Bulgaria vs Eritrea
Eritrea is 6% larger than Bulgaria.
BulgariaEritreaBulgaria moved onto Eritrea · Equal-area projection
0.94×
Bulgaria is 0.94× the area of Eritrea. Put the other way, Eritrea is 1.06× the size of Bulgaria.
 Bulgaria |  Eritrea | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaEritrea: 1.06× the area | 110,994 km²#103 of 194 | 117,600 km²#99 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 5 | 3 |
| People | ||
| PopulationBulgaria: 1.78× the population | 6,433,302#111 of 194 · 2025 | 3,607,003#130 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityBulgaria: 1.89× the density | 58 / km²#128 of 194 | 31 / km²#150 of 194 |
| Urban populationBulgaria: 2.15× the urban share | 74%#60 of 192 · 2025 | 35%#161 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateEritrea: 2.14× the births per woman | 1.72 per woman#115 of 192 · 2024 | 3.68 per woman#36 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthEritrea: 2.13 points higher | −0.13%#165 of 192 · 2025 | +2.00%#48 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateEritrea: 3.46× the birth rate | 8.3 per 1,000#166 of 192 · 2024 | 28.7 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateBulgaria: 2.6× the death rate | 15.6 per 1,000#2 of 192 · 2024 | 6.0 per 1,000#140 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Eritrea: 23.2 points higher | 14.4%#171 of 192 · 2025 | 37.6%#37 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Bulgaria: 17.9 points higher | 22.2%#13 of 192 · 2025 | 4.3%#137 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationBulgaria: 1.4 per 1,000 higher | −0.5 per 1,000#100 of 192 · 2025 | −1.9 per 1,000#142 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadEritrea: 1,923× the refugees for its size | 0.08 per 1,000#122 of 190 · 2025 | 153.84 per 1,000#3 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyBulgaria: 6.9 years longer | 75.8 years#80 of 192 · 2024 | 68.9 years#137 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityEritrea: 5.37× the infant mortality | 4.6 per 1,000 births#148 of 191 · 2024 | 24.7 per 1,000 births#56 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsBulgaria: 48.1× the doctors per person | 4.33 per 1,000#23 of 178 · 2022 | 0.09 per 1,000#168 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | 69.5%#47 of 145 · 2024 | — |
| Human Development IndexBulgaria: 0.342 higher | 0.845#54 of 190 · 2023 | 0.503#175 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | $17,780#60 of 185 · 2025 | — |
| GDP | $130.78B2025 | — |
| Income group | High income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $44,451#50 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| GDP growth | +3.1%#96 of 187 · 2025 | — |
| Inflation | +4.6%#45 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| UnemploymentEritrea: 1.71× the unemployment | 3.5%#121 of 178 · 2025 | 6.0%#71 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 1.0%#85 of 149 · 2023 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 39.5#41 of 149 · 2023 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureEritrea: 50.8 points higher | 4.7% of jobs#132 of 178 · 2025 | 55.5% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryBulgaria: 15.2 points higher | 27.9% of jobs#25 of 178 · 2025 | 12.7% of jobs#147 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesBulgaria: 35.6 points higher | 67.4% of jobs#63 of 178 · 2025 | 31.8% of jobs#163 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | 3.7% of GDP#52 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| Exports | 50.7% of GDP#45 of 168 · 2025 | — |
| Military spending | 2.0% of GDP#64 of 155 · 2025 | — |
| Internet usersBulgaria: 5.76× the share online | 82%#89 of 184 · 2024 | 14%#180 of 184 · 2020 |
| Mobile subscriptionsBulgaria: 2.0× the mobile subscriptions | 118 per 100#87 of 191 · 2024 | 59 per 100#177 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaBulgaria: 3.03× the forest share | 36% of land#79 of 192 · 2024 | 12% of land#145 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personBulgaria: 24.1× the CO₂ per person | 5.31 t a year#46 of 185 · 2024 | 0.22 t a year#167 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyEritrea: 60.3 points higher | 20.4%#105 of 190 · 2021 | 80.7%#15 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityBulgaria: 44.7 points higher | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 55.3%#169 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Eritrea: 1.71× the air pollution | 19.7 µg/m³#86 of 191 · 2023 | 33.7 µg/m³#36 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landBulgaria: 44.3 points higher | 44.3% of land#5 of 191 · 2025 | 0.0% of land#188 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landBulgaria: 26.5 points higher | 32.2% of land#25 of 190 · 2024 | 5.7% of land#124 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressBulgaria: 3.59× the water stress | 40.2%#44 of 176 · 2022 | 11.2%#87 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationBulgaria: 1.58× the rain and snow | 608 mm#130 of 180 · 2022 | 384 mm#150 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityBulgaria: 0.85 higher | +0.25#82 of 193 · 2025 | −0.60#148 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionBulgaria: 1.32 higher | −0.29#101 of 193 · 2025 | −1.61#189 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 1.1 per 100,000#99 of 146 · 2023 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republic | One-party stateauthoritarian |
| Member of | EU, NATO, Euro area, Schengen Area | — |
| Capital | Sofia | Asmara |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) | Nakfa (ERN) |
| Official languages | Bulgarian | English, Arabic, Tigrinya |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+2, summer time UTC+3 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +359 | +291 |
| Region | Eastern Europe, Europe | Eastern Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Bulgaria sits at about 43° N and is stretched to 1.86× its true area; Eritrea at 15° N is stretched to 1.08×. That difference is why Bulgaria looks so much bigger than it is next to Eritrea. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Bulgaria bigger than Eritrea?
- No. Bulgaria is 6% smaller than Eritrea. Bulgaria covers 110,994 km² and Eritrea covers 117,600 km².
- How many times does Bulgaria fit into Eritrea?
- About 1.1 times: Eritrea has 1.06× the area of Bulgaria.
- Why do Bulgaria and Eritrea look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Bulgaria is drawn about 1.86× its true area there and Eritrea about 1.08×. That is why Bulgaria looks so much bigger than it really is next to Eritrea. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Bulgaria or Eritrea?
- Bulgaria: 6,433,302 people against 3,607,003. Density: Bulgaria 58 per km², Eritrea 31 per km².
- Where do people live longer, Bulgaria or Eritrea?
- In Bulgaria: life expectancy at birth is 75.8 years, against 68.9 — 6.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Bulgaria and Eritrea have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Bulgaria: parliamentary republic; Eritrea: one-party state.