Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Bulgaria instead of New Zealand, you would:

Health

be 18.8% less likely to be obese

In New Zealand, 30.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Bulgaria, that number is 25.0% of people as of 2016.

live 7.0 years less

In New Zealand, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2022. In Bulgaria, that number is 76 years (72 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

pay a 69.7% lower top tax rate

New Zealand has a top tax rate of 33.0% as of 2016. In Bulgaria, the top tax rate is 10.0% as of 2016.

make 31.8% less money

New Zealand has a GDP per capita of $48,800 as of 2023, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $33,300 as of 2023.

be 15.0% more likely to be unemployed

In New Zealand, 3.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Bulgaria, that number is 4.3% as of 2023.

Life

be 2.3 times more likely to die during infancy

In New Zealand, approximately 3.4 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.

have 37.3% fewer children

In New Zealand, there are approximately 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Bulgaria, there are 7.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 21.9% less likely to have internet access

In New Zealand, approximately 96.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Bulgaria, about 75.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 33.3% less on education

New Zealand spends 6.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Bulgaria spends 4.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 15.0% less on healthcare

New Zealand spends 10.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Bulgaria, that number is 8.5% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 97.7% less coastline

New Zealand has a total of 15,134 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, New Zealand Inland Revenue Department.

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 New Zealand? See an in-depth size comparison.

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