Bulgaria vs Serbia
Serbia has about the same population as Bulgaria: 6,549,143 vs 6,433,302, a gap of 115,841. Bulgaria is shrinking more slowly (−0.13% vs −0.57% a year), adding about -8,114 people a year against −37,227. Using continuous exponential growth from the stated base year, if these rates held, Bulgaria would overtake Serbia in about 4 years (from the 2025 population bases, around 2029) — a projection, not a forecast. Serbia is 1.3× as densely populated (78.8 vs 59.4 people per km²). GDP per capita is 1.3× higher in Bulgaria ($20,328 vs $15,262).
Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (Bulgaria) and 2025 (Serbia); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.
Bulgaria vs Serbia — side by side
 Bulgaria |  Serbia | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 6,433,3022025 | 6,549,1432025 |
| Growth rate / yr | −0.13%2025 | −0.57%2025 |
| Births per 1,000 | 8.32024 | 9.22024 |
| Deaths per 1,000 | 15.62024 | 14.92024 |
| Children per woman | 1.722024 | 1.642024 |
| Life expectancy | 75.8 yrs2024 | 76.0 yrs2024 |
| Aged 0–14 | 14.4%2025 | 14.3%2025 |
| Aged 65+ | 22.2%2025 | 23.1%2025 |
| Density | 59.4 /km²2023 | 78.8 /km²2023 |
| Area | 110,997 km²2023 | 84,990 km²2023 |
| Urban population | 74.2%2025 | 62.6%2025 |
| Net migration / yr | -2,9612025 | -13,0862025 |
| GDP per capita | $20,3282025 | $15,2622025 |
| Country population rank (available records) | #111 | #109 |
| Base / world population (World Bank 2025) | 0.08% | 0.08% |
Highlighted cell = the higher value (not "better"). Small print under each value is its own data year. Source: World Bank; country/territory population bases may have different years. These are not live counts.
Population since 1960
World Bank population history (not the separate UN WPP timeline). Bulgaria: 0.8× from 1960 to 2025; Serbia: 1.0× from 1960 to 2025. Left: absolute population. Right: each series indexed to its own first available year = 100; baseline years may differ.
More comparisons
Region: Europe & Central Asia · rankings
Bulgaria: Bulgaria vs Nicaragua, Bulgaria vs Serbia, Bulgaria vs Republic of the Congo, Bulgaria vs El Salvador, Bulgaria vs Singapore, Bulgaria vs Denmark.
Serbia: Serbia vs Kyrgyzstan, Serbia vs Paraguay, Serbia vs Nicaragua, Serbia vs Republic of the Congo, Serbia vs Bulgaria, Serbia vs El Salvador.
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