communes, and collines

Map of provinces

Main articles: Provinces of Burundi, Communes of Burundi, and Collines of Burundi

Burundi is divided into 17 provinces,^[11] 117 communes,^[7] and 2,638 collines (hills).^[57] Provincial governments are structured upon these boundaries. In 2000, the province encompassing Bujumbura was separated into two provinces, Bujumbura Rural and Bunjumbura Mairie.^[2]

The provinces are:

Bubanza Bujumbura Mairie Bujumbura Rural Bururi Cankuzo Cibitoke Gitega Karuzi Kayanza

Kirundo Makamba Muramvya Muyinga Mwaro Ngozi Rutana Ruyigi

Geography

Map of Burundi

Main article: Geography of Burundi

One of the smallest countries in Africa, Burundi is landlocked and has an equatorial climate. Burundi is a part of the Albertine Rift, the western extension of the Great Rift Valley. The country lies on a rolling plateau in the center of Africa. The average elevation of the central plateau is 5,600 feet (1,700 m), with lower elevations at the borders. The highest peak, Mount Heha at 8,810 feet (2,690 m),^[58] lies to the southeast of the capital, Bujumbura. The Nile is a major river in Burundi.^[59] Lake Victoria is also an important water source, which serves as a fork to the Kagera River.^[60][61] Another major lake is Lake Tanganyika, located in much of Burundi's southwestern corner.^[62]

Burundi's lands are mostly agricultural or pasture. Settlement by rural populations has led to deforestation, soil erosion and habitat loss.^[63] Deforestation of the entire country is almost completely due to overpopulation, with a mere 230 square miles (600 km²) remaining and an ongoing loss of about 9% per annum.^[64] There are two national parks, Kibira National Park to the northwest (a small region of rain forest, adjacent to Nyungwe Forest National Park in Rwanda), Rurubu National Park to the northeast (along the Rurubu River, also known as Ruvubu or Ruvuvu). Both were established in 1982 to conserve wildlife populations.^[65]

Economy

Burundi's currency, the franc

Main article: Economy of Burundi

Burundi is one of the poorest countries on the planet, owing in part to its landlocked geography,^[11] poor legal system, lack of access to education, and the proliferation of HIV/AIDS. Approximately 80% of Burundi's population lives in poverty.^[66] Famines and food shortages have occurred throughout Burundi, most notably in the 20th century,^[12] and according to the World Food Programme, 56.8% of children under age five suffer from chronic malnutrition.^[67] One scientific study of 178 nations rated Burundi's population as having the lowest satisfaction with life in the world.^[68] As a result of poverty, Burundi is dependent on foreign aid.^[11]

Burundi's largest industry is agriculture, which accounted for 58% of the GDP in 1997. Subsistence agriculture accounts for 90% of agriculture.^[69] The nation's largest source of revenue is coffee, which makes up 93% of Burundi's exports.^[70] Other agriculture products include cotton, tea, maize, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, and hides. Some of Burundi's natural resources include uranium, nickel, cobalt, copper, and platinum.^[71] Besides agriculture, other industries include: assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing, and light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, and soap. Burundi's currency is the Burundian franc (BIF); As of July 2008, 1,184 Burundian franc were equivalent to one United States dollar.^[11]

Burundi is part of the East African Community and a potential member of the planned East African Federation.

Demographics

A group of Burundian women rearing goats

Main article: Demographics of Burundi

As of 2008, Burundi was projected to have an estimated population of 8,691,005 people. This estimate explicitly takes into account the effects of AIDS, which has a significant effect on the demographics of the country.^[11] Over 500,000 have been displaced due to the disease.^[2] Many Burundians have migrated to other countries as a result of the civil war. In 2006, the United States accepted approximately 10,000 Burundian refugees.^[72]

Most Burundians live in rural areas, and about six percent of the population live in urban areas.^[73] The population density of around 315 people per square kilometer (753 per sq mi) is the second highest in Sub-Saharan Africa.^[7] Roughly 85% of the population are of Hutu ethnic origin, 15% of the remaining population are Tutsi, and fewer than one percent are Twas.^[74] The largest religion is Roman Catholicism (62%), followed by indigenous beliefs (23%) and a minority of Protestants (5%) and Muslims (10%).^[2] The Anglican Church of Burundi claims over 10% of the population as members.^[75] Reports indicate the Christian population may be as high as 90% with most of the remainder being Muslim.^[76]

Culture

Gitega drums

Main article: Culture of Burundi

Burundi's culture is based on local tradition and the influence of neighboring countries, though cultural prominence has been hindered by civil unrest. Since farming is the main industry in Burundi, a typical Burundian meal consists of sweet potatoes, corn, and peas. Due to the expense, meat is only eaten few times per month. When several Burundians of close acquaintance meet for a gathering they drink impeke, a beer, from a large container. Each person receives a straw to symbolize unity.^[77]

Crafts are an important art form in Burundi and are attractive gifts to many tourists. Basket weaving is a popular craft for Burundian artisans.^[78] Other crafts such as masks, shields, statues, pottery are made in Burundi.^[79]

Drumming is an important part of Burundian cultural heritage. The world-famous Royal Drummers of Burundi, who have performed for over forty years, are noted for traditional drumming using the amashako, ibishikiso, and ikiranya drums.^[80] Dance often accompanies drumming performance, which is frequently seen in celebrations and family gatherings. The abatimbo, which is performed at official ceremonies and rituals, and the fast-paced abanyagasimbo are some famous Burundian dances. Some musical instruments of note are the flute, zither, ikembe, indonongo, umuduri, inanga, and the inyagara.^[81]

Football in Burundi

Kirundi, French, and Swahili are spoken throughout Burundi.^[11] Burundi's literacy rate is low, due to low school attendance. Ten percent of Burundian boys are allowed a secondary education.^[82] Burundi's oral tradition is strong and relays history and life lessons through storytelling, poetry, and song. Imigani, indirimbo, amazina, and ivyivugo are types of literary genres existing in Burundi.^[83]

Basketball and track and field are noted sports in Burundi.^[84] Football is a popular pastime throughout the country, as are mancala games. In Burundi most Christian holidays are celebrated, with Christmas being the largest.^[85] Burundian Independence Day is celebrated annually on July 1.^[86] In 2005, the Burundian government declared Eid al-Fitr, an Islamic holiday, to be a public holiday.^[87]

Burkina Faso

Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Unité, Progrès, Justice" (French) "Unity, Progress, Justice"
Anthem: Une Seule Nuit (French) One Single Night
Capital (and largest city)		Ouagadougou 12°20′N 1°40′W / 12.333, -1.667
Official languages		French
Recognised regional languages		Mòoré, Dioula
Demonym		Burkinabé
Government		Semi-presidential republic
-	President	Blaise Compaoré
-	Prime Minister	Tertius Zongo
Independence		from France
-	Date	August 5, 1960
Area
-	Total	274,000 km2 (74th) 105,792 sq mi
-	Water (%)	0.1%
Population
-	2005 estimate	13,228,000 (66th)
-	1996 census	10,312,669
-	Density	48/km2 (145th) 124/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2007 estimate
-	Total	$16.561 billion[1] (117th)
-	Per capita	$1,206[1] (163rd)
GDP (nominal)		2007 estimate
-	Total	$6.751 billion[1]
-	Per capita	$491[1]
Gini (2003)		39.5 (medium)
HDI (2007)		▲ 0.370 (low) (176th)
Currency		West African CFA franc (XOF)
Time zone		GMT
Drives on the		right
Internet TLD		.bf
Calling code		226
1	The data here is an estimation for the year 2005 produced by the International Monetary Fund in April 2005.

Burkina Faso (pronounced /bɚˌkiːnə ˈfɑːsoʊ/ burr-KEE-nə FAH-soh), also known by its short-form name Burkina, is a landlocked nation in West Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the south east, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the south west. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, it was renamed on August 4, 1984, by President Thomas Sankara to mean "the land of upright people" in Moré and Dioula, the major native languages of the country. Literally, "Burkina" may be translated, "men of integrity," from the Moré language, and "Faso" means "father's house" in Dioula. The inhabitants of Burkina Faso are known as Burkinabé (pronounced /bɚˈkiːnəbeɪ/ burr-KEE-nə-bay).

Burkina Faso's capital is Ouagadougou. After gaining independence from France in 1960, the country underwent many governmental changes until arriving at its current form, a semi-presidential republic. The president is Blaise Compaoré.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early history 1.2 From colony to independence 1.3 Upper Volta 2 In popular culture 3 Politics 4 Regions, provinces, and departements 5 Geography and climate 6 Economy 7 Demographics 8 Religion 9 Culture 10 Education 11 See also 12 References 13 External links 14 References

History

Main article: History of Burkina Faso

Early history

Burkina Faso was populated early, between 12000 and 5000 BCE, by hunter-gatherers in the northwestern part of the country, whose tools, such as scrapers, chisels and arrowheads, were discovered in 1973. Settlements appeared between 3600 and 2600 BCE with farmers. Based on traces of the farmers' structures, the settlements appear to have been permanent. The use of iron, ceramics and polished stone developed between 1500 and 1000 BCE, as well as a preoccupation with spiritual matters, as shown by burial remains.

Relics of the Dogon are found in Burkina Faso's north and northwest regions. The Dogon left the area between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries to settle in the cliffs of Bandiagara. Elsewhere, the remains of high walls are localized in the southwest of Burkina Faso (as well as in the Côte d'Ivoire), but the people who built them have not been identified.

During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Burkina Faso was an important economic region for the Songhai Empire.

From colony to independence

Traditional huts in south-east Burkina Faso

After a decade of intense rivalry and competition between the British and the French, waged through treaty-making expeditions under military or civilian explorers, the Mossi kingdom of Ouagadougou was defeated by French colonial forces and became a French protectorate in 1896. The eastern region and the western region, where a standoff against the forces of the powerful ruler Samori Ture complicated the situation, came under French occupation in 1897. By 1898, the majority of the territory corresponding to Burkina Faso today was nominally conquered; however, control of many parts remained uncertain. The French and British convention of 14 June 1898 ended the scramble between the two colonial powers and drew the borders between the countries' colonies. On the French side, a war of conquest against local communities and political powers continued for about five years. In 1904, the largely pacified territories of the Volta basin were integrated into the Upper Senegal and Niger colony of French West Africa as part of the reorganization of the French West African colonial empire. The colony had its capital in Bamako.

