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

Health

be 16.0% less likely to be obese

In Finland, 24.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 20.3% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

have 19.9% more doctors per person

Finland has 36.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Bulgaria has 43.3 as of 2022.

View global rankings →

be 34.7% less likely to die by suicide

Finland has a suicide rate of 14.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Bulgaria, it is 9.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

live 6.6 years less

In Finland, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 76 years (72 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

see 53.8% less spent on your healthcare

Finland spends $6,433 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bulgaria spends $2,970 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 15.1% less access to essential health services

Finland scores 86 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Bulgaria scores 73 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 62.6% less likely to be unemployed

In Finland, 9.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bulgaria, that number is 3.5% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

be 73.8% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Finland, 12.2% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Bulgaria, however, that number is 21.2% as of 2024.

View global rankings →

make 63.8% less money

Finland has a GDP per capita of $56,149 as of 2025, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $20,328 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

be 25.0% less likely to die during childbirth

In Finland, approximately 8.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Bulgaria, 6.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 2.4 times more likely to die during infancy

In Finland, approximately 1.9 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.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 12.0% less likely to have internet access

In Finland, approximately 93.7% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Bulgaria, about 82.4% do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 29.5% less on education

Finland spends 6.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Bulgaria spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

View global rankings →

spend 24.4% less on healthcare

Finland spends 10.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Bulgaria, that number is 7.9% of GDP as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Geography

see 71.7% less coastline

Finland has a total of 1,250 km of coastline. In Bulgaria, that number is 354 km.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 11.2% more likely to be murdered

Finland has a homicide rate of 1.0 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Bulgaria, that number is 1.1 per 100,000 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 100.0% more likely to die in a road accident

In Finland, road accidents kill 4.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Bulgaria, they kill 8.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

live with 5.7 times more strain on fresh water

Finland withdraws 7% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Bulgaria withdraws 40% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

use 63.8% less electricity

Finland uses 14,819 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Bulgaria uses 5,360 kWh as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Environment

be 9.0 times more likely to die from air pollution

In Finland, air pollution causes 7.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bulgaria, it causes 63.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →


Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), 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.
Read more

How big is Bulgaria compared to Finland? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Bulgaria or Finland. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.