Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

see 29.0% more spent on your healthcare

Serbia spends $2,303 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bulgaria spends $2,970 as of 2023.

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have 39.7% more doctors per person

Serbia has 31.0 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Bulgaria has 43.3 as of 2022.

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be 37.2% less likely to die by suicide

Serbia has a suicide rate of 15.1 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 50.3% less likely to be unemployed

In Serbia, 7.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bulgaria, that number is 3.5% as of 2025.

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make 33.2% more money

Serbia has a GDP per capita of $15,262 as of 2025, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $20,328 as of 2025.

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Life

be 45.5% less likely to die during childbirth

In Serbia, approximately 11.0 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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Expenditures

spend 32.4% more on education

Serbia spends 3.4% 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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Safety

be 16.8% less likely to be murdered

Serbia has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Bulgaria, that number is 1.1 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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be 13.5% more likely to die in a road accident

In Serbia, road accidents kill 7.4 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 10.9% more home broadband

Serbia has 33.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Bulgaria has 37.0 as of 2023.

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live with 7.0 times more strain on fresh water

Serbia withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Bulgaria withdraws 40% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 40.0% more likely to die from air pollution

In Serbia, air pollution causes 45.0 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). How we calculate this

Compare further: Serbia vs. Bulgaria

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Bulgaria is 2.1% cheaper than Serbia overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Serbia is about 1.4 times smaller than Bulgaria.
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Moving from Serbia to Bulgaria · UN DESA 2020
3,245 people born in Serbia live in Bulgaria.
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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 Serbia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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