Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Bulgaria instead of Croatia, you would:
Health
be 34.0% less likely to be obese
In Croatia, 30.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 20.3% of people as of 2024.
have 10.7% more doctors per person
Croatia has 39.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Bulgaria has 43.3 as of 2022.
be 39.3% less likely to die by suicide
Croatia has a suicide rate of 15.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Bulgaria, it is 9.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 3.2 years less
In Croatia, the average life expectancy is 79 years (76 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 76 years (72 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024.
Economy
be 29.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Croatia, 5.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bulgaria, that number is 3.5% as of 2025.
make 25.0% less money
Croatia has a GDP per capita of $27,104 as of 2025, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $20,328 as of 2025.
Life
be 100.0% more likely to die during childbirth
In Croatia, approximately 3.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Bulgaria, 6.0 women do as of 2023.
be 12.2% more likely to die during infancy
In Croatia, approximately 4.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Bulgaria, on the other hand, 4.6 children do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 10.0% more on education
Croatia spends 4.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Bulgaria spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 10.8% more on healthcare
Croatia spends 7.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Bulgaria, that number is 7.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 93.9% less coastline
Croatia has a total of 5,835 km of coastline. In Bulgaria, that number is 354 km.
Safety
be 62.7% more likely to be murdered
Croatia has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Bulgaria, that number is 1.1 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 25.1% more home broadband
Croatia has 29.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Bulgaria has 37.0 as of 2023.
use 19.5% more electricity
Croatia uses 4,484 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Bulgaria uses 5,360 kWh as of 2023.
live with 26.6 times more strain on fresh water
Croatia withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Bulgaria withdraws 40% as of 2022.
Environment
be 2.0 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Croatia, air pollution causes 31.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bulgaria, it causes 63.0 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: Croatia vs. Bulgaria
Bulgaria: At a glance
How big is Bulgaria compared to Croatia? See an in-depth size comparison.