Bulgaria vs South Korea
Bulgaria is 11% larger than South Korea.
BulgariaSouth KoreaBulgaria moved onto South Korea · Equal-area projection
1.11×
Bulgaria is 1.11× the area of South Korea.
 Bulgaria |  South Korea | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaBulgaria: 1.11× the area | 110,994 km²#103 of 194 | 100,295 km²#107 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 5 | 1 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSouth Korea: 8.03× the population | 6,433,302#111 of 194 · 2025 | 51,684,564#29 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySouth Korea: 8.89× the density | 58 / km²#128 of 194 | 515 / km²#16 of 194 |
| Urban populationSouth Korea: 1.09× the urban share | 74%#60 of 192 · 2025 | 81%#39 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateBulgaria: 2.29× the births per woman | 1.72 per woman#115 of 192 · 2024 | 0.75 per woman#192 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthThe same | −0.13%#165 of 192 · 2025 | −0.13%#165 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateBulgaria: 1.77× the birth rate | 8.3 per 1,000#166 of 192 · 2024 | 4.7 per 1,000#191 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateBulgaria: 2.23× the death rate | 15.6 per 1,000#2 of 192 · 2024 | 7.0 per 1,000#102 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Bulgaria: 4.2 points higher | 14.4%#171 of 192 · 2025 | 10.2%#192 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Bulgaria: 1.9 points higher | 22.2%#13 of 192 · 2025 | 20.3%#30 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSouth Korea: 1.8 per 1,000 higher | −0.5 per 1,000#100 of 192 · 2025 | +1.3 per 1,000#44 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.08 per 1,000#122 of 190 · 2025 | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySouth Korea: 7.8 years longer | 75.8 years#80 of 192 · 2024 | 83.6 years#11 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityBulgaria: 2.0× the infant mortality | 4.6 per 1,000 births#148 of 191 · 2024 | 2.3 per 1,000 births#175 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsBulgaria: 1.66× the doctors per person | 4.33 per 1,000#23 of 178 · 2022 | 2.61 per 1,000#71 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentSouth Korea: 1.61× the university enrolment | 69.5%#47 of 145 · 2024 | 111.9%#3 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexSouth Korea: 0.092 higher | 0.845#54 of 190 · 2023 | 0.937#19 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSouth Korea: 2.13× the income per person | $17,780#60 of 185 · 2025 | $37,880#29 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSouth Korea: 14.3× the economy | $130.78B2025 | $1.87T2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)South Korea: 1.42× the output per person | $44,451#50 of 184 · 2025 | $63,125#29 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthBulgaria: 2.1 points higher | +3.1%#96 of 187 · 2025 | +1.0%#156 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationBulgaria: 2.5 points higher | +4.6%#45 of 176 · 2025 | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentBulgaria: 1.3× the unemployment | 3.5%#121 of 178 · 2025 | 2.7%#149 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyBulgaria: 10× the share in extreme poverty | 1.0%#85 of 149 · 2023 | 0.1%#126 of 149 · 2021 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Bulgaria: 6.6 higher | 39.5#41 of 149 · 2023 | 32.9#95 of 149 · 2021 |
| Jobs in agricultureSouth Korea: 0.4 points higher | 4.7% of jobs#132 of 178 · 2025 | 5.1% of jobs#130 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryBulgaria: 4.5 points higher | 27.9% of jobs#25 of 178 · 2025 | 23.4% of jobs#51 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSouth Korea: 4.1 points higher | 67.4% of jobs#63 of 178 · 2025 | 71.5% of jobs#46 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentBulgaria: 2.9 points higher | 3.7% of GDP#52 of 184 · 2025 | 0.8% of GDP#137 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsBulgaria: 4.9 points higher | 50.7% of GDP#45 of 168 · 2025 | 45.8% of GDP#54 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingSouth Korea: 1.29× the military spending | 2.0% of GDP#64 of 155 · 2025 | 2.6% of GDP#38 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSouth Korea: 1.19× the share online | 82%#89 of 184 · 2024 | 98%#13 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSouth Korea: 1.47× the mobile subscriptions | 118 per 100#87 of 191 · 2024 | 173 per 100#13 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaSouth Korea: 1.77× the forest share | 36% of land#79 of 192 · 2024 | 64% of land#19 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSouth Korea: 2.14× the CO₂ per person | 5.31 t a year#46 of 185 · 2024 | 11.4 t a year#15 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyBulgaria: 16.8 points higher | 20.4%#105 of 190 · 2021 | 3.6%#161 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)South Korea: 1.11× the air pollution | 19.7 µg/m³#86 of 191 · 2023 | 21.9 µg/m³#71 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landBulgaria: 26.6 points higher | 44.3% of land#5 of 191 · 2025 | 17.7% of land#95 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landBulgaria: 18.9 points higher | 32.2% of land#25 of 190 · 2024 | 13.3% of land#78 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSouth Korea: 2.12× the water stress | 40.2%#44 of 176 · 2022 | 85.2%#21 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSouth Korea: 2.1× the rain and snow | 608 mm#130 of 180 · 2022 | 1,274 mm#71 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySouth Korea: 0.67 higher | +0.25#82 of 193 · 2025 | +0.92#42 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSouth Korea: 1.21 higher | −0.29#101 of 193 · 2025 | +0.92#36 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateBulgaria: 2.2× the homicide rate | 1.1 per 100,000#99 of 146 · 2023 | 0.5 per 100,000#137 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republic | Presidential republic |
| Member of | EU, NATO, Euro area, Schengen Area | OECD, G20 |
| Capital | Sofia | Seoul |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) | South Korean won (KRW) |
| Official languages | Bulgarian | Korean, Korean Sign Language |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+2, summer time UTC+3 | UTC+9 |
| Calling code | +359 | +82 |
| Region | Eastern Europe, Europe | Eastern Asia, Asia |
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; South Korea at 36° N is stretched to 1.54×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. 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 South Korea?
- Yes. Bulgaria is 11% larger than South Korea. Bulgaria covers 110,994 km² and South Korea covers 100,295 km².
- How many times does South Korea fit into Bulgaria?
- About 1.1 times: Bulgaria has 1.11× the area of South Korea.
- Why do Bulgaria and South Korea 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 South Korea about 1.54×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Bulgaria or South Korea?
- South Korea: 51,684,564 people against 6,433,302. Density: Bulgaria 58 per km², South Korea 515 per km².
- Which is richer, Bulgaria or South Korea?
- By gross national income per person, South Korea: $37,880 against $17,780 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 2.13× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Bulgaria or South Korea?
- In South Korea: life expectancy at birth is 83.6 years, against 75.8 — 7.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Bulgaria and South Korea have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Bulgaria: parliamentary republic; South Korea: presidential republic.