Draftees from the territory participated in the European fronts of World War I in the battalions of the Senegalese Rifles. Between 1915 and 1916, the districts in the western part of what is now Burkina Faso and the bordering eastern fringe of Mali became the stage of one of the most important armed oppositions to colonial government, known as the Volta-Bani War. The French government finally suppressed the movement, but only after suffering defeats and being forced to gather the largest expeditionary force of its colonial history up to that point. Armed opposition also wracked the Sahelian north when the Tuareg and allied groups of the Dori region ended their truce with the government. French Upper Volta was established on March 1, 1919 under the Third Republic as a part of French West Africa, from territories that had been part of the colonies of Upper Senegal and Niger and the Côte d'Ivoire. This move was a result of French fears of the recurrence of armed uprising along with economic considerations led the colonial government to separate the present territory of Burkina Faso from Upper Senegal and Niger to bolster its administration. The new colony was named Upper Volta and François Charles Alexis Édouard Hesling became its first governor. Hesling initiated an ambitious road-making program and promoted the growth of cotton for export. The cotton policy, based on coercion, failed, and revenue stagnated. The colony was later dismantled on September 5, 1932 being split up on the Côte d’Ivoire, French Sudan and Niger. Côte d'Ivoire received the largest share, which contained most of the population as well as the cities of Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso.

Children of the 1983-1987 revolution

The decision was reversed during the intense anti-colonial agitation that followed the end of World War II.After World War II, on September 4, 1947 the colony was revived as a part of the French Union, with its previous boundaries. On 11 December 1958, it achieved self-government and became the Republic of Upper Volta and a member of the Franco-African Community. A revision in the organization of French Overseas Territories began with the passage of the Basic Law (Loi Cadre) of July 23, 1956. This act was followed by reorganizational measures approved by the French parliament early in 1957 that ensured a large degree of self-government for individual territories. Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French community on December 11, 1958. Full independence from France was attained in 1960.

Upper Volta

The Republic of Upper Volta (French: République de Haute-Volta) was established on December 11, 1958, as a self-governing colony within the French Community. The name Upper Volta indicated that the country contains the upper part of the Volta River. The river is divided into three parts, called the Black Volta, White Volta and Red Volta, and the colors of the national flag corresponded to the parts of the river.

Before attaining autonomy it had been French Upper Volta and part of the French Union. On August 5, 1960 it attained full independence from France. The first president, Maurice Yaméogo, was the leader of the Voltaic Democratic Union (UDV). The 1960 constitution provided for election by universal suffrage of a president and a national assembly for 5-year terms. Soon after coming to power, Yaméogo banned all political parties other than the UDV. The government lasted until 1966 when after much unrest-mass demonstrations and strikes by students, labor unions, and civil servants-the military intervened.

The military coup deposed Yaméogo, suspended the constitution, dissolved the National Assembly, and placed Lt. Col. Sangoulé Lamizana at the head of a government of senior army officers. The army remained in power for 4 years, and on June 14, 1970, the Voltans ratified a new constitution that established a 4-year transition period toward complete civilian rule. Lamizana remained in power throughout the 1970s as president of military or mixed civil-military governments. After conflict over the 1970 constitution, a new constitution was written and approved in 1977, and Lamizana was reelected by open elections in 1978.

Lamizana's government faced problems with the country's traditionally powerful trade unions, and on November 25, 1980, Col. Saye Zerbo overthrew President Lamizana in a bloodless coup. Colonel Zerbo established the Military Committee of Recovery for National Progress as the supreme governmental authority, thus eradicating the 1977 constitution.

Colonel Zerbo also encountered resistance from trade unions and was overthrown two years later, on November 7, 1982, by Maj. Dr. Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo and the Council of Popular Salvation (CSP). The CSP continued to ban political parties and organizations, yet promised a transition to civilian rule and a new constitution.

Factional infighting developed between moderates in the CSP and the radicals, led by Capt. Thomas Sankara, who was appointed prime minister in January 1983. The internal political struggle and Sankara's leftist rhetoric led to his arrest and subsequent efforts to bring about his release, directed by Capt. Blaise Compaoré. This release effort resulted in yet another military coup d'état on August 4, 1983.

After the coup, Sankara formed the National Council for the Revolution (CNR), with himself as president. Sankara also established Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs) to "mobilize the masses" and implement the CNR's revolutionary programs. The CNR, whose exact membership remained secret until the end, contained two small intellectual Marxist-Leninist groups. Sankara, Compaore, Capt. Henri Zongo, and Maj. Jean-Baptiste Lingani-all leftist military officers-dominated the regime.

Under the direction of Sankara the name of the state was changed on August 4, 1984, from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, meaning "the country of honorable people."

In popular culture

West German chancellor Helmut Schmidt liked to describe the Soviet Union of the 1980s as "Upper Volta with missiles", according to David Halberstam in an article published in an August 2007 Vanity Fair magazine. The phrase "Upper Volta with rockets" was also used to describe the Soviet Union (in quotes, but with no attribution) in a survey on the Soviet economy in The Economist on April 9, 1988. According to Perry Anderson, the phrase was popular among foreign diplomats in the 1970s. He suggests the modern Russia might be "Saudi Arabia with Rockets".^[2]

The country's first military coup occurred in 1966, and civilian rule returned in 1978. Another coup, led by Saye Zerbo in 1980, was overthrown in 1982. A counter-coup was launched in 1983, and it brought the charismatic Captain Thomas Sankara to leadership. In 1984, the revolutionary government changed the name of the country to Burkina Faso and created a new flag and national anthem. The president is Blaise Compaoré, who came to power in 1987 after a coup d'état that killed Thomas Sankara.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Burkina Faso

The constitution of 2 June 1991 established a semi-presidential government with a parliament which can be dissolved by the President of the Republic, who is elected for a term of seven years. In 2000, however, the constitution was amended to reduce the presidential term to five years. The amendment took effect during the 2005 elections. The amendment also would have prevented the sitting president, Blaise Compaoré, from being reelected; however, notwithstanding a challenge by other presidential candidates, the constitutional council ruled in October 2005 that because Compaoré was the sitting president in 2000, the amendment would not apply to him until the end of his second term in office. This cleared the way for his candidacy in the 2005 election. On 13 November, Compaoré was reelected in a landslide due to a divided political opposition.

The parliament consists of two chambers: the lower house, known as the National Assembly, and the upper house, the House of Representatives. There is also a constitutional chamber, composed of ten members, and an economic and social council whose roles are purely consultative.

Regions, provinces, and departements

Main articles: Regions of Burkina Faso, Provinces of Burkina Faso, and Communes of Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is divided into thirteen regions, forty-five provinces, and 301 departements. The regions are:

• Boucle du Mouhoun
• Cascades
• Centre
• Centre-Est
• Centre-Nord
• Centre-Ouest
• Centre-Sud
• Est
• Hauts-Bassins
• Nord
• Plateau-Central
• Sahel
• Sud-Ouest

Geography and climate

Satellite image of Burkina Faso, generated from raster graphics data supplied by The Map Library

Main article: Geography of Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is made up of two major types of countryside. The larger part of the country is covered by a peneplain, which forms a gently undulating landscape with, in some areas, a few isolated hills, the last vestiges of a Precambrian massif. The southwest of the country, on the other hand, forms a sandstone massif, where the highest peak, Ténakourou, is found at an elevation of 749 meters (2,450 feet). The massif is bordered by sheer cliffs up to 150 meters (490 feet) high. The average altitude of Burkina Faso is 400 meters (1,300 feet) and the difference between the highest and lowest terrain is no greater than 600 meters (2,000 feet). Burkina Faso is therefore a relatively flat country.

The country owes its former name of Upper Volta to three rivers which cross it: the Black Volta (or Mouhoun), the White Volta (Nakambé) and the Red Volta (Nazinon). The Black Volta, along with the Komoé, which flows to the southwest, is one of the country's only two rivers which flow year-round. The basin of the Niger River also drains 27% of the country's surface. Its tributaries, the Béli, the Gorouol, the Goudébo and the Dargol, are seasonal streams and only flow for four to six months a year. They still, however, can cause large floods. The country also contains numerous lakes. The principal lakes are Tingrela, Bam and Dem. The country also contains large ponds, such as Oursi, Béli, Yomboli and Markoye. Water shortages are often a problem, especially in the north of the country.

Savannah near the Gbomblora Department, on the road from Gaoua to Batié.

Burkina Faso has a primarily tropical climate with two very distinct seasons. In the rainy season, the country receives between 600 and 900 millimeters (24-35 inches) of rainfall, and in the dry season, the harmattan, a hot dry wind from the Sahara, blows. The rainy season lasts approximately four months, May/June to September, and is shorter in the north of the country. Three climatic zones can be defined: the Sahel, the Sudan-Sahel, and the Sudan-Guinea. The Sahel in the north typically receives less than 600 millimeters (24 inches)^[3] of rainfall per year and has high temperatures, 5–47 °C (40–115 °F). A relatively dry tropical savanna, the Sahel extends beyond the borders of Burkina Fasi, from the Horn of Africa to the Atlantic Ocean, and borders the Sahara to its north and the fertile region of the Sudan to the South. Situated between 11°3' and 13°5' north latitude, the Sudan-Sahel region is a transitional zone with regards to rainfall and temperature. Further to the south, the Sudan-Guinea zone receives more than 900 millimeters (35 inches)^[3] of rain each year and has cooler average temperatures.

Burkina Faso's natural resources include manganese, limestone, marble, phosphates, pumice, salt and small deposits of gold.

Burkina Faso's fauna and flora are protected in two national parks and several reserves, see List of national parks in Africa.

Economy

Shop in Burkina Faso.

Main article: Economy of Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso has one of the lowest GDP per capita incomes in the world: $1,200. This ranks it as the 28th poorest nation.^[4] Agriculture represents 32% of its gross domestic product and occupies 80% of the working population. It consists mostly of livestock but also, especially in the south and southwest, of growing sorghum, pearl millet, maize (corn), peanuts, rice and cotton.

Unemployment causes a high rate of emigration. For example, three million citizens of Burkina Faso live in Côte d'Ivoire. According to the Central Bank of West African States, these migrants send substantial amounts of money back to Burkina Faso each year. Since the 1967 expulsions from Ghana, this situation has provoked tensions in the recipient countries. The most recent crisis occurred owing to the events of 2003 in Côte d'Ivoire, which led to the return of 300,000 migrants.

A large part of the economic activity of the country is funded by international aid.

The currency of Burkina Faso is the CFA franc.

There is mineral exploitation of copper, iron, manganese and, above all, gold.

Burkina Faso also hosts the International Art and Craft Fair, Ouagadougou, better known by its French name as SIAO, Le Salon International de l' Artisanat de Ouagadougou, one of the most important African handicraft fairs.

