Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1913.djvu/822

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BULGARIA

The census returns of 1905 referring to callings (issued in 1912) shows the following distribution of the population: — Agriculture, 3,109,270 (1,552,240 men and 1,557,030 women) ; mining, 2,064 (1,348 men and 716 women) ; industry, 358,846 (200,775 men and 158,071 women) ; trans- port workers, 64,408 (34,170 men and 30,238 women) ; commerce, 165,806 (92,390 men and 73,416 women); public defence, 49,336; public service, 48,596 (26,767 men and 21,829 women) ; liberal professions, 78,566 (39,985 men and 38,581 women). Total, 1905, 4,035,575—2,057,092 men and 1,978,483 women.

The movement of population in the principalitj'^ in five years has been : —

Years

1907 1908 1909 1910 1911

Marriages

40,849 37,016 38,917

41,868

Living births

183,138 170,248 172,583

176,909

Still-birtlis

Deaths i Surplus of births

1,092

939

1,544

93,295 102,752 113,304

74,860

87,843 67,496 59,279

Religion and Instruction.

The national faith is that of the Orthodox Greek Church, though, in 1870, in consequence of its demand for and acceptance of religious autonomy, the Bulgarian Church was declared by the Patiiarch of Constantinople to be outside the Orthodox communion. The church is governed by the Synod of Bishops. There are 11 Eparchies or Bishoprics. The clergy, both Orthodox and of other religious bodies, are paid by the State and also receive fees for services at burials, marriages, &c. Of the population in 1905, 3,345,519 belonged to the Orthodox Church, 603,867 were Ma- homedans, 37,656 were Jews, 29,684 were Catholics, 12,622 Gregorian Armenians, 5,644 Protestants. The Mahomedans are mostly in the northern and eastern provinces.

There is a university at Sofia, with three faculties — History and Philology, Physics and Mathematics, and Law. In 1908-09 it was attended by 1,569 students, ofwdiom 217 were women, and there were 58 professors and lecturers.

In 1909-1910 the Bulgarian and other secondary schools were as showni in the following table. The non-Bulgarian schools were Turkish, Greek, Jewish, Armenian, American, French and German : —

Schools

Teachers

Pupils

Description of Schools

Male

486 1,308

P'emale

Male

Female

Gymnasia .... Lower Middle Class. Special Technical and \ Other Schools 1

27 292

155

75 483

6,992

33,058

4,749

3,307 15,141

4,744

In 1909-10 there were 3,786 elementary schools with 8,697 teachers and 430,011 pupils (262,394 boys and 167,717 girls). ^ ^, ,c

For education the State grants a yearly subvention which provides for half the cost (two-thirds in the case of the elementary schools), the remainder being provided in towns by the municipalities and in villages by the com- munal authorities. Education is free and nominally obligatory for a eriod of four years (8-12). The richer parents are, however, required to pay 20 leva (16s.) a year for each of their children attending the higher schools. There are free xiublie libraries at Sofia, Philippopolis, Varna, and Rustchuk.