If you lived in Bulgaria instead of Bosnia and Herzegovina, you would:

Health

see 49.3% more spent on your healthcare

Bosnia and Herzegovina spends $1,989 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bulgaria spends $2,970 as of 2023.

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have 67.5% more doctors per person

Bosnia and Herzegovina has 25.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2019. Bulgaria has 43.3 as of 2022.

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have 10.6% more access to essential health services

Bosnia and Herzegovina scores 66 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Bulgaria scores 73 as of 2021.

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live 2.3 years less

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the average life expectancy is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 76 years (72 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024.

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Economy

be 67.9% less likely to be unemployed

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 11.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bulgaria, that number is 3.5% as of 2025.

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make 95.8% more money

Bosnia and Herzegovina has a GDP per capita of $10,382 as of 2025, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $20,328 as of 2025.

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Life

be 16.4% less likely to die during infancy

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, approximately 5.5 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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Expenditures

spend 11.2% less on healthcare

Bosnia and Herzegovina spends 8.9% 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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spend 38.5% more on education

Bosnia and Herzegovina spends 3.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Bulgaria spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

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Geography

see 17.7 times more coastline

Bosnia and Herzegovina has a total of 20 km of coastline. In Bulgaria, that number is 354 km.

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Safety

be 10.7% less likely to be murdered

Bosnia and Herzegovina has a homicide rate of 1.2 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 38.7% less likely to die in a road accident

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, road accidents kill 13.7 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Bulgaria, they kill 8.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 26.0% more home broadband

Bosnia and Herzegovina has 29.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Bulgaria has 37.0 as of 2023.

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use 45.8% more electricity

Bosnia and Herzegovina uses 3,677 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Bulgaria uses 5,360 kWh as of 2023.

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live with 19.4 times more strain on fresh water

Bosnia and Herzegovina withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Bulgaria withdraws 40% as of 2022.

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Environment

emit 17.7% less CO2

Bosnia and Herzegovina emits 6.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Bulgaria emits 5.3 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 14.5% more likely to die from air pollution

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, air pollution causes 55.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bulgaria, it causes 63.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), 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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