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

Health

be 93.3% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Ghana, 1.5% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

live 10.1 years longer

In Ghana, the average life expectancy is 66 years (63 years for men, 68 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 12.7 times more spent on your healthcare

Ghana spends $234 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bulgaria spends $2,970 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 16.3 times more doctors per person

Ghana has 2.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Bulgaria has 43.3 as of 2022.

View global rankings →

have 52.1% more access to essential health services

Ghana scores 48 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Bulgaria scores 73 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

be 39.7% more likely to be obese

In Ghana, 14.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 20.3% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 78.8% more likely to die by suicide

Ghana has a suicide rate of 5.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Bulgaria, it is 9.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

make 6.2 times more money

Ghana has a GDP per capita of $3,257 as of 2025, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $20,328 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

be 18.8% more likely to be unemployed

In Ghana, 3.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bulgaria, that number is 3.5% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

be 97.4% less likely to die during childbirth

In Ghana, approximately 234.0 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 28.6% more likely to be literate

In Ghana, the literacy rate is 76.5% as of 2021. In Bulgaria, it is 98.4% as of 2021.

View global rankings →

be 83.3% less likely to die during infancy

In Ghana, approximately 27.5 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 →

have 68.0% fewer children

In Ghana, there are approximately 25.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Bulgaria, there are 8.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 11.7% more likely to have access to electricity

In Ghana, approximately 90% of people have electricity access (98% in urban areas, and 78% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Bulgaria, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 14.2% more likely to have internet access

In Ghana, approximately 72.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Bulgaria, about 82.4% do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 10.3% more likely to have access to drinking water

In Ghana, approximately 90% of people have access to drinking water (99% in urban areas, and 76% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 99% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 98% in rural areas) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 54.6% more on education

Ghana spends 2.9% 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 2.7 times more on healthcare

Ghana spends 3.0% 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 34.3% less coastline

Ghana has a total of 539 km of coastline. In Bulgaria, that number is 354 km.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 40.4% less likely to be murdered

Ghana has a homicide rate of 1.8 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Bulgaria, that number is 1.1 per 100,000 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 67.6% less likely to die in a road accident

In Ghana, road accidents kill 25.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Bulgaria, they kill 8.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

find 56.1 times more home broadband

Ghana has 0.7 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Bulgaria has 37.0 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

use 9.5 times more electricity

Ghana uses 565 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Bulgaria uses 5,360 kWh as of 2023.

View global rankings →

live with 6.4 times more strain on fresh water

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

View global rankings →

Environment

be 29.2% less likely to die from air pollution

In Ghana, air pollution causes 89.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bulgaria, it causes 63.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →

emit 7.6 times more CO2

Ghana emits 0.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Bulgaria emits 5.3 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →


Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). 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 Ghana? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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