Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 9.3 years less

In Japan, the average life expectancy is 85 years (82 years for men, 88 years for women) as of 2022. In Bulgaria, that number is 76 years (72 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2022.

be 5.8 times more likely to be obese

In Japan, 4.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Bulgaria, that number is 25.0% of people as of 2016.

Economy

pay a 82.1% lower top tax rate

Japan has a top tax rate of 56.0% as of 2016. In Bulgaria, the top tax rate is 10.0% as of 2016.

make 35.1% less money

Japan has a GDP per capita of $41,600 as of 2022, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $27,000 as of 2022.

be 64.2% more likely to be unemployed

In Japan, 2.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Bulgaria, that number is 4.3% as of 2022.

be 42.2% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Japan, 16.1% live below the poverty line as of 2013. In Bulgaria, however, that number is 22.9% as of 2021.

Life

have 14.5% more children

In Japan, there are approximately 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Bulgaria, there are 7.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 75.0% more likely to die during childbirth

In Japan, approximately 4.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Bulgaria, 7.0 women do as of 2020.

be 4.2 times more likely to die during infancy

In Japan, approximately 1.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Bulgaria, on the other hand, 8.0 children do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 22.0% less on healthcare

Japan spends 10.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Bulgaria, that number is 8.5% of GDP as of 2020.

spend 17.6% more on education

Japan spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Bulgaria spends 4.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 98.8% less coastline

Japan has a total of 29,751 km of coastline. In Bulgaria, that number is 354 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, National Revenue Agency, Bulgaria, National Tax Agency Japan.

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 Japan? See an in-depth size comparison.

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