Basic information about the territory
Subchapters:
- System of governance and political tendencies in the country
- Foreign policy of the country
- Population
The system of governance and political tendencies in the country
Official State Name:
Republic of Bulgaria (Republika Balgarija)
System of governance:
According to the Constitution of July 1991, the Republic of Bulgaria is a parliamentary democracy with a clearly defined division of power into legislative, executive and judicial, the head of state is the directly elected president, and the executive power is represented by the government (Council of Ministers) formed on the basis of the results of parliamentary elections by political parties that are represented in the unicameral National Assembly (240 seats). Citizens have the right to vote after turning 18.
Political situation:
The last presidential elections were held together with the parliamentary elections on November 14, 2021 (1st round) and the 2nd round on November 21, when the current president Rumen Radev and vice president Ilijana Jotova were elected to the post for another term. The next election should take place in 2026. Check computerminus to learn more about Bulgaria political system.
The main political entities that, according to the election results of November 14, 2021, made it to the parliament:
- We continue to change (PP)
- Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB)
- Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS)
- Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP)
- Is Such a Nation (ITN)
- Democratic Bulgaria (DB)
- Revival (V)
Until the beginning of May 2021, the country was ruled by a coalition government of GERB, VMRO-BNP and NFSB (the last two in the Sjednocení vlastenci alliance), which managed to complete a proper mandate despite many scandals, criticism from within and abroad, last year’s 100 days of street protests and COVID -19).
In the regular parliamentary elections on 4/4/2021, the GERB party won the most seats in the parliament, but found itself completely isolated and failed to form a government on the first try. ITN (surprise), BSP, DPS, DB and ISMV were placed in other places according to the electoral gain, however, neither ITN nor BSP tried to form a government in view of the distribution of forces and reluctance to cooperate, therefore the president of the 45th National Assembly had to dissolve one month after the elections, appoint a caretaker government and announce new elections for 7/11/2021.
Unfortunately, even the July elections did not change the political situation in the country for the better, the scenario repeated itself, the parliament was dissolved, the caretaker government was appointed again and new elections were held together with the presidential elections on 14/11/2021.
After the elections, it was possible to form a government from a coalition of four parties – PP, BSP, ITN and DB, which took office on December 13 after a vote of confidence in the parliament.
Composition of the government:
- Prime Minister: Kiril Petkov (PP)
- Deputy Prime Minister for European Funds and Minister of Finance: Asen Vasilev (PP)
- Deputy Prime Minister for Effective State Administration: Kalina Konstantinovová (PP)
- Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Industry and Minister of Economy and Industry: Kornelie Ninovová (BSP)
- Deputy Prime Minister for Regional Development and Welfare and Minister of Regional Development and Welfare: Grozdan Karadzhov (ITN)
- Deputy Prime Minister for Climate Policy and Minister of Environment and Water: Borislav Sandov (DB)
- Minister of the Interior: Bojko Raškov (PP)
- Minister of Foreign Affairs: Teodora Genčovská (ITN)
- Minister of Labor and Social Policy: Georgi Gjokov (BSP)
- Minister of Defense: Dragomir Zakov (PP)
- Minister of Justice: Nadezhda Jordanova (DB)
- Minister of Education and Science: Nikolaj Denkov(PP)
- Minister of Health: Asena Serbezová (PP)
- Minister of Culture: Atanas Atanasov (PP)
- Minister of Agriculture: Ivan Ivanov (BSP)
- Minister of Transport and Communications: Nikolaj Sabev (PP)
- Minister for Growth and Innovation: Daniel Lorer (PP)
- Minister of Energy: Aleksandar Nikolov (ITN)
- Minister of Youth and Sports: Radostin Vasilev (ITN)
- Minister of Tourism: Christo Prodanov (BSP)
- Minister for e-government: Božidar Božanov (DB)
Foreign policy of the country
From the beginning of the transitional period after the fall of communism until the present day, Bulgaria has been heading towards the Euro-Atlantic structures, where it firmly belongs today, and social support for this orientation is consistently high. Since January 1, 2007, Bulgaria has officially been a member of the EU, but it is not yet part of the Schengen area. The European Commission also still applies to Bulgaria (and Romania) the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), which was introduced immediately after the accession of these countries to the EU, as, in the opinion of the Union, they needed to make some progress in the areas of judicial reform, the fight against corruption and, in in the case of Bulgaria, with organized crime. The Commission issues regular annual evaluation reports with an assessment of the situation and recommendations, which are subsequently discussed by the Council of Ministers and confirmed in the conclusions. Benchmarks for Bulgaria refer to independence, professionalism and effectiveness of the judiciary, the fight against corruption and measures against organized crime. In 2021, the country entered ERM II and is continuing the accession process to the eurozone (assumption of entry on 1/1/2024). Check relationshipsplus for Bulgaria defense and foreign policy.
In April 2004, Bulgaria became a member of NATO, since 1996 it has been part of the WTO. It is currently negotiating to join the OECD.
In foreign and especially security policy, Bulgarian politicians have long been heavily oriented towards the USA – in 2019, a contract was signed for the purchase of F-16 fighter jets, and the Americans are also showing interest in other large defense purchases (e.g. infantry fighting vehicles). American technologies can also be applied in the field of energy, where it has been operating for a long time in thermal power plants in the Marica Iztok region, and is also trying to offer modern technologies for the planned completion of the nuclear power plant blocks in Kozloduy.
Bulgaria has long tried to maintain good relations with Russia, with which it is linked by historical proximity thanks to freedom from the Turkish yoke in the 19th century and energy dependence thanks to supplies of oil and natural gas and engagement in the field of nuclear energy. Nevertheless, even Sofia has not escaped scandals with Russian espionage activities, including suspicions of involvement in several explosions of ammunition depots in the past decade. Russia’s current aggression in Ukraine has worsened mutual relations even more.
The country is also trying to build favorable relations with the PRC, where it is looking for new space for the application of export commodities. It also maintains pragmatic relations with Turkey, with which it has a complicated history and a common border that repeatedly faces migration pressures.
The key region of Bulgarian foreign policy is the Western Balkans, where Sofia is trying to build its position. However, historical disputes are currently complicating relations with the Republic of North Macedonia, which is seeking to open accession talks with the EU, while Bulgaria has blocked the accession process. The mutual dispute has not yet been satisfactorily resolved.
Population
Population:
6,838,937 people (as of 31 December 2021)
The population of BG has been decreasing every year since 1987. For the last ten years, the population of Bulgaria has been decreasing at a regular rate of 0.7%. In the late 1980s, the population reached an all-time high of just under 9 million, since then it has declined by more than 20%. The decline continued in 2021 (year-on-year decrease of 1.1% or 77,611 people), the number of inhabitants has already decreased below 7 million, i.e. to the level before World War II. world war.
Composition by gender:
men – 48.4%, women – 51.6%.
73.1% of the population lives in cities. The aging of the population continues – the share of the population aged 65 and over reached 34% in 2021. The average life expectancy is 7years, the gross death rate reached 2deaths per 1,000 inhabitants (+19.4% year-on-year due to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic), the birth rate was 8.5 newborns per 1,000 inhabitants.
Nationality composition:
Bulgarians 84.8%, Turks 8.8%, Roma 4.9%, Armenians, Jews, Vlachs, Greeks and Russians 1.4%
Religious composition:
Christians (mainly Orthodox – 76%) 82.1%, Muslims 13.7%, atheists 4.2%