One vicinity, two neighbors, and two different stories: a comparison of mortality experiences in Greece and Bulgaria since the 1960s

Greece and Bulgaria are neighboring countries. In the 19th century, the two countries became independent after the Greеk-Turkish and Russian-Turkish Wars, respectively. After several territorial transformations, the modern territory of Greece was formed in the 1920s, and that of Bulgaria after WWII. In addition to territorial transformations, both countries underwent socio-economic and political transformations differently. Between the two countries as well, there are geographical differences as well as cultural and lifestyle differences. Differences in mortality between Eastern and Western European countries have been and still are, of scientific interest to many researchers. However, differences in mortality between Bulgaria and Greece, in particular, have not been well studied. The paper aims to analyze the differences in life expectancy in Bulgaria and Greece from 1961 to 2019. We used data provided by EUROSTAT. The main results show significant differences between Bulgaria and Greece in mortality and longevity due to socioeconomic development, diet, lifestyle, access to medical care, etc.