11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by Soviet Union)
3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire)
Religions
Roman Catholic 79%, Russian Orthodox 4.1%, Protestant (including Lutheran and Evangelical Christian Baptist) 1.9%, other or unspecified 5.5%, none 9.5% (2001 census)
Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, other Christian 1.2%, other 4% (2001 census)
Languages
Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census)
Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)
Exports
mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001)
clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels
External Debt
$31,030,000,000 $
$46,840,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
litai (LTL) per US dollar - 2.3251 (2008 est.), 2.5362 (2007), 2.7498 (2006), 2.774 (2005), 2.7806 (2004)
leva (BGN) per US dollar - 1.3171 (2008 est.), 1.4366 (2007), 1.5576 (2006), 1.5741 (2005), 1.5751 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.900%
2.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
5
5
Location
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey
Area
65,300 km sq
110,879 km sq
Coastline
90 km
354 km
Climate
transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers
