The 2008 CIA World Factbook, United States. Central Intelligence Agency [primary phonics books .TXT] 📗

G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent),
ITSO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Angela SHIM chancery: 3520 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 237-1838 FAX: [1] (202) 885-0560

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador William E. TODD embassy: Third Floor, Teck Guan Plaza, Jalan Sultan, Bandar Seri Begawan, BS8811 mailing address: PSC 470 (BSB), FPO AP 96507; P.O. Box 2991, Bandar Seri Begawan BS8675, Negara Brunei Darussalam telephone: [673] 222-0384 FAX: [673] 222-5293

Flag description:

yellow with two diagonal bands of white (top, almost double width) and black starting from the upper hoist side; the national emblem in red is superimposed at the center; the emblem includes a swallow-tailed flag on top of a winged column within an upturned crescent above a scroll and flanked by two upraised hands

Economy
Brunei

Economy - overview:

Brunei has a small well-to-do economy that encompasses a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation, welfare measures, and village tradition. Crude oil and natural gas production account for just over half of GDP and more than 90% of exports. Per capita GDP is among the highest in Asia, and substantial income from overseas investment supplements income from domestic production. The government provides for all medical services and free education through the university level and subsidizes rice and housing. Brunei's leaders are concerned that steadily increased integration in the world economy will undermine internal social cohesion. Plans for the future include upgrading the labor force, reducing unemployment, strengthening the banking and tourist sectors, and, in general, further widening the economic base beyond oil and gas.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$19.64 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$12.39 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

0.4% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$51,000 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 0.9% industry: 71.6% services: 27.5% (2005 est.)

Labor force:

180,400 (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 2.9% industry: 61.1% services: 36% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate:

4% (2006)

Population below poverty line:

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Budget:

revenues: $3.765 billion expenditures: $4.815 billion (2004 est.)

Fiscal year:

1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

0.4% (2007 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

5.5% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:

$2.674 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:

$4.258 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:

$2.38 billion (31 December 2007)

Agriculture - products:

rice, vegetables, fruits; chickens, water buffalo, cattle, goats, eggs

Industries:

petroleum, petroleum refining, liquefied natural gas, construction

Industrial production growth rate:

1.8% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:

3.1 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

2.924 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Oil - production:

180,500 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption:

13,200 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:

200,000 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports:

304 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:

1.1 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production:

13.8 billion cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

3.99 billion cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

9.4 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

390.8 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current account balance:

$7.101 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:

$6.767 billion f.o.b. (2006)

Exports - commodities:

crude oil, natural gas, refined products, clothing

Exports - partners:

Japan 32.8%, Indonesia 24.4%, Australia 13.4%, South Korea 12.2%, US 5.5% (2007)

Imports:

$2 billion c.i.f. (2006)

Imports - commodities:

machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, chemicals

Imports - partners:

UK 46.4%, Singapore 19.5%, Malaysia 11.3% (2007)

Economic aid - recipient:

$770,000 (2004)

Debt - external:

$0 (2005)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$NA

Currency (code):

Bruneian dollar (BND)

Currency code:

BND

Exchange rates:

Bruneian dollars (BND) per US dollar - NA (2007), 1.5886 (2006), 1.6644 (2005), 1.6902 (2004), 1.7422 (2003)

Communications
Brunei

Telephones - main lines in use:

79,200 (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

339,800 (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: service throughout the country is excellent; international service is good to Southeast Asia, Middle East, Western Europe, and the US domestic: every service available international: country code - 673; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 optical telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; the Asia-America Gateway submarine cable network, scheduled for completion by late 2008, will provide new links to Asia and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 1, FM 2 (transmitting on 18 different frequencies), shortwave 0 (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) station transmits two FM signals with English and Nepali service) (2006)

Radios:

329,000 (1998)

Television broadcast stations:

4 (includes 2 UHF stations broadcasting a subscription service) (2006)

Televisions:

201,900 (1998)

Internet country code:

.bn

Internet hosts:

14,950 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

2 (2000)

Internet users:

199,532 (2007)

Transportation
Brunei

Airports:

2 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)

Heliports:

3 (2007)

Pipelines:

gas 672 km; oil 463 km (2007)

Roadways:

total: 3,650 km paved: 2,819 km unpaved: 831 km (2005)

Waterways:

209 km (navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 m) (2007)

Merchant marine:

total: 8 by type: liquefied gas 8 foreign-owned: 1 (UK 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Lumut, Muara, Seria

Military
Brunei

Military branches:

Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF): Royal Brunei Land Forces, Royal Brunei Navy, Royal Brunei Air Force (Tentera Udara Diraja Brunei) (2008)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age (est.) for voluntary military service; non-Malays are ineligible to serve (2007)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 108,356 females age 16-49: 110,153 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 91,297 females age 16-49: 93,228 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 3,223 female: 3,182 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

4.5% of GDP (2006)

Transnational Issues
Brunei

Disputes - international:

Brunei and Malaysia agreed in September 2008 to resolve their offshore and deepwater seabed dispute, resume hydrocarbon exploration, and renounce any territorial claims on land; Brunei established an exclusive economic fishing zone encompassing Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands in 1984, but makes no public territorial claim to the offshore reefs; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions in the Spratly Islands but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants

Illicit drugs:

drug trafficking and illegally importing controlled substances are serious offenses in Brunei and carry a mandatory death penalty

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Bulgaria

Introduction
Bulgaria

Background:

The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Northern Bulgaria attained autonomy in 1878 and all of Bulgaria became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1908. Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multiparty election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. The country joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007.

Geography
Bulgaria

Location:

Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and
Turkey

Geographic coordinates:

43 00 N, 25 00 E

Map references:

Europe

Area:

total: 110,910 sq km land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries:

total: 1,808 km border countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia 318 km, Turkey 240 km

Coastline:

354 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:

temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers

Terrain:

mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Musala 2,925 m

Natural resources:

bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land

Land use:

arable land: 29.94% permanent crops: 1.9% other: 68.16% (2005)

Irrigated land:

5,880 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

19.4 cu km (2005)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 6.92 cu km/yr (3%/78%/19%) per capita: 895 cu m/yr (2003)

Natural hazards:

earthquakes, landslides

Environment - current issues:

air pollution from industrial emissions; rivers polluted from raw sewage, heavy metals, detergents; deforestation; forest damage from air pollution and resulting acid rain; soil contamination from heavy metals from metallurgical plants and industrial wastes

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85,
Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia

People
Bulgaria

Population:

7,262,675 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 13.8% (male 514,238/female 489,608) 15-64 years: 68.6% (male 2,449,812/female 2,532,845) 65 years and over: 17.6% (male 520,962/female 755,210) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 41.1 years male: 38.9 years female: 43.4 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

-0.813% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

9.58 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

14.3 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

-3.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 18.51 deaths/1,000 live births male: 22 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 72.83 years male: 69.22 years female: 76.66 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.4 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

346 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

100 (2001 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian

Ethnic groups:

Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including
Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001 census)

Religions:

Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, other Christian 1.2%, other 4% (2001 census)

Languages:

Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.2% male: 98.7% female: 97.7% (2001 census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 14 years male: 13 years female: 14 years (2006)

Education expenditures:

4.5% of GDP