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

Health

be 99.4% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Lesotho, 17.1% 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 18.0 years longer

In Lesotho, the average life expectancy is 58 years (55 years for men, 60 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 7.7 times more spent on your healthcare

Lesotho spends $386 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bulgaria spends $2,970 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 18.4 times more doctors per person

Lesotho has 2.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Bulgaria has 43.3 as of 2022.

View global rankings →

have 37.7% more access to essential health services

Lesotho scores 53 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Bulgaria scores 73 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

be 66.8% less likely to die by suicide

Lesotho has a suicide rate of 28.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Bulgaria, it is 9.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 78.3% less likely to be unemployed

In Lesotho, 16.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bulgaria, that number is 3.5% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

make 18.7 times more money

Lesotho has a GDP per capita of $1,089 as of 2025, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $20,328 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

be 98.7% less likely to die during childbirth

In Lesotho, approximately 478.0 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 91.8% less likely to die during infancy

In Lesotho, approximately 56.3 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.

View global rankings →

have 65.1% fewer children

In Lesotho, there are approximately 23.8 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 74.5% more likely to have access to electricity

In Lesotho, approximately 57% of people have electricity access (85% in urban areas, and 45% 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 59.2% more likely to have internet access

In Lesotho, approximately 51.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Bulgaria, about 82.4% do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 27.0% more likely to have access to drinking water

In Lesotho, approximately 78% of people have access to drinking water (95% in urban areas, and 71% 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 32.0% less on education

Lesotho spends 6.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Bulgaria spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

View global rankings →

spend 37.2% less on healthcare

Lesotho spends 12.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Bulgaria, that number is 7.9% of GDP as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 61.1% less likely to die in a road accident

In Lesotho, road accidents kill 21.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Bulgaria, they kill 8.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

find 97.4 times more home broadband

Lesotho has 0.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Bulgaria has 37.0 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

live with 15.7 times more strain on fresh water

Lesotho withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Bulgaria withdraws 40% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

Environment

be 37.0% less likely to die from air pollution

In Lesotho, air pollution causes 100.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bulgaria, it causes 63.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →

emit 12.3 times more CO2

Lesotho emits 0.4 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). 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 Lesotho? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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