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

Health

be 21.8% less likely to be obese

In Canada, 26.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 20.3% of people as of 2024.

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have 53.5% more doctors per person

Canada has 28.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Bulgaria has 43.3 as of 2022.

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live 6.3 years less

In Canada, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 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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see 61.2% less spent on your healthcare

Canada spends $7,646 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bulgaria spends $2,970 as of 2023.

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have 19.8% less access to essential health services

Canada scores 91 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Bulgaria scores 73 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 48.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Canada, 6.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bulgaria, that number is 3.5% as of 2025.

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make 63.5% less money

Canada has a GDP per capita of $55,698 as of 2025, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $20,328 as of 2025.

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Life

be 50.0% less likely to die during childbirth

In Canada, approximately 12.0 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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Basic Needs

be 12.6% less likely to have internet access

In Canada, approximately 94.3% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Bulgaria, about 82.4% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 30.0% less on healthcare

Canada spends 11.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 7.9% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 99.8% less coastline

Canada has a total of 202,080 km of coastline. In Bulgaria, that number is 354 km.

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Safety

be 44.9% less likely to be murdered

Canada has a homicide rate of 2.0 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 78.7% more likely to die in a road accident

In Canada, road accidents kill 4.7 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 12.9% less home broadband

Canada has 42.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Bulgaria has 37.0 as of 2023.

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live with 10.8 times more strain on fresh water

Canada withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Bulgaria withdraws 40% as of 2022.

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use 62.0% less electricity

Canada uses 14,093 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Bulgaria uses 5,360 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

emit 62.1% less CO2

Canada emits 14.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Bulgaria emits 5.3 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 7.9 times more likely to die from air pollution

In Canada, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bulgaria, it causes 63.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), 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 Canada? See an in-depth size comparison.

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