Demographics

United Nations Square in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Main article: Demographics of Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso's 14.4 million people (as of 2006) belong to two major West African cultural groups--the Voltaic and the Mande (whose common language is Dioula). The Voltaic Mossi make up about one-half of the population. The Mossi claim descent from warriors who migrated to present-day Burkina Faso from Ghana and established an empire that lasted more than 800 years. Predominantly farmers, the Mossi kingdom is still led by the Mogho Naba, whose court is in Ouagadougou.^[5]

Burkina Faso is an ethnically integrated, secular state. Most of Burkina's people are concentrated in the south and center of the country, sometimes exceeding 48 per square kilometer (125/sq. mi.). Hundreds of thousands of Burkinabe migrate to Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, many for seasonal agricultural work. These flows of workers are obviously affected by external events; the September 2002 coup attempt in Cote d'Ivoire and the ensuing fighting there have meant that hundreds of thousands of Burkinabe returned to Burkina Faso.^[5]

Burkina Faso has an estimated life expectancy at birth of slightly under 50 years of age.^{[citation needed]} The median age of its inhabitants is under 17.^{[citation needed]} As of 2006, the population growth rate is 3%.^{[citation needed]}

Religion

Main article: Religion in Burkina Faso

While exact statistics on religion in Burkina Faso are not available and vary widely, the Government of Burkina Faso estimated in its most recent census (1996) that approximately 60 percent of the population practice Islam, and that the majority of this group belong to the Sunni branch, while remaining minorities adhere to the Shi'a branch, and significant numbers of Sunni Muslims identify with the Tijaniyah Sufi, or Salafi traditions.^[6] The Government also estimated that 24 percent of the population maintains traditional indigenous beliefs, 17 percent practices Roman Catholicism, and 3 percent are members of various Protestant denominations.^[6]

Culture

Main article: Culture of Burkina Faso

Cinema Sanyon in Bobo-Dioulasso.

Literature in Burkina Faso is based on the oral tradition, which remains important.^[7] In 1934, during French occupation, Dim-Dolobsom Ouedraogo published his Maximes, pensées et devinettes mossi (Maximes, Thoughts and Riddles of the Mossi), a record of the oral history of the Mossi people.^[7] The oral tradition continued to have an influence on Burkinabé writers in the post-independence Burkina Faso of the 1960s, such as Nazi Boni and Roger Nikiema.^[8] The 1960s saw a growth in the number of playwrights being published.^[7] Since the 1970s, literature has developed in Burkina Faso with many more writers being published.^[9]

The theatre of Burkina Faso combines traditional Burkinabé performance with the colonial influences and post-colonial efforts to educate rural people to produce a distinctive national theatre. Traditional ritual ceremonies of the many ethnic groups in Burkina Faso have long involved dancing with masks. Western-style theatre became common during colonial times, heavily influenced by French theatre. With independence came a new style of theatre inspired by forum theatre aimed at educating and entertaining Burkina Faso's rural people.

The cuisine of Burkina Faso, typically of west African cuisine, is based around staple foods of sorghum, millet, rice, maize, peanuts, potatoes, beans, yams and okra.^[10]

The cinema of Burkina Faso is an important part of West African and African film industry.^[11]

Education

Main article: Education in Burkina Faso

Education in Burkina Faso is divided into primary, secondary and higher education.^[12] However schooling is not free. Secondary school costs approximately CFA 50,000 ($97 USD) per year, which is far above the means of most Burkinabé families. Boys receive preference in schooling; as such, girls' education and literacy rates are far lower than their male counterparts. An increase in girls' schooling has been observed due to the government's policy of making school cheaper for girls and granting them more scholarships. In order to proceed from elementary to middle school, middle to high school or high school to college, national exams must be passed. Institutions of higher education include the University of Ouagadougou, The Polytechnical University in Bobo-Dioulasso and the University of Koudougou, which is also a teacher training institution. There are private colleges in the capital city of Ouagadougou but these are affordable by only a small portion of the population.

There is also an International School of Ouagadougou (ISO), which is an American-based private school located in Ouagadougou.

The United Nations Development Program Report ranks Burkina Faso as the country with the lowest level of literacy in the world, despite a concerted effort to double its literacy rate from 12.8% in 1990 to 25.3% in 2008.[1]

Bulgaria

Republic of Bulgaria Република България Republika Balgaria [1]
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Съединението прави силата (Bulgarian) "Saedinenieto pravi silata" (transliteration) "Strength through unity."1
Anthem: Мила Родино (Bulgarian) Mila Rodino (transliteration) Dear Motherland
Location of Bulgaria (orange) – on the European continent (camel & white) – in the European Union (camel)   [Legend]
Capital (and largest city)		Sofia 42°41′N 23°19′E / 42.683, 23.317
Official languages		Bulgarian
Ethnic groups		84% Bulgarians, 9% Turkish, 5% Roma, 2% other groups
Demonym		Bulgarian
Government		Parliamentary republic
-	President	Georgi Parvanov
-	Prime Minister	Sergey Stanishev
-	Chairman of the National Assembly	Georgi Pirinski
Formation
-	Founded	681[2]
-	Last previously independent state2	1422
-	Autonomy within the Ottoman Empire	1878
-	Unification with Eastern Rumelia	1885
-	Officially recognized independence	1908
EU accession		1 January 2007
Area
-	Total	110,910 km2 (104th) 42,823 sq mi
-	Water (%)	0.3
Population
-	2008 estimate	▼7,640,238 (94th)
-	1998 census	▲7,932,984
-	Density	68.9/km2 (124th) 185/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2007 estimate
-	Total	$86.381 billion[3] (63rd)
-	Per capita	$11,310[3] (65th)
GDP (nominal)		2007 estimate
-	Total	$39.609 billion[3] (75th)
-	Per capita	$5,186[3] (88th)
Gini (2003)		29.2 (low)
HDI (2007)		▲ 0.824 (high) (53rd)
Currency		Lev3 (BGN)
Time zone		EET (UTC+2)
-	Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Drives on the		right
Internet TLD		.bg4
Calling code		359
1	"Bulgaria’s National Flag". Bulgarian Government (3 October 2005). Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
2	Vidin Tsardom.
3	plural Leva.
4	Bulgarians, in common with citizens of other European Union member-states, also use the .eu domain.
5	Cell phone system GSM and NMT 450i
6	Domestic power supply 220 V/50 Hz, Schuko (CEE 7/4) sockets

Bulgaria [bʌlˈgɛriə] (help·info) (Bulgarian: България, transliterated: Balgariya,^[1] pronounced IPA: [bəlˈgarija]), international transliteration Bălgarija, officially the Republic of Bulgaria (Република България, Republika Balgariya, pronounced IPA: [rɛˈpubliˌka bəlˈgarija]) is a state in the Balkans. It borders five other countries: Romania to the north (mostly along the River Danube), Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south. The Black Sea defines the extent of the country to the east.

Bulgaria includes parts of the Roman provinces of Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia. Old European culture within the territory of present-day^[update] Bulgaria started to produce golden artifacts by the fifth millennium BC.^[4]

The first Bulgarian kingdoms on European soil date back to the early Middle Ages (VIIth century). All Bulgarian political entities that subsequently emerged preserved the traditions (in ethnic name, language and alphabet) of the First Bulgarian Empire (632/681 – 1018), which at times covered most of the Balkans and spread its alphabet, literature and culture among the Slavic and other peoples of Eastern Europe. Centuries later, with the decline of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185 – 1396/1422), Bulgarian kingdoms came under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 led to the re-establishment of a Bulgarian state as a constitutional monarchy in 1878, with the Treaty of San Stefano marking the birth of the Third Bulgarian State. Following the Young Turk Revolution Bulgaria declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1908.^[5] After World War II, in 1945 Bulgaria became a communist state and part of the Eastern Bloc. Todor Zhivkov dominated Bulgaria politically for 33 years (from 1956 to 1989). In 1990, after the Revolutions of 1989, the Communist party gave up its monopoly on power and Bulgaria transitioned to democracy and free-market capitalism.

Currently^[update] Bulgaria functions as a parliamentary democracy under a unitary constitutional republic. A member of the European Union since 2007 and of NATO since 2004, it has a population of approximately 7.6 million.

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Relief 1.2 Mineral resources 1.3 Hydrography 1.4 Climate 1.5 Urban geography 2 History 2.1 Prehistory and Antiquity 2.2 The Slavs and Old Great Bulgaria 2.3 First Bulgarian Empire 2.4 Byzantine Bulgaria 2.5 Second Bulgarian Empire 2.6 Ottoman rule 2.7 The Kingdom of Bulgaria 2.7.1 The Balkan Wars and World War I 2.7.2 The interwar years 2.7.3 World War II 2.8 The People's Republic of Bulgaria 2.9 The Republic of Bulgaria 3 Politics 4 Military 5 Provinces and municipalities 6 Economy 6.1 Agriculture 6.2 Industry 7 Science, technology and telecommunications 8 Transport 9 Demographics 10 Culture 11 Tourism 12 Sports 13 Religion 14 See also 15 Notes 16 Further reading 16.1 Pre 1939 16.2 World War II 16.3 Communist era 16.4 Contemporary[update] 16.5 Guide-books 17 External links

Geography

Main article: Geography of Bulgaria

Geographically and in terms of climate, Bulgaria features notable diversity with the landscape ranging from the Alpine snow-capped peaks in Rila, Pirin and the Balkan Mountains to the mild and sunny Black Sea coast; from the typically continental Danubian Plain (ancient Moesia) in the north to the strong Mediterranean climatic influence in the valleys of Macedonia and in the lowlands in the southernmost parts of Thrace.

Phytogeographically, Bulgaria straddles the Illyrian and Euxinian provinces of the Circumboreal region within the Boreal kingdom. According to the WWF and to the European Environment Agency's Digital Map of European Ecological Regions, the territory of Bulgaria subdivides into two main ecoregions: the Balkan mixed forests and Rhodope montane mixed forests. Small parts of four other ecoregions also occur on Bulgarian territory.

Relief

The Balkan Peninsula derives its name from the Balkan or Stara Planina mountain-range, which runs through the centre of Bulgaria and extends into eastern Serbia.

The Seven Rila Lakes in Bulgaria

Bulgaria comprises portions of the regions known in classical times as Moesia, Thrace, and Macedonia. The mountainous southwest of the country has two alpine ranges — Rila and Pirin — and further east stand the lower but more extensive Rhodope Mountains. The Rila range includes the highest peak of the Balkan Peninsula, Musala, at 2,925 meters (9,596 ft); the long range of the Balkan mountains runs west-east through the middle of the country, north of the famous Rose Valley. Hilly country and plains lie to the southeast, along the Black Sea coast in the east, and along Bulgaria's main river, the Danube in the north.

Mineral resources

The country possesses relatively rich mineral-resources, including vast reserves of lignite and anthracite coal; non-ferrous ores such as copper, lead, zinc and gold. It has large deposits of manganese ore in the north-east. Smaller deposits exist of iron, silver, chromite, nickel and others. Bulgaria has abundant non-metalliferous minerals such as rock-salt, gypsum, kaolin and marble.

