# Bulgaria and Serbia compared

Bulgaria and Serbia side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 3 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/bgr-vs-srb
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Bulgaria: 681 — Byzantium acknowledges Bulgaria as an independent state
- Serbia: 1166 — Stefan Nemanja founds the dynasty that becomes the Serbian state

## Economy

| Metric | Bulgaria | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $113 B | 2024 | $90 B | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $17,596 | 2024 | $13,679 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 3.4% | 2024 | 3.9% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 2.4% | 2024 | 4.7% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 110.2% | 2024 | 111.7% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Bulgaria | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 6.4 m | 2024 | 6.6 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 75.8 yrs | 2024 | 76.0 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 73.9% | 2024 | 62.4% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.7 | 2024 | 1.6 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Bulgaria | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 60.6 | 2024 | 48.7 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 66.6 | 2024 | 63.0 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 52.2 | 2024 | 53.3 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 59.4 | 2024 | 56.1 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 56.4 | 2024 | 53.5 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 43.0 | 2024 | 36.5 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Bulgaria | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 7.9% | 2023 | 8.0% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 4.33 | 2022 | 3.10 | 2022 |
| Under-5 mortality | 5.7 | 2024 | 5.4 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 94.0% | 2024 | 84.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 96.2% | 2024 | 75.0% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Bulgaria | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 98.3% | 2011 | 99.3% | 2022 |
| Education spending | 4.5% | 2022 | 3.4% | 2023 |
| Primary enrolment | 95.3% | 2024 | 96.0% | 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 94.8% | 2024 | 89.8% | 2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 69.5% | 2024 | 70.6% | 2024 |

## Technology

| Metric | Bulgaria | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.8% | 2023 | 0.9% | 2024 |
| Researchers (per million) | 2,401 | 2023 | 2,688 | 2024 |
| Internet users | 82.4% | 2024 | 87.7% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 118 | 2024 | 124 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 13.4% | 2024 | 4.5% | 2007 |

## Geography

| Metric | Bulgaria | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 108,560 km² | 2023 | 84,090 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 36.2% | 2023 | 32.4% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 46.1% | 2023 | 40.4% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 5.3 | 2024 | — | — |
| Renewable energy | 20.4% | 2021 | 27.2% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Bulgaria | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 0.9% | 2021 | 1.7% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.4% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 0.6% | 2021 | 0.7% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.2% | 2021 | 0.3% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |

## Military

| Metric | Bulgaria | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 2.1% | 2024 | 2.6% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $2.3 B | 2024 | $2.3 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 37,000 | 2020 | 32,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/BGR.md and https://terralore.co/country/SRB.md.

## Entangled histories (3 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- Sep 1885: **Unification with Eastern Rumelia** — A bloodless revolution united the autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia with the Principality of Bulgaria; Bulgaria secured the union by defeating Serbia in the ensuing war, recovering part of the San Stefano territory. (from the Bulgaria chronicle; sources: Bulgaria: Treaties of San Stefano and Berlin; Bulgaria: Ottoman rule, National Revival and the end of the 19th century)
- 1912: **First Balkan War** — Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro of the Balkan League drove the Ottoman Empire almost entirely out of Europe, with Bulgarian armies bearing the heaviest fighting in Thrace. (from the Bulgaria chronicle; sources: Balkan Wars)
- Jun–Aug 1913: **Second Balkan War and the loss of Macedonia** — Bulgaria attacked its former allies over the division of Macedonia and was crushed by Serbia, Greece, Romania and the Ottomans; the Treaty of Bucharest left most of Macedonia to its rivals and Southern Dobruja to Romania. (from the Bulgaria chronicle; sources: Second Balkan War; Balkan Wars)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/BGR/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/SRB/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Bulgaria and Serbia compared", terralore.co/compare/bgr-vs-srb, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.