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

Health

be 41.8% less likely to be obese

In Nicaragua, 34.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 20.3% of people as of 2024.

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see 4.3 times more spent on your healthcare

Nicaragua spends $689 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bulgaria spends $2,970 as of 2023.

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be 2.2 times more likely to die by suicide

Nicaragua has a suicide rate of 4.2 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 29.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Nicaragua, 5.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bulgaria, that number is 3.5% as of 2025.

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make 6.4 times more money

Nicaragua has a GDP per capita of $3,173 as of 2025, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $20,328 as of 2025.

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Life

be 90.0% less likely to die during childbirth

In Nicaragua, approximately 60.0 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 51.1% less likely to die during infancy

In Nicaragua, approximately 9.4 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 56.6% fewer children

In Nicaragua, there are approximately 19.1 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 13.3% more likely to have access to electricity

In Nicaragua, approximately 88% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 71% 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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be 34.3% more likely to have internet access

In Nicaragua, approximately 61.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Bulgaria, about 82.4% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 56.8% more on education

Nicaragua spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Bulgaria spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

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Geography

see 61.1% less coastline

Nicaragua has a total of 910 km of coastline. In Bulgaria, that number is 354 km.

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Safety

be 90.4% less likely to be murdered

Nicaragua has a homicide rate of 11.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Bulgaria, that number is 1.1 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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be 38.2% less likely to die in a road accident

In Nicaragua, road accidents kill 13.6 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 6.4 times more home broadband

Nicaragua has 5.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Bulgaria has 37.0 as of 2023.

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use 8.4 times more electricity

Nicaragua uses 641 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Bulgaria uses 5,360 kWh as of 2023.

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live with 18.1 times more strain on fresh water

Nicaragua withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Bulgaria withdraws 40% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 65.8% more likely to die from air pollution

In Nicaragua, air pollution causes 38.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bulgaria, it causes 63.0 as of 2019.

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emit 6.4 times more CO2

Nicaragua emits 0.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Bulgaria emits 5.3 tonnes as of 2024.

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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 Nicaragua? See an in-depth size comparison.

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