Hydrography

The Vacha Dam in the Rhodope Mountains

Bulgaria has a dense network of about 540 rivers,^[6] but with the notable exception of the Danube, most have short lengths and low water-levels.

Most rivers flow through mountainous areas; fewer in the Danubian Plain, Upper Thracian Plain and especially Dobrudzha. Two catchment basins exist: the Black Sea (57% of the territory and 42% of the rivers) and the Aegean Sea (43% of the territory and 58% of the rivers) basins. The longest river located solely in Bulgarian territory, the Iskar, has a length of 368 km. Other major rivers include the Struma and the Maritsa River in the south.

Rila and Pirin feature around 260 glacial lakes; the country also has several large lakes on the Black Sea coast and more than 2,200 dam lakes. Many mineral springs exist, located mainly in the south-western and central parts of the country along the faults between the mountains.

The Bulgarian word for spa, баня, transliterated as banya, appears in some of the names of more than 50 spa towns and resorts including Sapareva Banya, Hisarya, Sandanski, Bankya, Varshets, Pavel Banya, Devin, Velingrad and many others.

Climate

Bulgaria has a temperate climate, with cold winters (with considerable snowfall) and hot summers (rainy at first and dry during the second half). The Black Sea coast has a milder climate than rest of the country, but strong winds and violent local storms occur frequently during the winter. The barrier effect of the Balkan Mountains has some influence on climate throughout the country: northern Bulgaria gets colder and receives more rain than the southern regions. The Northern Thracian Plain (middle-south Bulgaria) has a climate resembling that of the Corn Belt in the United States. Precipitation in Bulgaria averages about 630 millimetres per year. Drier areas include Dobrudja and the northern coastal strip, while the higher parts of the Rila, Pirin and Stara Planina (Balkan) Mountains receive the highest levels of precipitation. In summer, temperatures in the southest Bulgaria often exceed 40 degrees Celsius, but remain cooler by the coast. The town of Sadovo, near Plovdiv, has recorded the highest known temperature: 45.2 degrees Celsius. The recorded absolute minimum temperature -39,3 degrees Celsius occurred, west of Sofiya, near Trøn or Trun town.

The highest Bulgarian mountains (over 900 or 1000 meters above sea-level) have an alpine climate . The lowest parts of the Struma and Maritza valleys have a subtropical (Mediterranean) influences, as do the Eastern Rhodope or Low Rhodope mountains.

Urban geography

Landscapes from Bulgaria. Clockwise from top left: a cloudy forest; Todorka Peak in Pirin; Belogradchik Rocks; Lake Shabla on the Black Sea coast.

Bulgaria's larger cities include^[7]:

Place	City	Population	Place	City	Population
1.	Sofia	&0000000001393565.0000001,393,565	6.	Stara Zagora	&0000000000152619.000000152,619
2.	Plovdiv	&0000000000378688.000000378,688	7.	Pleven	&0000000000122989.000000122,989
3.	Varna	&0000000000351151.000000351,151	8.	Sliven	&0000000000104304.000000104,304
4.	Burgas	&0000000000203797.000000203,797	9.	Dobrich	&0000000000103309.000000103,309
5.	Russe	&0000000000167715.000000167,715	10.	Shumen	&0000000000103016.000000103,016

Bulgaria operates a scientific station, the St. Kliment Ohridski Base, on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands off the coast of Antarctica.

Prehistory and Antiquity

Further information: Neolithic Europe, Bronze Age Europe, and Thrace

The Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari, a 3rd century BC tomb listed as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites

Prehistoric cultures in the Bulgarian lands include the Neolithic Hamangia culture and Vinča culture (6th to 3rd millennia BC), the eneolithic Varna culture (5th millennium BC; see also Varna Necropolis), and the Bronze Age Ezero culture. The Karanovo chronology serves as a gauge for the prehistory of the wider Balkans region.

The Thracians, the earliest known identifiable people to inhabit the present-day territory of Bulgaria, have left traceable marks among all the Balkan region despite its tumultuous history of many conquests.^[8][9] The Panagyuriste treasure ranks as one of the most splendid achievements of the Thracian culture.

The Thracians lived divided into numerous separate tribes until King Teres united most of them around 500 BC in the Odrysian kingdom, which peaked under the kings Sitalces and Cotys I (383-359 BC). In 188 BC the Romans invaded Thrace, and warfare continued until 45 AD when Rome finally conquered the region. The conquerors quickly Romanised the population. By the time the Slavs arrived, the Thracians had already lost their indigenous identity and had dwindled in number following frequent invasions.

The Slavs and Old Great Bulgaria

Main article: Old Great Bulgaria

The Slavs emerged from their original homeland (location not definitively established: see Slavic peoples) in the early 6th century and spread to most of the eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, forming in the process three main branches the West Slavs, the East Slavs and the South Slavs. The eastern South Slavs became part of the ancestors of the modern Bulgarians. They assimilated what remained of the Thracians.^[10] Modern Bulgarians derive much of their culture, language and self-determination from these early immigrants.

In 632, the Bulgars, an ancient nation that formed numerous kingdoms^[11][12][13] throughout Eurasia and stemmed from a largely enigmatic socio-cultural lineage (theorised as of either Indo-European^{[11][12][13][verification needed]} or Turkic descent), originally from Central Asia^[11][12][13], formed under the leadership of Khan Kubrat an independent state called Great Bulgaria, situated between the lower course of the Danube to the west, the Black Sea and the Azov Sea to the south, the Kuban River to the east, and the Donets River to the north.^[14]

Pressure from the Khazars led to the subjugation of Great Bulgaria in the second half of the 7th century. Some of the Bulgars from that territory later migrated to the northeast to form a new state called Volga Bulgaria (around the confluence of the Volga and Kama Rivers), which lasted until the 13th century.

First Bulgarian Empire

Main article: First Bulgarian Empire

The Battle of Anchialos, in which the Bulgarians defeated the Byzantines: one of the bloodiest battles of the Middle Ages.^[15]

The wedding of the daughter of Tsar Samuil

The Bulgarian Empire c. 927

Kubrat’s successor, Khan Asparuh, migrated with some of the Bulgar tribes to the lower courses of the rivers Danube, Dniester and Dniepr (known as Ongal), and conquered Moesia and Scythia Minor (Dobrudzha) from the Byzantine Empire, expanding his new khanate further into the Balkan Peninsula.^[16] A peace treaty with Byzantium in 681 and the establishment of the Bulgar capital of Pliska south of the Danube mark the beginning of the First Bulgarian Empire. At the same time one of Asparuh's brothers, Kuber, settled with another Bulgar group in present-day^[update] Macedonia.

During the siege of Constantinople in 717-718 the Bulgars honoured their treaty with the Byzantines by sending troops to help the populace of the imperial city. According to the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes, in the decisive battle the Bulgarians killed 22,000 Arabs^[17]. Contemporaries across the continent called the Bulgarian Emperor Tervel the "Saviour of Europe".^{[citation needed]}

The influence and territorial expansion of Bulgaria increased further during the rule of Khan Krum,^[18] who in 811 won a decisive victory against the Byzantine army led by Nicephorus I in the Battle of Pliska.^[19]

In 864, Bulgaria accepted Eastern Orthodox Christianity.^[20]

Bulgaria became a major European power in the ninth and the tenth centuries, while fighting with the Byzantine Empire for the control of the Balkans. This happened under the rule (852–889) of Boris I. During his reign, the Cyrillic alphabet originated in Preslav and Ohrid,^[21] adapted from the Glagolitic alphabet invented by the monks Saints Cyril and Methodius.^[22]

The Cyrillic alphabet became the basis for further cultural development. Centuries later, this alphabet, along with the Old Bulgarian language, fostered the intellectual written language (lingua franca) for Eastern Europe, known as Church Slavonic. The greatest territorial extension of the Bulgarian Empire — covering most of the Balkans — occurred under Simeon I, the first Bulgarian Tsar (Emperor), son of Boris I.^[23]

However, Simeon's greatest achievement consisted of Bulgaria developing a rich, unique Christian Slavonic culture, which became an example for the other Slavonic peoples in Eastern Europe and ensured the continued existence of the Bulgarian nation regardless of the centrifugal forces that threatened to tear it into pieces throughout its long and war-ridden history.

Following a decline in the mid-tenth century (worn out by wars with Croatia, by frequent Serbian rebellions sponsored by Byzantine gold, and by disastrous Magyar and Pecheneg invasions),^[24] Bulgaria collapsed in the face of an assault of the Rus' in 969-971.^[25]

The Byzantines then began campaigns to conquer Bulgaria. In 971, they seized the capital Preslav and captured Emperor Boris II.^[26] Resistance continued under Tsar Samuil in the western Bulgarian lands for nearly half a century. The country managed to recover and defeated the Byzantines in several major battles taking the control of the most of the Balkans and in 991 invaded the Serbian state.^[27] However, the Byzantines led by Basil II (Basil the Bulgar-Slayer) destroyed the Bulgarian state in 1018 after their victory at Kleidion.^[28]

Byzantine Bulgaria

Bulgarians nominate Peter II Delyan as Emperor of Bulgaria. John Skylitzes, Chronicle

In the first decade after the establishment of Byzantine rule, no evidence remains of any major attempt at resistance or any uprising of the Bulgarian population or nobility. Given the existence of such irreconcilable opponents to Byzantium as Krakra, Nikulitsa, Dragash and others, such apparent passivity seems difficult to explain. Some historians^[29] explain this fact by concessions that Basil II granted the Bulgarian nobility in order to gain their obedience. In the first place, Basil II guaranteed the indivisibility of Bulgaria in its former geographic borders and did not abolish officially the local rule of the Bulgarian nobility that now became part of Byzantine aristocracy as archons or strategoi. Second, special charters (royal decrees) of Basil II recognised the autocephaly of the Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid and set up its boundaries, securing the continuation of the dioceses already existing under Samuel, their property and other privileges.^[30]

The people of Bulgaria challenged Byzantine rule several times in the 11th and then again later in the early 12th century. The biggest uprising occurred under the leadership of Peter II Delyan, (proclaimed Emperor of Bulgaria in Belgrade in 1040). In the mid to late 11th century, the Normans, fresh from their recent conquests in southern Italy and Sicily, landed in the Balkans and began advancing against the Byzantine Empire. It took the Byzantines until 1185 before the Normans were driven out but until then they posed a constant threat to Byzantine Bulgaria. In 1091 another invasion came in the form of the Pechenegs. However, these too were crushed at Levounion and again in c. 1120 by the Byzantine Empire. After that, the Hungarians made an attempt to increase their influence beyond the Danube river; John Comnenus' campaigns along the Danube eventually drove back the Hungarians as well by c.1140. It would be another 45 years before Bulgaria would attain independence. Until that time, Bulgarian nobles ruled the province in the name of the Byzantine Empire until a rebellion by Ivan Asen I and Peter IV of Bulgaria led to the establishment of the Second Bulgarian Empire.

