Bulgaria has the ninth highest mortality rate in the world

Bulgaria ranks ninth worldwide in terms of the mortality rate with 14.32%, according to both international and domestic surveys. This is the most negative of a total of 10 factors identified as extremely damaging for Bulgarians as a whole, the Centre for Demographic Policy (CDP) in Rousse announced. A high sick rate, mental disorders, expensive drugs – these are just a few of the health care issues Bulgarians were faced with during the past year. Using mostly publicly accessible data from foreign and domestic institutions, a CDP team of experts analysed the main developments and problems in Bulgaria's health care sector in 2012. Topping the list in their report is the fact that Bulgaria ranks ninth worldwide in terms of the mortality rate with 14.32%. The main reason behind this gloomy statistic is the poor quality of the country's health care services, which rank firmly at the bottom in the EU, said authors of the report Professor Petar Ivanov, Iskren Veselinov and Dr. Georgi Todorov. Bulgaria is 66th out of 189 countries in terms of health care spending as a share of the gross domestic product. Way ahead are countries like Uganda, Afghanistan, Guinea-Bissau and others. Second on the list is the fact that 2.8 million Bulgarians (or 40% of the population) have taken a sick leave and received due compensation from the National Social Security Institute in 2012.

"We have the highest number of heart attacks per capita in Europe and the second highest globally. In the space of one year, 37,000 people have been diagnosed with cancer," according to the survey.

CDP added that Bulgarians, especially elderly people, are in very poor condition dentalwise.

Third place on the list of health issues in Bulgaria is for the fact that more than half of Bulgarians have mental problems. "By comparison, the average share for Europe as a whole is 40%. According to the National Centre for Public Health, 22% of all working people in Bulgaria struggle with some kind of mental disorder due to stress." Further down the Top 10 ranking of heath issues are expensive drugs and the poor quality of medical care.

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