Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Bulgaria instead of Romania, you would:
Health
be 37.3% less likely to be obese
In Romania, 32.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 20.3% of people as of 2024.
see 13.6% more spent on your healthcare
Romania spends $2,614 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bulgaria spends $2,970 as of 2023.
have 19.4% more doctors per person
Romania has 36.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Bulgaria has 43.3 as of 2022.
Economy
be 40.9% less likely to be unemployed
In Romania, 6.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bulgaria, that number is 3.5% as of 2025.
be 15.2% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Romania, 18.4% live below the poverty line as of 2024. In Bulgaria, however, that number is 21.2% as of 2024.
Life
be 50.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Romania, approximately 12.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Bulgaria, 6.0 women do as of 2023.
be 23.3% less likely to die during infancy
In Romania, approximately 6.0 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.
have 10.7% more children
In Romania, there are approximately 7.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Bulgaria, there are 8.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 37.2% more on education
Romania spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Bulgaria spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 38.7% more on healthcare
Romania spends 5.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Bulgaria, that number is 7.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 57.3% more coastline
Romania has a total of 225 km of coastline. In Bulgaria, that number is 354 km.
Safety
be 12.5% less likely to die in a road accident
In Romania, road accidents kill 9.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Bulgaria, they kill 8.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
use 2.1 times more electricity
Romania uses 2,585 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Bulgaria uses 5,360 kWh as of 2023.
live with 5.3 times more strain on fresh water
Romania withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Bulgaria withdraws 40% as of 2022.
Environment
be 37.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Romania, air pollution causes 46.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bulgaria, it causes 63.0 as of 2019.
emit 42.7% more CO2
Romania emits 3.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Bulgaria emits 5.3 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Romania vs. Bulgaria
Bulgaria: At a glance
How big is Bulgaria compared to Romania? See an in-depth size comparison.