Second Bulgarian Empire

Main article: Second Bulgarian Empire

The ktitors of the Boyana Church sevastokrator Kaloyan and his wife Desislava.

From 1185, the Second Bulgarian Empire once again established Bulgaria as an important power in the Balkans for two more centuries with its capital based in Veliko Turnovo and under the Asen dynasty. Kaloyan, the third of the Asen monarchs, extended his dominions to Belgrade, Nish and Skopie (Uskub); he acknowledged the spiritual supremacy of the pope, and received the royal crown from a papal legate.^[10] The Bulgarian ruler from 1218 to 1241, Ivan Asen II demonstrated a humane and enlightened character.^[31] After a series of victorious campaigns he established his sway over Albania, Epirus, Macedonia and Thrace, and governed his wide dominions with justice, wisdom and moderation.^[32] In his time the nation attained a prosperity hitherto unknown: commerce, the arts and literature flourished; Veliko Turnovo, the capital, was enlarged and embellished; and great numbers of churches and monasteries were founded or endowed.^[10] The architecture of the Tarnovo Artistic School and the painting of the Tarnovo Artistic School produced some splendid achievements. Emperor Ivan Alexander won a reputation as a great maecenas and patron of the arts. The dynasty of the Asens became extinct in 1257, and as a result of the Tatar invasions (beginning in the later 13th century), of internal conflicts and of the constant attacks from the Byzantines and the Hungarians, the power of the country declined until the end of the 13th century. From 1300, under Emperor Theodore Svetoslav Bulgaria regained its strength, but by the end of the fourteenth century the country had disintegrated into several feudal principalities, which the Ottoman Empire eventually conquered.

Ottoman rule

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Main articles: History of early Ottoman Bulgaria and National awakening of Bulgaria

By the end of the 14th century factional divisions between Bulgarian feudal landlords (boyars) had gravely weakened the cohesion of the Second Bulgarian Empire. It split into three small Tsardoms and several semi-independent principalities which fought among themselves, and also with Byzantines, Hungarians, Serbs, Venetians, and Genoese. In these battles they often allied with the Ottoman Turks. Similar situations of internecine quarrel and infighting existed also in Byzantium and Serbia. In the period 1365-1370 the Ottomans conquered most of the Bulgarian towns and fortresses south of the Balkan Mountains.^[33]

Painting depicting the Battle of Nicopolis, 1396

In 1393 the Ottoman Turks captured Tarnovo, the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, after a three-month siege. With the fall of the Vidin Tsardom following the defeat of a Christian crusade at the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, the Ottomans finally subjugated and occupied Bulgaria.^[34][35][36] When a Polish-Hungarian crusade under the command of Władysław III of Poland set out to free the Balkans in 1444, the Turks defeated it in the battle of Varna.

Some accounts of the five centuries of Ottoman rule highlight its violence and oppression. The Ottomans decimated the Bulgarian population, which lost most of its cultural relics. Turkish authorities destroyed most of the medieval Bulgarian fortresses in order to prevent rebellions. Large towns and the areas where Ottoman power predominated remained severely depopulated until the nineteenth century.^[15]

The new authorities dismantled Bulgarian institutions at anything above the village or communal level, and merged the separate Bulgarian Church into the Orthodox Patriarchate in Constantinople (Istanbul) (although a small, semi-independent Bulgarian Church did survive until 1767).

Bulgarians in the Ottoman empire had to endure a number of disabilities; they paid more taxes than Moslems, they lacked legal equality with Moslems, they could not carry arms, their clothes could not rival those of Moslems in color, nor could their churches tower as high as mosques^[37]. Those who did convert, the Pomaks, retained Bulgarian language, dress and some customs compatible with Islam.^[35][36]

The Ottoman system started to decline by the 17th century, and at the end of the 18th had all but collapsed. Central government weakened over the decades, and this had allowed a number of local Ottoman holders of large estates to establish personal ascendancy over separate regions.^[38] During the last two decades of the 18th and first decades of the 19th centuries the Balkan Peninsula dissolved into virtual anarchy, a period known in Bulgarian as the kurdjaliistvo after the armed bands of Turks or kurdjalii who plagued the area at this time. In many regions thousands of peasants fled from the countryside either to local towns or (more probably) to the hills or forests; some even fled beyond the Danube to Moldova, Wallachia or southern Russia.^[35][39]

Shipka memorial (located near Kazanlak) — built in honor of the Battle of Shipka Pass; one of the important symbols of Bulgarian liberation.

In the 18th and especially during the 19th century, conditions improved in certain areas. Some towns — such as Gabrovo, Tryavna, Karlovo, Koprivshtitsa, Lovech, Skopie — prospered. The Bulgarian peasants actually possessed their land, although it officially belonged to the sultan. The 19th century also brought improved communications, transportation and trade. The first factory in the Bulgarian lands opened in Sliven in 1834, and the first railway system started running (between Rousse and Varna) in 1865.

Throughout the five Ottoman centuries Bulgarian people organized many attempts to re-establish their own state. The National awakening of Bulgaria became one of the key factors in the struggle for liberation. In the 19th century there came into existence the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee and the Internal Revolutionary Organisation led by liberal revolutionaries such as Vasil Levski, Hristo Botev, Lyuben Karavelov and many others.

In 1876, the April uprising broke out: the largest and best-organized Bulgarian rebellion against the Ottoman Empire. Though crushed by the Ottoman authorities, the uprising (together with the 1875 rebellion in Bosnia) prompted the Great Powers to convene the 1876 Conference of Constantinople, which delimited the ethnic Bulgarian territories as of the late 19th century, and elaborated the legal and political arrangements for establishing two autonomous Bulgarian provinces. The Ottoman Government declined to comply with the Great Powers’ decisions, making it possible for Russia to seek a solution by force without risking military confrontation with other Great Powers as in the Crimean War of 1854 to 1856..

The Kingdom of Bulgaria

Bulgaria according to the Treaty of San Stefano.

Following the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878 (when Russian soldiers together with a Romanian expeditionary force and volunteer Bulgarian troops defeated the Ottoman armies), the Treaty of San Stefano (3 March 1878), set up an autonomous Bulgarian principality. The Western Great Powers immediately rejected the treaty: they became aware that a large Slavic country in the Balkans might serve Russian interests. This led to the Treaty of Berlin (1878) which provided for an autonomous Bulgarian principality comprising Moesia and the region of Sofia. Alexander, Prince of Battenberg, took up the position of Bulgaria's first Prince. Most of Thrace became part of the autonomous region of Eastern Rumelia, whereas the rest of Thrace and all of Macedonia returned to the sovereignty of the Ottomans. After the Serbo-Bulgarian War and unification with Eastern Rumelia in 1885, the Bulgarian principality proclaimed itself a fully independent kingdom on 5 October (22 September O.S.), 1908, during the reign of Ferdinand I of Bulgaria.

Ferdinand, a prince from the ducal family of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, became the Bulgarian Prince after Alexander von Battenberg abdicated in 1886 following a coup d'état staged by pro-Russian army-officers. (Although the counter-coup coordinated by Stefan Stambolov succeeded, Prince Alexander decided not to remain the Bulgarian ruler without the approval of Alexander III of Russia.) The struggle for liberation of the Bulgarians in the Adrianople Vilayet and in Macedonia continued throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, culminating with the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising organised by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization in 1903.

The Balkan Wars and World War I

Bulgarians overrun a Turkish position at bayonet-point during the First Balkan War.

In 1912 and 1913, Bulgaria became involved in the Balkan Wars, first entering into conflict alongside Greece, Serbia and Montenegro against the Ottoman Empire. The First Balkan War (1912-1913) proved a success for the Bulgarian army, but a conflict over the division of Macedonia arose amongst the victorious allies. The Second Balkan War (1913) pitted Bulgaria against Greece and Serbia, joined by Romania and Turkey. After its defeat in the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria lost considerable territory conquered in the first war, as well as Southern Dobrudzha and parts of the region of Macedonia.

During World War I, Bulgaria found itself fighting on the losing side as a result of its alliance with the Central Powers. Defeat in 1918 led to new territorial losses (the Western Outlands to Serbia, Western Thrace to Greece and the re-conquered Southern Dobrudzha to Romania). The Balkan Wars and World War I led to the influx of over 250,000 Bulgarian refugees from Macedonia, Eastern and Western Thrace and Southern Dobrudzha.

The interwar years

Prince Ferdinand proclaimed himself Tsar of Bulgaria in 1908. However, internationally his title equated to "King", not to "Emperor" (as the title Tsar might suggest).

In September 1918, Tsar Ferdinand abdicated in favour of his son Boris III in order to head off revolutionary tendencies. Under the Treaty of Neuilly (November 1919), Bulgaria ceded its Aegean coastline to Greece, recognized the existence of Yugoslavia, ceded nearly all of its Macedonian territory to that new state, and had to give Dobrudzha back to the Romanians. The country had to reduce its army to 20,000 men, and to pay reparations exceeding $400 million. Bulgarians generally refer to the results of the treaty as the "Second National Catastrophe".

Elections in March 1920 gave the Agrarians a large majority, and Aleksandar Stamboliyski formed Bulgaria's first peasant government. He faced huge social problems, but succeeded in carrying out many reforms, although opposition from the middle and upper classes, the landlords and the officers of the army remained powerful. In March 1923 Stamboliyski signed an agreement with the Kingdom of Yugoslavia recognising the new border and agreeing to suppress Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO), which favoured a war to regain Macedonia from Bulgaria. This triggered a nationalist reaction, and the Bulgarian coup d'état of 9 June 1923 eventually resulted in Stamboliykski's assassination. A right-wing government under Aleksandar Tsankov took power, backed by the army and the VMRO, which waged a White terror against the Agrarians and the Communists. In 1926 the Tsar persuaded Tsankov to resign, a more moderate government under Andrey Lyapchev took office and an amnesty was proclaimed, although the Communists remained banned. A popular alliance including the re-organised Agrarians won elections in 1931 under the name Popular Bloc.

In May 1934 another coup took place, removing the Popular Bloc from power and establishing an authoritarian military régime headed by Kimon Georgiev. A year later Tsar Boris managed to remove the military régime from power, restoring a form of parliamentary rule (without the re-establishment of the political parties) and under his own strict control. The Tsar's regime proclaimed neutrality, but gradually Bulgaria gravitated into alliance with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

World War II

After regaining control over Southern Dobrudzha in 1940, Bulgaria became allied with the Axis Powers, although it never declared war on the USSR and refused to participate in its invasion. During World War II Nazi Germany allowed Bulgaria to occupy parts of Greece and of Yugoslavia. Bulgaria became one of only three countries (along with Finland and Denmark) that saved its entire Jewish population (around 50,000 people) from the Nazi camps by refusing to comply with a 31 August 1943 resolution.

