Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Croatia instead of Bulgaria, you would:
Health
live 3.2 years longer
In Bulgaria, the average life expectancy is 76 years (72 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024. In Croatia, that number is 79 years (76 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2024.
be 51.5% more likely to be obese
In Bulgaria, 20.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Croatia, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.
be 64.9% more likely to die by suicide
Bulgaria has a suicide rate of 9.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Croatia, it is 15.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 33.3% more money
Bulgaria has a GDP per capita of $20,328 as of 2025, while in Croatia, the GDP per capita is $27,104 as of 2025.
be 41.2% more likely to be unemployed
In Bulgaria, 3.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Croatia, that number is 5.0% as of 2025.
Life
be 50.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Bulgaria, approximately 6.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Croatia, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 10.9% less likely to die during infancy
In Bulgaria, approximately 4.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Croatia, on the other hand, 4.1 children do as of 2024.
Geography
see 16.5 times more coastline
Bulgaria has a total of 354 km of coastline. In Croatia, that number is 5,835 km.
Safety
be 38.5% less likely to be murdered
Bulgaria has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Croatia, that number is 0.7 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
live with 96.2% less strain on fresh water
Bulgaria withdraws 40% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Croatia withdraws 2% as of 2022.
find 20.0% less home broadband
Bulgaria has 37.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Croatia has 29.6 as of 2024.
use 16.4% less electricity
Bulgaria uses 5,360 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Croatia uses 4,484 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 50.8% less likely to die from air pollution
In Bulgaria, air pollution causes 63.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Croatia, it causes 31.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2019). How we calculate this
Compare further: Bulgaria vs. Croatia
Croatia: At a glance
How big is Croatia compared to Bulgaria? See an in-depth size comparison.