If you lived in Bulgaria instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Health

live 4.1 years less

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Bulgaria, that number is 76 years (72 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 13.7% more money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,700 as of 2020, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $22,400 as of 2020.

be 30.1% less likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 8.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Bulgaria, that number is 5.7% as of 2019.

pay a 33.3% lower top tax rate

Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Bulgaria, the top tax rate is 10.0% as of 2016.

be 13.3% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Costa Rica, 21.0% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Bulgaria, however, that number is 23.8% as of 2019.

Life

be 63.0% less likely to die during childbirth

In Costa Rica, approximately 27.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Bulgaria, 10.0 women do as of 2017.

have 43.6% fewer children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 14.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Bulgaria, there are 8.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 13.6% less likely to have internet access

In Costa Rica, approximately 81.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Bulgaria, about 70.0% do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 38.8% less on education

Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Bulgaria spends 4.1% of total GDP on education as of 2017.

Geography

see 72.6% less coastline

Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Bulgaria, that number is 354 km.


The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, National Revenue Agency, Bulgaria, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.

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 Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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