Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

see 22.5% less spent on your healthcare

Bulgaria spends $2,970 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Serbia spends $2,303 as of 2023.

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have 28.4% fewer doctors per person

Bulgaria has 43.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Serbia has 31.0 as of 2022.

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be 59.2% more likely to die by suicide

Bulgaria has a suicide rate of 9.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Serbia, it is 15.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 2.0 times more likely to be unemployed

In Bulgaria, 3.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Serbia, that number is 7.1% as of 2025.

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make 24.9% less money

Bulgaria has a GDP per capita of $20,328 as of 2025, while in Serbia, the GDP per capita is $15,262 as of 2025.

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Life

have 10.8% more children

In Bulgaria, there are approximately 8.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Serbia, there are 9.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 83.3% more 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 Serbia, 11.0 women do as of 2023.

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Expenditures

spend 24.4% less on education

Bulgaria spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Serbia spends 3.4% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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Safety

be 11.9% less likely to die in a road accident

In Bulgaria, road accidents kill 8.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Serbia, they kill 7.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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be 20.2% more likely to be murdered

Bulgaria has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Serbia, that number is 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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Infrastructure

live with 85.7% less strain on fresh water

Bulgaria withdraws 40% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Serbia withdraws 6% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 28.6% less likely to die from air pollution

In Bulgaria, air pollution causes 63.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Serbia, it causes 45.0 as of 2019.

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

Compare further: Bulgaria vs. Serbia

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Serbia is 2.2% more expensive than Bulgaria overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Bulgaria is about 1.4 times bigger than Serbia.
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Moving from Bulgaria to Serbia · UN DESA 2020
1,155 people born in Bulgaria live in Serbia.
→

Serbia: At a glance

Serbia is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 77,474 sq km. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Communist Partisans resisted the Axis occupation and division of Yugoslavia from 1941 to 1945 and fought nationalist opponents and collaborators as well. The military and political movement headed by Josip Broz "TITO" (Partisans) took full control of Yugoslavia when their domestic rivals and the occupiers were defeated in 1945. Although communists, TITO and his successors (Tito died in 1980) managed to steer their own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In 1989, Slobodan MILOSEVIC became president of the Republic of Serbia and his ultranationalist calls for Serbian domination led to the violent breakup of Yugoslavia along ethnic lines. In 1991, Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia declared independence, followed by Bosnia in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in April 1992 and under MILOSEVIC's leadership, Serbia led various military campaigns to unite ethnic Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." These actions were ultimately unsuccessful and, after international intervention, led to the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995. MILOSEVIC retained control over Serbia and eventually became president of the FRY in 1997. In 1998, an ethnic Albanian insurgency in the formerly autonomous Serbian province of Kosovo provoked a Serbian counterinsurgency campaign that resulted in massacres and massive expulsions of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo. The MILOSEVIC government's rejection of a proposed international settlement led to NATO's bombing of Serbia in the spring of 1999. Serbian military and police forces withdrew from Kosovo in June 1999, and the UN Security Council authorized an interim UN administration and a NATO-led security force in Kosovo. FRY elections in late 2000 led to the ouster of MILOSEVIC and the installation of democratic government. In 2003, the FRY became the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, a loose federation of the two republics. Widespread violence predominantly targeting ethnic Serbs in Kosovo in March 2004 let to more intense calls to address Kosovo's status, and the UN began facilitating status talks in 2006. In June 2006, Montenegro seceded from the federation and declared itself an independent nation. Serbia subsequently gave notice that it was the successor state to the union of Serbia and Montenegro. In February 2008, after nearly two years of inconclusive negotiations, Kosovo declared itself independent of Serbia - an action Serbia refuses to recognize. At Serbia's request, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in October 2008 sought an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on whether Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence was in accordance with international law. In a ruling considered unfavorable to Serbia, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion in July 2010 stating that international law did not prohibit declarations of independence. In late 2010, Serbia agreed to an EU-drafted UNGA Resolution acknowledging the ICJ's decision and calling for a new round of talks between Serbia and Kosovo, this time on practical issues rather than Kosovo's status. The EU-moderated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue began in March 2011 and was raised to the level of prime ministers in October 2012. Serbia and Kosovo signed the first agreement of principles governing the normalization of relations between the two countries in April 2013 and are in the process of implementing its provisions.
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