Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 5.9 years less

In Portugal, the average life expectancy is 82 years (78 years for men, 85 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 20.2% more likely to be obese

In Portugal, 20.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Bulgaria, that number is 25.0% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 33.7% less likely to be unemployed

In Portugal, 6.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Bulgaria, that number is 4.3% as of 2023.

pay a 82.3% lower top tax rate

Portugal has a top tax rate of 56.5% as of 2016. In Bulgaria, the top tax rate is 10.0% as of 2016.

make 20.1% less money

Portugal has a GDP per capita of $41,700 as of 2023, while in Bulgaria, the GDP per capita is $33,300 as of 2023.

be 25.6% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Portugal, 16.4% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Bulgaria, however, that number is 20.6% as of 2022.

Life

be 41.7% less likely to die during childbirth

In Portugal, approximately 12.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Bulgaria, 7.0 women do as of 2020.

be 3.2 times more likely to die during infancy

In Portugal, approximately 2.5 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 20.0% less on education

Portugal spends 5.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Bulgaria spends 4.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 19.8% less on healthcare

Portugal spends 10.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Bulgaria, that number is 8.5% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 80.3% less coastline

Portugal has a total of 1,793 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, Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira.

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.
Read more

How big is Bulgaria compared to Portugal? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Bulgaria.or Portugal It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.