Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Bulgaria instead of Italy, you would:
Health
live 8.2 years less
In Italy, the average life expectancy is 84 years (82 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 76 years (72 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024.
be 45.2% more likely to be obese
In Italy, 14.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 20.3% of people as of 2024.
see 40.5% less spent on your healthcare
Italy spends $4,993 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bulgaria spends $2,970 as of 2023.
have 13.1% less access to essential health services
Italy scores 84 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Bulgaria scores 73 as of 2021.
be 36.1% more likely to die by suicide
Italy has a suicide rate of 7.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Bulgaria, it is 9.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 44.6% less likely to be unemployed
In Italy, 6.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bulgaria, that number is 3.5% as of 2025.
make 53.1% less money
Italy has a GDP per capita of $43,309 as of 2025, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $20,328 as of 2025.
Life
have 31.7% more children
In Italy, there are approximately 6.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Bulgaria, there are 8.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 100.0% more likely to die during infancy
In Italy, approximately 2.3 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 10.6% more on education
Italy spends 4.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Bulgaria spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 95.3% less coastline
Italy has a total of 7,600 km of coastline. In Bulgaria, that number is 354 km.
Safety
be 91.2% more likely to be murdered
Italy has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Bulgaria, that number is 1.1 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 68.0% more likely to die in a road accident
In Italy, road accidents kill 5.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Bulgaria, they kill 8.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 16.5% more home broadband
Italy has 31.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Bulgaria has 37.0 as of 2023.
live with 35.2% more strain on fresh water
Italy withdraws 30% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Bulgaria withdraws 40% as of 2022.
Environment
be 4.2 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Italy, air pollution causes 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bulgaria, it causes 63.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Italy vs. Bulgaria
Bulgaria: At a glance
How big is Bulgaria compared to Italy? See an in-depth size comparison.