Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 11.1% more likely to be obese

In Romania, 22.5% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Bulgaria, that number is 25.0% of people as of 2016.

Economy

pay a 37.5% lower top tax rate

Romania has a top tax rate of 16.0% as of 2016. In Bulgaria, the top tax rate is 10.0% as of 2016.

make 22.2% less money

Romania has a GDP per capita of $28,800 as of 2020, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $22,400 as of 2020.

be 85.0% more likely to be unemployed

In Romania, 3.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In Bulgaria, that number is 5.7% as of 2019.

Life

be 47.4% less likely to die during childbirth

In Romania, approximately 19.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Bulgaria, 10.0 women do as of 2017.

be 36.6% more likely to die during infancy

In Romania, approximately 5.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Bulgaria, on the other hand, 8.0 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 10.3% less likely to have internet access

In Romania, approximately 78.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Bulgaria, about 70.0% do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 24.2% more on education

Romania spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. Bulgaria spends 4.1% of total GDP on education as of 2017.

spend 24.6% more on healthcare

Romania spends 5.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Bulgaria, that number is 7.1% of GDP as of 2019.

Geography

see 57.3% more coastline

Romania has a total of 225 km of coastline. In Bulgaria, that number is 354 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, National Revenue Agency, Bulgaria, National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF).

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 Romania? See an in-depth size comparison.

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