In early September 1944, the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria and invaded the country, meeting no resistance. This enabled the Bulgarian Communists (the Bulgarian Workers' Party) to seize power and establish a communist state. The new régime turned Bulgaria's forces against Germany. The 450,000-man army of 1944 dwindled to 130,000 by 1945.

The People's Republic of Bulgaria

Main article: History of Communist Bulgaria

After World War II, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. It became a People's Republic in 1946 and one of the USSR's staunchest allies. In the late 1970s, it began normalizing relations with Greece. The People's Republic ended in 1989 as many Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, as well as the Soviet Union itself, began to collapse. Opposition forces removed the Bulgarian Communist leader Todor Zhivkov and his right-hand man Milko Balev from power on 10 November 1989.

The Republic of Bulgaria

In February 1990, the Communist Party voluntarily gave up its monopoly on power, and in June 1990 free elections took place, won by the moderate wing of the Communist Party (renamed the Bulgarian Socialist Party — BSP). In July 1991, the country adopted a new constitution which provided for a relatively weak elected President and for a Prime Minister accountable to the legislature.

Since 2007 Bulgaria has become a member state of the European Union and part of its single market

The anti-Communist Union of Democratic Forces took office, and between 1992 and 1994 carried through the privatization of land and industry, but faced massive unemployment and economic difficulties. The reaction against economic reform allowed BSP to take office again in 1995, but by 1996 the BSP government had also encountered difficulties, and in the presidential elections of that year the UDF's Petar Stoyanov was elected. In 1997, the BSP government collapsed and the UDF came to power. Unemployment, however, remained high and the electorate became increasingly dissatisfied with both parties.

Relations with Turkey began to normalise in the 1990s^{[citation needed]}.

On 17 June 2001, Simeon II, the son of Tsar Boris III and the former Head of state (as Tsar of Bulgaria from 1943 to 1946), won a narrow victory in democratic elections. The king's party — National Movement Simeon II ("NMSII") — won 120 out of 240 seats in Parliament and overturned the two pre-existing political parties. Simeon's popularity declined during his four-year rule as Prime Minister, and the BSP won the elections in 2005, but could not form a single-party government and had to seek a coalition.

Since 1989, Bulgaria has held multi-party elections and privatized its economy, but economic difficulties and a tide of corruption have led over 800,000 Bulgarians, including many qualified professionals, to emigrate in a "brain drain". Since a reform package introduced in 1997^{[citation needed]}, the economy has returned to growth. Bulgaria became a member of NATO in 2004 and of the European Union in 2007.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Bulgaria

The Largo, the home of the Presidency and of the Council of Ministers

The Bulgarian Parliament building

Bulgaria joined NATO on 29 March 2004 and signed the European Union Treaty of Accession on 25 April 2005.^[40][41] It became a full member of the European Union on 1 January 2007. The country had joined the United Nations in 1955, and became a founding member of OSCE in 1995. As a Consultative Party to the Antarctic Treaty, Bulgaria takes part in the administration of the territories situated south of 60° south latitude.^[42][43]

Georgi Parvanov, the President of Bulgaria since 22 January 2002, won re-election on 29 October 2006 and began his second term in office in January 2007. (Bulgarian voters directly elect their presidents for a five-year term with the right to one re-election.) The president serves as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He also chairs the Consultative Council for National Security. While unable to initiate legislation other than Constitutional amendments, the President can return a bill for further debate, although the parliament can override the President's veto by vote of a majority of all MPs.

Since 17 August 2005 Sergey Stanishev as Prime Minister has chaired the Council of Ministers, the principal body of the executive branch, which presently^[update] consists of 20 ministers. The Prime Minister — usually nominated by the largest parliamentary group — receives the mandate of the President to form a cabinet.

The current^[update] governmental coalition comprises the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), National Movement Simeon II (NMSII) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (representing mainly the Turkish minority).

The Bulgarian unicameral parliament, the National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie (Народно събрание), consists of 240 deputies, each elected for four-year terms by popular vote. The votes go to parties or to coalition-lists of candidates for each of the 28 administrative divisions. A party or coalition must win a minimum of 4% of the vote in order to enter parliament. Parliament has the responsibility for enactment of laws, approval of the budget, scheduling of presidential elections, selection and dismissal of the Prime Minister and other ministers, declaration of war, deployment of troops outside of Bulgaria, and ratification of international treaties and agreements.

The most recent^[update] elections took place in June 2005. The next^[update] scheduled elections should take place in summer 2009.

The Bulgarian judicial system consists of regional, district and appeal courts, as well as a Supreme Court of Cassation. In addition, Bulgaria has a Supreme Administrative Court and a system of military courts. A qualified majority of two-thirds of the membership of the Supreme Judicial Council elects the Presidents of the Supreme Court of Cassation and of the Supreme Administrative Court, as well as the Prosecutor General, from among its members; the President of the Republic then appoints those elected. The Supreme Judicial Council has charge of the self-administration and organization of the Judiciary.

The Constitutional Court supervises the review of the constitutionality of laws and statutes brought before it, as well as the compliance of these laws with international treaties that the Government has signed. Parliament elects the twelve members of the Constitutional Court by a two-thirds majority: the members serve for a nine-year term.

The territory of the Republic of Bulgaria subdivides into provinces and municipalities. In all, Bulgaria has 28 provinces, each headed by a provincial governor appointed by the government. In addition, the country includes 263 municipalities.

In June 2007, the president of the USA George W. Bush visited Bulgaria for several hours, thus strengthening the relations between the countries.

Military

Main articles: Military of Bulgaria and Medieval Bulgarian Army

A Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29

The military of Bulgaria consists of three services: the Bulgarian land forces, the Bulgarian Navy and the Bulgarian Air Force. The armed forces have as their patron saint Sveti Georgi (St. George), and Bulgarians celebrate his feast day, 6 May nationally as Valour and Army Day. Despite active participation in all major European wars since the end of the nineteenth century, Bulgarian forces have never lost a flag.^[44]

Bulgaria first became a major military power in Europe under Khan Krum and Tsar Simeon I, in a series of wars with the Byzantine Empire for control of the Balkan Peninsula, in the late ninth century. By the use of approximately 12,000 heavy cavalry in tactics resembling those of feudal knights, Simeon I's forces reached as far as the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, in AD 896 . A formal peace treaty lasted until 912, when both sides became engaged in a war which ended with several major defeats of the Byzantines, including one of the bloodiest battles in the Middle Ages at Anchialus in AD 917. Bulgaria again became a significant military power under the rule of the Asen dynasty in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. During the rule of Tsar Kaloyan (1197-1207) Bulgaria became the first European country to defeat the Crusader knights.

Bulgarian and American paratroops on a joint drill.

After declaring total independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1908, Bulgaria has functioned as a minor European power, frequently included in plans and wars of the Great Powers. In 1912, the Bulgarian forces invented the world's first aircraft-dropped bombs and soon after became the first military in the world to utilize aviation bombardment, in the siege of Odrin. Thus the Bulgarian Air Force, inheritor of one of the oldest traditions of powered aircraft combat in the world, became an early innovator in aviation military technology and in air-to-surface attack strategies/tactics.

Following a series of reductions beginning in 1989, the active troops of Bulgaria's army number just 68,450 today^[update]. Reserve forces include 303,000 soldiers and officers. "PLAN 2004", an effort to modernize Bulgaria's armed forces, aims to better meet the perceived military needs of NATO and the European Union.

A Bulgarian Army BMP-23 in Iraq

Bulgarian military personnel have participated in international missions in Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Starting in 2008, Bulgaria completely abolished compulsory military service. Bulgaria's naval and air forces became fully professional in 2006, with the land-forces scheduled to follow suit in 2008. Bulgaria's Special Forces have conducted missions with the SAS, Delta Force, KSK, and the Spetsnaz of Russia.

In April 2006 Bulgaria and the United States of America signed a defence-cooperation agreement providing for the development of the Bulgarian air bases at Bezmer (near Yambol) and Graf Ignatievo (near Plovdiv), the Novo Selo training-range (near Sliven), and a logistics centre in Aytos as joint US-Bulgarian military facilities. Bulgaria's navy comprises mainly Soviet-era ships, and three submarines. With 354 kilometres (220 mi) of coastline, Bulgaria does not regard assault by sea as a major risk. In the course of recent modernization efforts, Bulgaria purchased a new frigate from Belgium, and the navy seems likely to acquire four Gowind corvettes from the French company DCN. Bulgaria's air forces also use a large amount of Soviet equipment. Plans to acquire transport and attack helicopters are underway, in addition to a major overhaul on old Soviet weapon systems. Military spending accounts for nearly 2.6% of Bulgaria's GDP.^[45]

Provinces and municipalities

Main articles: Provinces of Bulgaria and Municipalities of Bulgaria

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SOFIA

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Blagoevgrad

Burgas

Dobrich

Gabrovo

Haskovo

Kardzhali

Kyustendil

Lovech

Montana

Pazardzhik

Pernik

Pleven

Plovdiv

Razgrad

Ruse

Shumen

Silistra

Sliven

Smolyan

Sofia

Stara Zagora

Targovishte

Varna

Veliko Tarnovo

Vidin

Vratsa

Yambol

Black Sea

Danube

F.Y.R.
Macedonia

Greece

Romania

Serbia

Turkey

Between 1987 and 1999 Bulgaria consisted of nine provinces (oblasti, singular oblast); since 1999, it has consisted of twenty-eight. All take their names from their respective capital cities:

Blagoevgrad Burgas Dobrich Gabrovo Haskovo Kardzhali Kyustendil Lovech Montana Pazardzhik Pernik Pleven Plovdiv Razgrad

Rousse Shumen Silistra Sliven Smolyan Sofia City Sofia Province Stara Zagora Targovishte Varna Veliko Tarnovo Vidin Vratsa Yambol

The provinces subdivide into 264 municipalities.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Bulgaria

Bulgaria became a member of the European Union in 2007; the World Bank classifies it as an "upper-middle-income economy".^[46] Bulgaria has experienced rapid economic growth in recent years^[update]. The country continues to rank as the second-poorest member state of the EU,^[47] but standards of living have start^[update]ed to rise.

