Bulgaria vs Turkey
Turkey is 7.06 times larger than Bulgaria. Bulgaria would fit into Turkey about 7.1 times.
BulgariaTurkeyBulgaria moved onto Turkey · Equal-area projection
0.14×
Bulgaria is 0.14× the area of Turkey. Put the other way, Turkey is 7.06× the size of Bulgaria.
 Bulgaria |  Turkey | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaTurkey: 7.06× the area | 110,994 km²#103 of 194 | 783,562 km²#36 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 5 | 8 |
| People | ||
| PopulationTurkey: 13.3× the population | 6,433,302#111 of 194 · 2025 | 85,878,556#18 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityTurkey: 1.89× the density | 58 / km²#128 of 194 | 110 / km²#80 of 194 |
| Urban populationTurkey: 1.21× the urban share | 74%#60 of 192 · 2025 | 90%#19 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateBulgaria: 1.16× the births per woman | 1.72 per woman#115 of 192 · 2024 | 1.48 per woman#138 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthTurkey: 0.55 points higher | −0.13%#165 of 192 · 2025 | +0.42%#137 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateTurkey: 1.33× the birth rate | 8.3 per 1,000#166 of 192 · 2024 | 11.0 per 1,000#125 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateBulgaria: 2.74× the death rate | 15.6 per 1,000#2 of 192 · 2024 | 5.7 per 1,000#148 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Turkey: 6.6 points higher | 14.4%#171 of 192 · 2025 | 21.0%#109 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Bulgaria: 11.6 points higher | 22.2%#13 of 192 · 2025 | 10.6%#75 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationBulgaria: 2.5 per 1,000 higher | −0.5 per 1,000#100 of 192 · 2025 | −3.0 per 1,000#159 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadTurkey: 21.8× the refugees for its size | 0.08 per 1,000#122 of 190 · 2025 | 1.74 per 1,000#47 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyTurkey: 1.6 years longer | 75.8 years#80 of 192 · 2024 | 77.4 years#65 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityTurkey: 1.74× the infant mortality | 4.6 per 1,000 births#148 of 191 · 2024 | 8.0 per 1,000 births#122 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsBulgaria: 1.93× the doctors per person | 4.33 per 1,000#23 of 178 · 2022 | 2.24 per 1,000#80 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentTurkey: 1.52× the university enrolment | 69.5%#47 of 145 · 2024 | 105.9%#8 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexTurkey: 0.008 higher | 0.845#54 of 190 · 2023 | 0.853#50 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaBulgaria: 1.09× the income per person | $17,780#60 of 185 · 2025 | $16,300#62 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPTurkey: 12.2× the economy | $130.78B2025 | $1.6T2025 |
| Income group | High income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)About the same output per person | $44,451#50 of 184 · 2025 | $45,288#48 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthTurkey: 0.5 points higher | +3.1%#96 of 187 · 2025 | +3.6%#83 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationTurkey: 30.3 points higher | +4.6%#45 of 176 · 2025 | +34.9%#6 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentTurkey: 2.43× the unemployment | 3.5%#121 of 178 · 2025 | 8.5%#45 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyBulgaria: 5.0× the share in extreme poverty | 1.0%#85 of 149 · 2023 | 0.2%#121 of 149 · 2023 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Turkey: 4.2 higher | 39.5#41 of 149 · 2023 | 43.7#21 of 149 · 2023 |
| Jobs in agricultureTurkey: 9.5 points higher | 4.7% of jobs#132 of 178 · 2025 | 14.2% of jobs#94 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryBulgaria: 0.6 points higher | 27.9% of jobs#25 of 178 · 2025 | 27.3% of jobs#26 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesBulgaria: 8.9 points higher | 67.4% of jobs#63 of 178 · 2025 | 58.5% of jobs#88 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: 25.9 points higher | 50.7% of GDP#45 of 168 · 2025 | 24.8% of GDP#115 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingBulgaria: 1.05× the military spending | 2.0% of GDP#64 of 155 · 2025 | 1.9% of GDP#69 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersTurkey: 1.09× the share online | 82%#89 of 184 · 2024 | 90%#55 of 184 · 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptionsBulgaria: 1.09× the mobile subscriptions | 118 per 100#87 of 191 · 2024 | 108 per 100#114 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaBulgaria: 1.23× the forest share | 36% of land#79 of 192 · 2024 | 30% of land#103 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personAbout the same CO₂ per person | 5.31 t a year#46 of 185 · 2024 | 5.38 t a year#45 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyBulgaria: 8.4 points higher | 20.4%#105 of 190 · 2021 | 12.0%#134 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Turkey: 1.34× the air pollution | 19.7 µg/m³#86 of 191 · 2023 | 26.4 µg/m³#58 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landBulgaria: 37.3 points higher | 44.3% of land#5 of 191 · 2025 | 7.0% of land#160 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landBulgaria: 5.9 points higher | 32.2% of land#25 of 190 · 2024 | 26.3% of land#37 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressTurkey: 1.19× the water stress | 40.2%#44 of 176 · 2022 | 47.9%#39 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationAbout the same rain and snow | 608 mm#130 of 180 · 2022 | 593 mm#132 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityBulgaria: 1.13 higher | +0.25#82 of 193 · 2025 | −0.88#162 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionBulgaria: 0.24 higher | −0.29#101 of 193 · 2025 | −0.53#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateTurkey: 2.91× the homicide rate | 1.1 per 100,000#99 of 146 · 2023 | 3.2 per 100,000#62 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republic | Presidential republic |
| Member of | EU, NATO, Euro area, Schengen Area | NATO, OECD, G20 |
| Capital | Sofia | Ankara |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) | Turkish lira (TRY) |
| Official languages | Bulgarian | Turkish |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+2, summer time UTC+3 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +359 | +90 |
| Region | Eastern Europe, Europe | Western 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; Turkey at 39° N is stretched to 1.66×. 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 Turkey?
- No. Bulgaria is 7.06 times smaller than Turkey. Bulgaria covers 110,994 km² and Turkey covers 783,562 km².
- How many times does Bulgaria fit into Turkey?
- About 7.1 times: Turkey has 7.06× the area of Bulgaria.
- Why do Bulgaria and Turkey 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 Turkey about 1.66×. 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 Turkey?
- Turkey: 85,878,556 people against 6,433,302. Density: Bulgaria 58 per km², Turkey 110 per km².
- Which is richer, Bulgaria or Turkey?
- By gross national income per person, Bulgaria: $17,780 against $16,300 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.09× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Bulgaria or Turkey?
- In Turkey: life expectancy at birth is 77.4 years, against 75.8 — 1.6 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Bulgaria and Turkey have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Bulgaria: parliamentary republic; Turkey: presidential republic.