Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Ethiopia instead of Benin, you would:

Health

live 6.0 years longer

In Benin, the average life expectancy is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2022. In Ethiopia, that number is 68 years (66 years for men, 70 years for women) as of 2022.

be 53.1% less likely to be obese

In Benin, 9.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Ethiopia, that number is 4.5% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 39.0% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Benin, 38.5% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Ethiopia, however, that number is 23.5% as of 2015.

make 30.3% less money

Benin has a GDP per capita of $3,300 as of 2020, while in Ethiopia, the GDP per capita is $2,300 as of 2020.

be 17.5 times more likely to be unemployed

In Benin, 1.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2014. In Ethiopia, that number is 17.5% as of 2012.

Life

be 22.2% more likely to be literate

In Benin, the literacy rate is 42.4% as of 2018. In Ethiopia, it is 51.8% as of 2017.

be 39.9% less likely to die during infancy

In Benin, approximately 55.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Ethiopia, on the other hand, 33.5 children do as of 2022.

have 25.9% fewer children

In Benin, there are approximately 41.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Ethiopia, there are 30.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 42.4% more likely to have access to electricity

In Benin, approximately 33% of people have electricity access (58% in urban areas, and 9% in rural areas) as of 2019. In Ethiopia, that number is 47% of people on average (96% in urban areas, and 34% in rural areas) as of 2019.

Expenditures

spend 70.0% more on education

Benin spends 3.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Ethiopia spends 5.1% of total GDP on education as of 2018.

spend 33.3% more on healthcare

Benin spends 2.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Ethiopia, that number is 3.2% of GDP as of 2019.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Ethiopia: At a glance

Ethiopia is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 1,096,570 sq km. Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of a short-lived Italian occupation from 1936-41. In 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea late in the 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. In November 2007, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission (EEBC) issued specific coordinates as virtually demarcating the border and pronounced its work finished. Alleging that the EEBC acted beyond its mandate in issuing the coordinates, Ethiopia has not accepted them and has not withdrawn troops from previously contested areas pronounced by the EEBC as belonging to Eritrea. In August 2012, longtime leader Prime Minister MELES Zenawi died in office and was replaced by his Deputy Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM Desalegn, marking the first peaceful transition of power in decades.
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How big is Ethiopia compared to Benin? See an in-depth size comparison.

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