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

Health

be 93.8% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Suriname, 1.6% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.

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live 2.0 years longer

In Suriname, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 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 34.0% less likely to be obese

In Suriname, 30.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Bulgaria, that number is 20.3% of people as of 2024.

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see 2.6 times more spent on your healthcare

Suriname spends $1,143 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bulgaria spends $2,970 as of 2023.

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have 3.2 times more doctors per person

Suriname has 13.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Bulgaria has 43.3 as of 2022.

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have 15.9% more access to essential health services

Suriname scores 63 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Bulgaria scores 73 as of 2021.

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be 57.3% less likely to die by suicide

Suriname has a suicide rate of 22.3 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 54.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Suriname, 7.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bulgaria, that number is 3.5% as of 2025.

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make 2.9 times more money

Suriname has a GDP per capita of $7,070 as of 2025, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $20,328 as of 2025.

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be 20.5% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Suriname, 17.6% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Bulgaria, however, that number is 21.2% as of 2024.

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Life

be 92.9% less likely to die during childbirth

In Suriname, approximately 84.0 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 68.9% less likely to die during infancy

In Suriname, approximately 14.8 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 51.6% fewer children

In Suriname, there are approximately 17.1 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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Expenditures

spend 56.8% more on education

Suriname 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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spend 46.4% more on healthcare

Suriname spends 5.4% 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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Safety

be 83.3% less likely to be murdered

Suriname has a homicide rate of 6.5 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 48.1% less likely to die in a road accident

In Suriname, road accidents kill 16.2 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 97.4% more home broadband

Suriname has 18.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Bulgaria has 37.0 as of 2023.

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use 85.0% more electricity

Suriname uses 2,897 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Bulgaria uses 5,360 kWh as of 2023.

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live with 10.2 times more strain on fresh water

Suriname withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Bulgaria withdraws 40% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 61.5% more likely to die from air pollution

In Suriname, air pollution causes 39.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bulgaria, it causes 63.0 as of 2019.

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emit 30.8% more CO2

Suriname emits 4.1 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). 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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