Turkey vs. Bulgaria
Geography
| Turkey | Bulgaria | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey |
| Geographic coordinates | 39 00 N, 35 00 E | 43 00 N, 25 00 E |
| Map references | Middle East | Europe |
| Area | total: 783,562 sq km land: 769,632 sq km water: 13,930 sq km | total: 110,879 sq km land: 108,489 sq km water: 2,390 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Texas | almost identical in size to Virginia; slightly larger than Tennessee |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,816 km border countries (8): Armenia 311 km, Azerbaijan 17 km, Bulgaria 223 km, Georgia 273 km, Greece 192 km, Iran 534 km, Iraq 367 km, Syria 899 km | total: 1,806 km border countries (5): Greece 472 km, Macedonia 162 km, Romania 605 km, Serbia 344 km, Turkey 223 km |
| Coastline | 7,200 km | 354 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 6 nm in the Aegean Sea exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only: to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR 12 nm in Black Sea and in Mediterranean Sea | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Climate | temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers |
| Terrain | high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Mount Ararat 5,137 m lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m mean elevation: 1,132 m | highest point: Musala 2,925 m lowest point: Black Sea 0 m mean elevation: 472 m |
| Natural resources | coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land |
| Land use | agricultural land: 49.7% (2018 est.) arable land: 26.7% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 4% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 19% (2018 est.) forest: 14.9% (2018 est.) other: 35.4% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 46.9% (2018 est.) arable land: 29.9% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 1.5% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 15.5% (2018 est.) forest: 36.7% (2018 est.) other: 16.4% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 52,150 sq km (2012) | 1,020 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van; landslides; flooding volcanism: limited volcanic activity; its three historically active volcanoes; Ararat, Nemrut Dagi, and Tendurek Dagi have not erupted since the 19th century or earlier | earthquakes; landslides |
| Environment - current issues | water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; land degradation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic; conservation of biodiversity | 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, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Environmental Modification | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link the Black and Aegean Seas; the 3% of Turkish territory north of the Straits lies in Europe and goes by the names of European Turkey, Eastern Thrace, or Turkish Thrace; the 97% of the country in Asia is referred to as Anatolia; Istanbul, which straddles the Bosporus, is the only metropolis in the world located on two continents; Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia |
| Total renewable water resources | 211.6 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 21.3 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | the most densely populated area is found around the Bosporus in the northwest where 20% of the population lives in Istanbul; with the exception of Ankara, urban centers remain small and scattered throughout the interior of Anatolia; an overall pattern of peripheral development exists, particularly along the Aegean Sea coast in the west, and the Tigris and Euphrates River systems in the southeast | a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger populations |
Source: CIA Factbook
