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

Health

live 4.6 years longer

In Libya, the average life expectancy is 71 years (70 years for men, 73 years for women) as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 76 years (72 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024.

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be 39.6% less likely to be obese

In Libya, 33.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 20.3% of people as of 2024.

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see 2.8 times more spent on your healthcare

Libya spends $1,055 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bulgaria spends $2,970 as of 2023.

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have 17.7% more access to essential health services

Libya scores 62 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Bulgaria scores 73 as of 2021.

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be 90.2% more likely to die by suicide

Libya has a suicide rate of 5.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Bulgaria, it is 9.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 81.1% less likely to be unemployed

In Libya, 18.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bulgaria, that number is 3.5% as of 2025.

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make 3.2 times more money

Libya has a GDP per capita of $6,449 as of 2025, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $20,328 as of 2025.

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Life

be 89.8% less likely to die during childbirth

In Libya, approximately 59.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Bulgaria, 6.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 41.8% less likely to die during infancy

In Libya, approximately 7.9 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.

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have 49.7% fewer children

In Libya, there are approximately 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Bulgaria, there are 8.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 36.6% more likely to have access to electricity

In Libya, approximately 73% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 96% 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.

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Geography

see 80.0% less coastline

Libya has a total of 1,770 km of coastline. In Bulgaria, that number is 354 km.

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Safety

be 75.3% less likely to die in a road accident

In Libya, road accidents kill 34.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Bulgaria, they kill 8.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 8.2 times more home broadband

Libya has 4.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Bulgaria has 37.0 as of 2023.

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live with 95.1% less strain on fresh water

Libya withdraws 817% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Bulgaria withdraws 40% as of 2022.

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use 41.2% more electricity

Libya uses 3,796 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Bulgaria uses 5,360 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

emit 38.7% less CO2

Libya emits 8.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Bulgaria emits 5.3 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 16.7% more likely to die from air pollution

In Libya, air pollution causes 54.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bulgaria, it causes 63.0 as of 2019.

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

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