Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Italy instead of Bulgaria, you would:
Health
live 8.2 years longer
In Bulgaria, the average life expectancy is 76 years (72 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024. In Italy, that number is 84 years (82 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024.
be 31.2% less likely to be obese
In Bulgaria, 20.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Italy, that number is 14.0% of people as of 2024.
see 68.1% more spent on your healthcare
Bulgaria spends $2,970 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Italy spends $4,993 as of 2024.
have 15.1% more access to essential health services
Bulgaria scores 73 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Italy scores 84 as of 2021.
be 26.5% less likely to die by suicide
Bulgaria has a suicide rate of 9.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Italy, it is 7.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 2.1 times more money
Bulgaria has a GDP per capita of $20,328 as of 2025, while in Italy, the GDP per capita is $43,309 as of 2025.
be 80.5% more likely to be unemployed
In Bulgaria, 3.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Italy, that number is 6.4% as of 2025.
Life
be 50.0% 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 Italy, on the other hand, 2.3 children do as of 2024.
have 24.1% fewer children
In Bulgaria, there are approximately 8.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Italy, there are 6.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Geography
see 21.5 times more coastline
Bulgaria has a total of 354 km of coastline. In Italy, that number is 7,600 km.
Safety
be 47.7% less likely to be murdered
Bulgaria has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Italy, that number is 0.6 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 40.5% less likely to die in a road accident
In Bulgaria, road accidents kill 8.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Italy, they kill 5.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 26.0% less strain on fresh water
Bulgaria withdraws 40% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Italy withdraws 30% as of 2022.
find 14.2% less home broadband
Bulgaria has 37.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Italy has 31.8 as of 2024.
Environment
be 76.2% less likely to die from air pollution
In Bulgaria, air pollution causes 63.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Italy, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Bulgaria vs. Italy
Italy: At a glance
How big is Italy compared to Bulgaria? See an in-depth size comparison.