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

Health

live 3.9 years longer

In Samoa, the average life expectancy is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 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 68.4% less likely to be obese

In Samoa, 64.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 20.3% of people as of 2024.

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see 6.3 times more spent on your healthcare

Samoa spends $475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bulgaria spends $2,970 as of 2023.

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have 7.7 times more doctors per person

Samoa has 5.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Bulgaria has 43.3 as of 2022.

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have 32.7% more access to essential health services

Samoa scores 55 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Bulgaria scores 73 as of 2021.

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be 20.8% less likely to die by suicide

Samoa has a suicide rate of 12.0 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 29.2% less likely to be unemployed

In Samoa, 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 3.5 times more money

Samoa has a GDP per capita of $5,873 as of 2025, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $20,328 as of 2025.

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Life

be 94.1% less likely to die during childbirth

In Samoa, approximately 101.0 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 62.6% less likely to die during infancy

In Samoa, approximately 12.3 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.

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have 66.8% fewer children

In Samoa, there are approximately 25.0 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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Expenditures

spend 17.6% less on education

Samoa spends 5.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Bulgaria spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

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spend 16.8% more on healthcare

Samoa spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Bulgaria, that number is 7.9% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 12.2% less coastline

Samoa has a total of 403 km of coastline. In Bulgaria, that number is 354 km.

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Safety

be 12.5% less likely to die in a road accident

In Samoa, road accidents kill 9.6 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 42.1 times more home broadband

Samoa has 0.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Bulgaria has 37.0 as of 2023.

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Environment

be 85.3% more likely to die from air pollution

In Samoa, air pollution causes 34.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bulgaria, it causes 63.0 as of 2019.

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emit 3.3 times more CO2

Samoa emits 1.6 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 Samoa? See an in-depth size comparison.

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