Bulgaria vs Serbia
Bulgaria vs Serbia: GDP growth
GDP growth in 2025: 3.1% a year in Bulgaria and 2% a year in Serbia, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Bulgaria, by 1.1 percentage points, or 1.53 times that in Serbia.
% a year · IMF
What the numbers say
- Bulgaria has been higher since 2025, when it overtook Serbia.
- In 2025, Bulgaria ranked 80 and Serbia ranked 102 of 143 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Bulgaria at 2.4% a year and Serbia at 3.5% a year in 2031.
Every year
% a year · IMF
| Year | Bulgaria | Serbia |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.1 | 2 |
| 2024 | 3.4 | 4 |
| 2023 | 1.7 | 3.7 |
| 2022 | 4.1 | 2.7 |
| 2021 | 7.8 | 7.9 |
| 2020 | -3.1 | -1 |
| 2019 | 3.8 | 4.8 |
| 2018 | 2.3 | 4.6 |
| 2017 | 2.7 | 2.4 |
| 2016 | 3 | 3 |
| 2015 | 3.4 | 1.3 |
| 2014 | 0.9 | -1.8 |
| 2013 | -0.5 | 0.5 |
| 2012 | 0.7 | -0.4 |
| 2011 | 2.1 | 0.1 |
| 2010 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| 2009 | -3.3 | -3.1 |
| 2008 | 6.1 | 5.2 |
| 2007 | 6.7 | 7.8 |
| 2006 | 6.8 | 3.9 |
| 2005 | 7.1 | 5.9 |
| 2004 | 6.5 | 6.7 |
| 2003 | 5.2 | 4.6 |
| 2002 | 5.9 | 6.5 |
| 2001 | 3.8 | 6.8 |
| 2000 | 4.6 | 6.1 |
| 1999 | -8.4 | -10.3 |
| 1998 | 3.8 | 5.3 |
| 1997 | -14.1 | – |
| 1996 | 5.2 | – |
| 1995 | -1.6 | – |
| 1994 | -3.7 | – |
| 1993 | -11.6 | – |
| 1992 | -8.4 | – |
| 1991 | -10.8 | – |
| 1990 | -9.1 | – |
| 1989 | -0.5 | – |
| 1988 | 2.4 | – |
| 1987 | 4.7 | – |
| 1986 | 5.3 | – |
| 1985 | 1.8 | – |
| 1984 | 4.6 | – |
| 1983 | 3 | – |
| 1982 | 4.2 | – |
| 1981 | 5.3 | – |
| 1980 | 5.7 | – |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Bulgaria | Serbia |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2.6 | 3.3 |
| 2027 | 2.7 | 4 |
| 2028 | 2.6 | 3.5 |
| 2029 | 2.5 | 3.5 |
| 2030 | 2.5 | 3.5 |
| 2031 | 2.4 | 3.5 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- How much the economy grew or shrank in a year, after inflation.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 143 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Bulgaria vs Serbia
Health
- Life expectancyBulgaria: 75.6 years in 2023Serbia: 76.8 years in 2023
- Child mortalityBulgaria: 0.6 per 100 live births in 2024Serbia: 0.5 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityBulgaria: 4.7 per 1,000 live births in 2023Serbia: 4.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Safe drinking waterBulgaria: 95.7% in 2022Serbia: 75.1% in 2022
- DepressionBulgaria: 2.54% in 2017Serbia: 2.57% in 2017
- Suicide rateBulgaria: 9.5 per 100,000 people in 2017Serbia: 12.7 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationBulgaria: 6.8 million people in 2023Serbia: 6.77 million people in 2023
- Population growthBulgaria: -0.52% a year in 2023Serbia: -0.44% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateBulgaria: 1.75 births per woman in 2023Serbia: 1.5 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationBulgaria: 74.2% in 2025Serbia: 62.6% in 2025
- Median ageBulgaria: 44.3 years in 2023Serbia: 43.9 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overBulgaria: 21.8% in 2023Serbia: 22.3% in 2023
- Net migration rateBulgaria: 0.8 per 1,000 people in 2023Serbia: 0.6 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingBulgaria: 2.01% of GDP in 2025Serbia: 2.76% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsBulgaria: $2.4B in 2025Serbia: $2.55B in 2025
- Military spending per personBulgaria: $384 in 2025Serbia: $414 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingBulgaria: 5.2% of government spending in 2025Serbia: 6.4% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelBulgaria: 37,000 people in 2020Serbia: 32,000 people in 2020
- National powerBulgaria: 0.09% of world capability in 2022Serbia: 0.09% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersBulgaria: 1.18% of the labour force in 2020Serbia: 1.01% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsBulgaria: 540 million TIV in 2025Serbia: 146 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsBulgaria: 33 million TIV in 2024Serbia: 39 million TIV in 2025