Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Bulgaria, you would:
Health
live 8.1 years longer
In Bulgaria, the average life expectancy is 76 years (72 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2022. In Iceland, that number is 84 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022.
be 12.4% less likely to be obese
In Bulgaria, 25.0% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Iceland, that number is 21.9% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 99.7% more money
Bulgaria has a GDP per capita of $33,300 as of 2023, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $66,500 as of 2023.
be 17.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Bulgaria, 4.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2023.
be 57.3% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Bulgaria, 20.6% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Iceland, however, that number is 8.8% as of 2017.
pay a 4.6 times higher top tax rate
Bulgaria has a top tax rate of 10.0% as of 2016. In Iceland, the top tax rate is 46.3% as of 2016.
Life
be 57.1% less likely to die during childbirth
In Bulgaria, approximately 7.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Iceland, 3.0 women do as of 2020.
be 79.3% less likely to die during infancy
In Bulgaria, approximately 8.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Iceland, on the other hand, 1.6 children do as of 2022.
have 59.5% more children
In Bulgaria, there are approximately 7.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Iceland, there are 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 33.3% more likely to have internet access
In Bulgaria, approximately 75.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Iceland, about 100.0% do as of 2021.
Expenditures
spend 92.5% more on education
Bulgaria spends 4.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Iceland spends 7.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 12.9% more on healthcare
Bulgaria spends 8.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Iceland, that number is 9.6% of GDP as of 2020.
Geography
see 14.0 times more coastline
Bulgaria has a total of 354 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, National Revenue Agency, Bulgaria, Directorate of Internal Revenue.
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Bulgaria? See an in-depth size comparison.