Due to high-profile allegations of corruption, and an apparent lack of willingness to tackle high-level corruption, the European Union has partly frozen EU funds of about €450 million and may freeze more if Bulgarian authorities do not show solid progress in fighting corruption and in speeding up reforms.^[48]

Bulgaria has tamed its inflation since the deep economic crisis in 1996-1997, but latest^[update] figures show an increase in the inflation-rate to 12.5% for 2007. Unemployment declined from more than 17% in the mid 1990s to nearly 7% in 2007, but the unemployment-rate in some rural areas continues in high double-digits. Bulgaria's inflation means that the country's adoption of the Euro might not take place until the year 2013-2014.^[49]

View of central Sofia

A view of Plovdiv

Bulgaria's economy contracted dramatically after 1987 with the dissolution of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON), with which the Bulgarian economy had integrated closely. The standard-of-living fell by about 40%, but it regained pre-1990 levels in June 2004. United Nations sanctions against Yugoslavia and Iraq took a heavy toll on the Bulgarian economy. The first signs of recovery emerged in 1994 when the GDP grew and inflation fell. During the government of Zhan Videnov's cabinet in 1996, the economy collapsed due to lack of international economic support and an unstable banking system. Since 1997, the country has been on the path to recovery, with GDP growing at a 4%–5% rate, increasing FDI, macroeconomic stability and European Union membership.

The former NMSII government elected in 2001 pledged to maintain the fundamental economic policy-objectives adopted by its predecessor in 1997, specifically: retaining the Currency Board, implementing sound financial policies, accelerating privatisation, and pursuing structural reforms. Economic forecasts for 2005 and 2006 predicted continued growth for the economy. Economists predicted annual year-on-year GDP growth for 2005 and 2006 of 5.3% and 6.0% respectively. Forecasters expected industrial output in 2005 to rise by 11.9% from the previous year, and by 15.2% in 2006. Unemployment for 2005 was projected at 11.5%, 9% for 2006 and 7.25% for 2007.^[50] As of 2006 the GDP structure is: agriculture 8.0%; industry 26.1%; services 65.9%.

Agriculture

Agricultural output has decreased overall since 1989, but production has grown in recent years^[update], and together with related industries like food-processing it still plays a key role in the Bulgarian economy. Arable farming predominates over stock-breeding. The country has a lack of modern equipment. Alongside aeroplanes and other equipment, Bulgarian agriculture has over 150,000 tractors and 10,000 combine harvesters.

Production of the most important crops (according to the FAO) in 2006 (in '000 tons) amounted to: wheat 3301.9; sunflower 1196.6; maize 1587.8; grapes 266.2; tobacco 42.0; tomatoes 213.0; barley 546.3; potatoes 386.1; peppers 156.7; cucumbers 61.5; cherries 18.2; watermelons 136.0; cabbage 72.7; apples 26.1; plums 18.0; strawberries 8.8.

Industry

Main article: Industry of Bulgaria

A view of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant

Industry plays a key role in the Bulgarian economy. Although Bulgaria lacks large reserves of oil and gas, it produces significant quantities of electricity. Bulgaria formerly ranked as the most important exporter of electricity in the region due to the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, which has a total capacity of 2,000 MW, but after the closure of its first four blocks, exports of electricity declined and the country lost its leading position as an energy-supplier for the Balkans. However, the two most modern blocks of the power plant, blocks 5 and 6, continue to run and to provide power. Construction has started^[update] on a second plant, the Belene Nuclear Power Plant with a projected capacity of 2,000 MW. Plans exist for a $1.4bn project for construction of an additional 670 MW for the 500 MW Maritza Iztok 1 Thermal Power Plant^[51] (see Energy in Bulgaria).

Ferrous metallurgy has major importance. Much of the production of steel and pig iron takes place in Kremikovtsi and Pernik, with a third metallurgical base in Debelt. In production of steel and steel products per capita the country heads the Balkans. Recently the fate of Kremikovtsi steel factories has come under debate, because of serious pollution of the capital, Sofia.

The largest refineries for lead and zinc operate in Plovdiv (the biggest refinery between Italy and the Ural mountains), Kardzhali and Novi Iskar; for copper in Pirdop and Eliseina; for aluminium in Shumen. In production of many metals per capita, Bulgaria ranks first in South Eastern Europe.

About 14% of the total industrial production relates to machine-building, and 24%^{[citation needed]} of the people work in this field. Its importance has decreased since 1989.

Electronics and electric equipment-production have developed to a high degree. The largest centres include Sofia, Plovdiv and the surrounding area, Botevgrad, Stara Zagora, Varna, Pravets and many other cities. These plants produce household appliances, computers, CDs, telephones, medical and scientific equipment.

Many factories producing transportation equipment currently^[update] do not operate at full capacity. Plants produce trains (Burgas, Dryanovo), trams (Sofia), trolleys (Dupnitsa), buses (Botevgrad), trucks (Shumen), motor trucks (Plovdiv, Lom, Sofia, Lovech). Lovech has an automotive assembly plant. Rousse serves as the main centre for agricultural machinery. Most Bulgarian shipbuilding takes place in Varna, Burgas and Rousse. Bulgarian arms production mainly operates in central Bulgaria (Kazanlak, Sopot, Karlovo).

Foreigners seeking additional homes have recently^[update] boosted the Bulgarian properties market. Buyers come from across Europe, but mostly from the United Kingdom, encouraged by relatively cheap property-prices and the country's easy accessibility via air-travel.^[52]

Science, technology and telecommunications

A scheme of Interkosmos-22, the first Bulgarian space satellite.

Some multinational companies have set up regional offices and headquarters in Bulgaria, most notably Hewlett-Packard, which built its Global Service Centre for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in Sofia.

Telecommunications has become one of the growing industries in the country. Three GSM mobile-telephone operators — Globul, Mobiltel and Vivatel — provide almost 100% coverage each. They have a network of service-centers throughout the country. Bulgarians made use of some 10 million cellular phones^[53] as of 2006. Mobikom provides the only NMT 450 mobile-phone service. Bulgarians in towns can access the Internet, and recently^[update] most villages have acquired fast connectivity and VoIP; BTK offers DSL connection in larger cities. Bulgaria had about 298,781^[54] Internet hosts as of 2007.

Bulgaria supplied many scientific and research instruments for the Soviet space-program, and also sent two men into space: Georgi Ivanov on Soyuz 33 (1979) and Alexander Alexandrov on Soyuz TM-5 (1988). The country participates in India's lunar exploration satellite, Chandrayaan-1. Bulgaria became one of the first European countries to develop serial production of personal computers (Pravetz series 8) in the beginning of the 1980s, and has experience in pharmaceutical research and development.

John Vincent Atanasoff (1903-1995), an American physicist of Bulgarian heritage, invented the first electronic digital computer, a special-purpose machine that became known as the Atanasoff–Berry Computer.

Asen Yordanov (1896-1967), the founder of aeronautical engineering in Bulgaria, worked as an aviator, engineer and inventor; he also contributed to the development of aviation in the United States. He played a significant role in U.S. aircraft development and took part in many other projects.

The Bulgarian-American inventor and scientist Peter Petroff became best known for his work in NASA. Petroff also invented the first digital watch (1970).^[55]

U.S. chemist Carl Djerassi, who developed the first oral contraceptive pill (OCP), has Bulgarian ancestry.

The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the leading scientific institution in the country, employs most of Bulgaria's researchers working in its numerous branches.

Bulgaria hosts two major astronomical observatories: the Rozhen Observatory, the largest in Southeastern Europe, and the Belogradchik Observatory with three telescopes; as well as several "public astronomical observatories" with planetaria, focused on educationnal and outreach activities.

Transport

Main article: Transport in Bulgaria

European route E79 near Blagoevgrad

Bulgaria occupies a unique and strategically important geographic location. Since ancient times, the country has served as a major crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa. Five of the ten Trans-European corridors run through its territory. Bulgaria's roads have a total length of 102,016 km (63,390 mi), 93,855 km (58,319 mi) of them paved and 441 km (274 mi) of them motorways. Several motorways are planned, under construction or partially built: Trakiya motorway, Hemus motorway, Cherno More motorway, Struma motorway, Maritza motorway and Lyulin motorway. Other planned motorways await finalisation of their routes. They include a link between the capital Sofia and Vidin, a link between the Struma and Trakiya motorways south of Rila Mountain, a link between Rousse and Veliko Tarnovo, and the Sofia ringroad. Many roads have recently^[update] undergone reconstruction. Bulgaria has 6,500 km (4,000 mi) of railway track, more than 60% electrified. A €360,000,000 project exists for the modernisation and electrification of the Plovdiv-Kapitan Andreevo railway. The only high-speed railway in the region, between Sofia and Vidin is to be completed by 2017, at a cost of €3 000 000 000.^[56]

Air transportation has developed relatively comprehensively. Bulgaria has five official international airports — at Sofia, Burgas, Varna, Plovdiv and Gorna Oryahovitsa. Massive investment plans exist for the first three. Important domestic airports include those of Vidin, Pleven, Silistra, Targovishte, Stara Zagora, Kardzhali, Haskovo and Sliven. After the fall of communism in 1989, most of them are not used as the importance of domestic flights declined. There are many military airports and agricultural airfields. 128 of the 213 airports in Bulgaria are paved. The ports of Varna and Burgas are by far the most important and have the largest turnover. Other than Burgas, Sozopol, Nesebar and Pomorie are big fishing ports. The largest ports on the Danube River are Rousse and Lom which serves the capital. The cities and many smaller towns have well-organised public transport systems, using buses, trolleys (in about 20 cities) and trams (in Sofia). The Sofia Metro in the capital has three planned lines with total length of about 48 km (30 mi) and 52 stations, but much currently^[update] remains uncompleted.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Bulgaria

According to the 2001 census,^[57] Bulgaria's population consists mainly of ethnic Bulgarian (83.9%), with two sizable minorities, Turks (9.4%) and Roma (4.7%). Of the remaining 2.0%, 0.9% comprises some 40 smaller minorities, most prominently in numbers the Russians, Armenians, Vlachs, Jews, Crimean Tatars and Sarakatsani (historically known also as Karakachans). 1.1% of the population did not declare their ethnicity in the latest census in 2001.

The 2001 Bulgarian census defines an ethnic group as a "community of people, related to each other by origin and language, and close to each other by mode of life and culture"; and one's mother tongue as "the language which a person speaks best and which is usually used for communication in the family (household)". ^[58]

Native Language	By ethnic group	By mother tongue	Percentage
Bulgarian	6 655 000	6 697 000	84.46%
Turkish	747 000	763 000	9.62%
Gypsies (roma)	371 000	328 000	4.13%
Others	69 000	71 000	0.89%
Total	7 929 000	7 929 000	100% [58]

The Rila Monastery

Most Bulgarians (82.6%) belong, at least nominally, to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the national Eastern Orthodox Church. Other religious denominations include Islam (12.2%), various Protestant denominations (0.8%) and Roman Catholicism (0.5%); with other denominations, atheists and undeclared totalling approximately 4.1%.

