Bulgaria vs Costa Rica

Bulgaria and Costa Rica compared on 10 key figures from official sources. Each value is the latest one published for that country, so the year is shown with it.

• Bulgaria has about 1.2 times as many people as Costa Rica: 6.4 million against 5.2 million in 2025.
• GDP per person is about the same in Bulgaria ($20,328) and Costa Rica ($19,970) in 2025.
• The economy grew faster in Costa Rica (4.6%) than in Bulgaria (3.1%), a difference of 1.5 percentage points in 2025.
• Consumer prices rose faster in Bulgaria (4.6%) than in Costa Rica (-0.1%), a difference of 4.7 percentage points in 2025.
• The unemployment rate was higher in Costa Rica (6.8%) than in Bulgaria (3.5%), a difference of 3.3 percentage points in 2025.
• A baby born in Costa Rica can expect to live 5.2 years longer than one born in Bulgaria: 81 years against 75.8 years in 2024.
• The population of Bulgaria is older: half of its people are over 44.3 years, against 34.1 years in Costa Rica in 2023.
• A larger share of people used the internet in Costa Rica (87.2%) than in Bulgaria (82.4%), a difference of 4.8 percentage points in 2024.
• CO2 emissions per person in Bulgaria (5.3 tonnes) are about 3.3 times as high as in Costa Rica (1.6 tonnes) in 2024.
• Forest covers a larger share of the land in Costa Rica (59.1%) than in Bulgaria (36.4%), a difference of 22.7 percentage points in 2024.