Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Africa instead of Bhutan, you would:
Health
be 95.5 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Bhutan, 0.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In South Africa, that number is 19.1% of people as of 2020.
live 7.0 years less
In Bhutan, the average life expectancy is 72 years (71 years for men, 73 years for women) as of 2022. In South Africa, that number is 65 years (64 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2022.
be 4.4 times more likely to be obese
In Bhutan, 6.4% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Africa, that number is 28.3% of people as of 2016.
Economy
be 8.9 times more likely to be unemployed
In Bhutan, 3.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In South Africa, that number is 28.5% as of 2019.
be 2.0 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Bhutan, 8.2% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In South Africa, however, that number is 16.6% as of 2016.
Life
be 35.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Bhutan, approximately 183.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In South Africa, 119.0 women do as of 2017.
be 42.6% more likely to be literate
In Bhutan, the literacy rate is 66.6% as of 2017. In South Africa, it is 95.0% as of 2019.
have 16.4% more children
In Bhutan, there are approximately 15.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In South Africa, there are 18.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 29.6% more likely to have internet access
In Bhutan, approximately 54.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In South Africa, about 70.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 2.5 times more on healthcare
Bhutan spends 3.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In South Africa, that number is 9.1% of GDP as of 2019.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
South Africa: At a glance
How big is South Africa compared to Bhutan? See an in-depth size comparison.