In recent^[update] years Bulgaria has had one of the slowest population growth-rates in the world. Negative population growth has occurred since the early 1990s,^[59] due to economic collapse and high emigration. In 1989 the population comprised 9,009,018 people, in 2001 7,950,000 and in 2008 7,640,000.^[60] Now^[update] Bulgaria faces a severe demographic crisis: the population has a fertility-rate of 1.4 children per woman as of 2007, with a predicted rate of 1.7 by the end of 2050. The fertility-rate will need to reach 2.2 to restore natural growth in population.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Bulgaria

See also: List of famous Bulgarians, Bulgarian customs, Music of Bulgaria, Bulgarian artists, Bulgarian dances, and Bulgarian cuisine

Bulgarian Neo-Baroque architecture in Rousse

Bulgarian girls in traditional clothing

Bulgaria functioned as the hub of Slavic Europe during much of the Middle Ages, exerting considerable literary and cultural influence over the Eastern Orthodox Slavic world by means of the Preslav and Ohrid Literary Schools. Bulgaria also gave the world the Cyrillic alphabet, the second most-widely used alphabet in the world, which originated in these two schools in the tenth century AD.

A number of ancient civilizations, most notably the Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Slavs, and Bulgars, have left their mark on the culture, history and heritage of Bulgaria. The country has nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

• The early medieval large rock relief Madara Rider
• two Thracian tombs (one in Sveshtari and one in Kazanlak)
• three monuments of medieval Bulgarian culture (the Boyana Church, the Rila Monastery and the Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo)
• two examples of natural beauty: the Pirin National Park and the Srebarna Nature Reserve
• the ancient city of Nesebar, a unique combination of European cultural interaction, as well as, historically, one of the most important centres of seaborne trade in the Black Sea

Note also the Varna Necropolis, a 3500-3200BC burial-site, purportedly containing the oldest examples of worked gold in the world.

Bulgaria's contribution to humanity continued throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with individuals such as John Atanasoff — a United States citizen of Bulgarian descent, regarded as the father of the digital computer. A number of noted opera-singers (Nicolai Ghiaurov, Boris Christoff, Raina Kabaivanska, Ghena Dimitrova), Anna Veleva, harpist Anna-Maria Ravnopolska-Dean and successful artists (Christo Yavashev, Pascin, Vladimir Dimitrov) popularized the culture of Bulgaria abroad.

One of the best internationally-known artists, Valya Balkanska sang the song Izlel e Delyu Haydutin, part of the Voyager Golden Record selection of music included in the two Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977. The Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir also known as Mystery of Bulgarian voices has also attained a considerable degree of fame.

A characteristic custom called nestinarstvo distinguishes the Strandzha region. The custom involves dancing into fire or over live embers.

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Bulgaria

The Black Sea at Sinemorets

The châteauesque summer palace Euxinograd near Varna

Alpine landscape of the Rila mountains

In the northern-hemisphere winter, Samokov, Borovets, Bansko and Pamporovo become well-attended ski-resorts. Summer resorts exist on the Black Sea at Sozopol, Nessebur, Golden Sands, Sunny Beach, Sveti Vlas, Albena, Saints Constantine and Helena and many others. Spa resorts such as Bankya, Hisarya, Sandanski, Velingrad, Varshets and many others attract visitors throughout the year. Bulgaria has started to become an attractive tourist destination because of the quality of the resorts and prices below those found in Western Europe.

Bulgaria has enjoyed a substantial growth in income from international tourism over the past decade^[update]. Beach-resorts attract tourists from Germany, Romania, Russia, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The ski-resorts have become a favourite destination for British and Irish tourists.

Bulgaria now^[update] attracts close to 7 million visitors yearly. Tourism in Bulgaria makes a major contribution towards the country's annual economic growth of 6% to 6.5%.^{[citation needed]}

Sports

Main article: Sport in Bulgaria

The Vasil Levski National Stadium

Football has become by far the most popular sport in Bulgaria. Many Bulgarian fans closely follow the top Bulgarian league, the Bulgarian "A" Professional Football Group; as well as the leagues of other European countries. The Bulgaria national football team achieved its greatest success with a fourth-place finish at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States.

Stiliyan Petrov currently^[update] ranks as the most popular^{[citation needed]} Bulgarian footballer. Georgi Asparuhov-Gundi (1943-1971), also became extremely popular at home and abroad, having had offers from clubs in Italy and Portugal, and having won the Bulgarian football player №1 award for the twentieth century.^[61] Hristo Stoichkov has arguably become the best-known Bulgarian footballer of all time. His career peaked between 1992 and 1995, while he played for FC Barcelona, winning the Ballon d'Or in 1994. Additionally, he featured in the FIFA 100 rankings. Three Bulgarians have won the European top scorers' Golden Boot award: Stoichkov,Georgi Slavkov and Petar Jekov.

PFC CSKA Sofia (champion of Bulgaria 31 times (As of 2008^[update]), National cup holder 13 times, European Cup semi-finalist 2 times, Cup Winners' Cup semi-finalist), PFC Levski Sofia (25 times champion of Bulgaria and 26 times National Cup holder), PFC Botev Plovdiv (officially the oldest football- and sports-club in Bulgaria, 2 times champion of Bulgaria and 2 times National Cup holder) PFC Slavia Sofia (8 times football champion of Bulgaria and 12 times holder of the National Cup, Cup Winners' Cup semi-finalist) have become the most successful Bulgarian football-clubs. Other popular clubs include PFC Lokomotiv Sofia, PFC Litex Lovech, PFC Cherno More Varna and PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv. PFC Levski Sofia became the first Bulgarian team to participate in the modern UEFA Champions League group stage, having achieved this by qualifying for the 2006/2007 competition.

Apart from football, Bulgaria boasts great achievements in a great variety of other sports. Maria Gigova and Maria Petrova have each held a record of three world-titles in rhythmic gymnastics. Other famous gymnasts include Simona Peycheva and Neshka Robeva (a highly successful coach as well). Yordan Yovtchev ranks as the most famous Bulgarian competitor in Artistic Gymnastics. Bulgarians also dominate in weightlifting, with around 1,000 gold medals in different competitions, although cases of doping have occurred among Bulgarian weightlifters, which led to the expulsion of the entire Bulgarian team from the 2000 Summer Olympics, and their voluntary withdrawal from the 1988 Summer Olympics.^[62] Stefan Botev, Nickolai Peshalov, Demir Demirev and Yoto Yotov figure among the most distinguished weightlifters. In wrestling, Boyan Radev, Serafim Barzakov, Armen Nazarian, Plamen Slavov, Kiril Sirakov and Sergey Moreyko rank as world-class wrestlers. Dan Kolov became a wrestling legend in the early 20th century after leaving for United States.

Bulgarians have made many significant achievements in athletics. Stefka Kostadinova, who still holds the women's high jump world record, jumped 209 centimetres at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics in Rome to clinch the coveted title. Presently^[update], Bulgaria takes pride in its sprinters, especially Ivet Lalova and Tezdzhan Naimova.

Volleyball recently^[update] experienced a big resurgence. The Bulgarian national volleyball team, one of the strongest teams in Europe, currently^[update] ranks fourth in the FIVB ranklist.^{[citation needed]} At the 2006 Volleyball World Championship this team won the bronze medal.

Chess has achieved great popularity. One of the top chess-masters and a former world champion, Veselin Topalov, plays for Bulgaria. At the end of 2005, both men's and women's world chess-champions came from Bulgaria, as well as the junior world champion.

Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski have won the ISU world figure skating championships twice in a row (2006 and 2007) for ice-dance.

Bulgarians have also achieved major successes in tennis. The Maleeva sisters: Katerina, Manuela and Magdalena, have each reached the top ten in world rankings, and became the only set of three sisters ranked in the top ten at the same time. Bulgaria has other well-known tennis players such as Tsvetana Pironkova, Sesil Karatancheva and Grigor Dimitrov, who in 2008 became the Wimbledon junior champion and US Open junior chamion.

Bulgaria also has strengths in shooting sports. Maria Grozdeva and Tanyu Kiriakov have won Olympic gold medals, and Ekaterina Dafovska won the Olympic gold in biathlon in the 1998 Winter Olympic Games.

Petar Stoychev set a new swimming world record for crossing the English Channel in 2007.

The country has strong traditions in amateur boxing and in martial-arts competitions. Bulgaria has achieved major success with its judo and karate teams in European and World championships. Kaloyan Stefanov Mahlyanov, best known as Kotoōshū Katsunori, has become well-known worldwide for his sumo prowess.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Bulgaria

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, one of the largest Orthodox cathedrals in Europe

14th-century Church of Christ Pantocrator, Nesebar

Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Louis, Plovdiv

Most citizens of Bulgaria have associations — at least nominally — with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Founded in 870 AD under the Patriarchate of Constantinople (from which it obtained its first primate, its clergy and theological texts), the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has had autocephalous status since 927. The Orthodox Church re-established the Bulgarian Patriarchate in Sofia in the 1950s after the promulgation of the Bulgarian Exarchate in 1870. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, as the independent national church of Bulgaria (like the other national branches of Eastern Orthodoxy in their respective countries) plays a role as an inseparable element of Bulgarian national consciousness. The Church became subordinate within the Patriarchate of Constantinople, twice during the periods of Byzantine (1018 – 1185) and Ottoman (1396 – 1878) domination but has been revived every time as a symbol of Bulgarian statehood without breaking away from the Orthodox dogma. In 2001, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church had 6,552,000 members in Bulgaria (82.6% of the population). However, many people raised during the 45 years of communist rule are not religious, even though they may formally be members of the Church.

Despite the dominant position of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Bulgarian cultural life, a number of Bulgarian citizens belong to other religious denominations, most notably Islam, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.

Islam came to Bulgaria at the end of the fourteenth century after the conquest of the country by the Ottomans. It gradually gained ground throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries through the introduction of Turkish colonists and the conversion of native Bulgarians^{[citation needed]}. One Islamic sect, Ahmadiyya, faces problems in Bulgaria. Some officials have moved against Ahmadis^[63] on the grounds^[63] that other countries - such as Pakistan - also attack the religious rights of Ahmadis, whom many^[63] Muslims regard as heretical.

In the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, missionaries from Rome converted Bulgarian Paulicians in the districts of Plovdiv and Svishtov to Roman Catholicism. Today^[update] their descendants form the bulk of Bulgarian Catholics, whose number stood at 44,000 in 2001.

Missionaries from the United States introduced Protestantism into Bulgarian territory in 1857. Missionary work continued throughout the second half of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century. In 2001 Bulgaria had some 42,000 Protestants.

According to the most recent Eurostat "Eurobarometer" poll, in 2005,^[64] 40% of Bulgarian citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 40% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force", 13% that "they do not believe there is a God, spirit, nor life force", and 6% did not answer.