If you lived in Bulgaria instead of Barbados, you would:

Health

be 48.4% less likely to be obese

In Barbados, 39.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 20.3% of people as of 2024.

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see 2.6 times more spent on your healthcare

Barbados spends $1,153 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bulgaria spends $2,970 as of 2023.

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have 46.3% more doctors per person

Barbados has 29.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Bulgaria has 43.3 as of 2022.

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be 2.7 times more likely to die by suicide

Barbados has a suicide rate of 3.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Bulgaria, it is 9.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 45.7% less likely to be unemployed

In Barbados, 6.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bulgaria, that number is 3.5% as of 2025.

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make 28.3% less money

Barbados has a GDP per capita of $28,365 as of 2025, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $20,328 as of 2025.

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Life

be 82.9% less likely to die during childbirth

In Barbados, approximately 35.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Bulgaria, 6.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 49.5% less likely to die during infancy

In Barbados, approximately 9.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Bulgaria, on the other hand, 4.6 children do as of 2024.

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have 25.4% fewer children

In Barbados, there are approximately 11.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Bulgaria, there are 8.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 17.2% more likely to have internet access

In Barbados, approximately 70.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Bulgaria, about 82.4% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 26.4% more on education

Barbados spends 3.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Bulgaria spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

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spend 46.7% more on healthcare

Barbados spends 5.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Bulgaria, that number is 7.9% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 3.6 times more coastline

Barbados has a total of 97 km of coastline. In Bulgaria, that number is 354 km.

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Safety

be 85.3% less likely to be murdered

Barbados has a homicide rate of 7.4 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Bulgaria, that number is 1.1 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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be 16.0% less likely to die in a road accident

In Barbados, road accidents kill 10.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Bulgaria, they kill 8.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 54.0% less strain on fresh water

Barbados withdraws 88% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Bulgaria withdraws 40% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 3.3 times more likely to die from air pollution

In Barbados, air pollution causes 19.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bulgaria, it causes 63.0 as of 2019.

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emit 2.1 times more CO2

Barbados emits 2.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Bulgaria emits 5.3 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

Bulgaria: At a glance

Bulgaria is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 108,489 sq km. 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.
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How big is Bulgaria compared to Barbados? See an in-depth size comparison.

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