Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Africa instead of Guyana, you would:
Health
be 14.7 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Guyana, 1.3% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In South Africa, that number is 19.1% of people as of 2020.
live 6.6 years less
In Guyana, the average life expectancy is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 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 40.1% more likely to be obese
In Guyana, 20.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Africa, that number is 28.3% of people as of 2016.
Economy
be 52.6% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Guyana, 35.0% live below the poverty line as of 2006. In South Africa, however, that number is 16.6% as of 2016.
make 38.5% less money
Guyana has a GDP per capita of $18,700 as of 2020, while in South Africa, the GDP per capita is $11,500 as of 2020.
be 2.6 times more likely to be unemployed
In Guyana, 11.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2013. In South Africa, that number is 28.5% as of 2019.
Life
be 82.2% less likely to die during childbirth
In Guyana, approximately 667.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In South Africa, 119.0 women do as of 2017.
have 11.0% more children
In Guyana, there are approximately 16.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In South Africa, there are 18.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
be 16.8% more likely to die during infancy
In Guyana, approximately 22.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In South Africa, on the other hand, 25.9 children do as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 89.2% more likely to have internet access
In Guyana, approximately 37.0% of the population has internet access as of 2019. In South Africa, about 70.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 51.1% more on education
Guyana spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. South Africa spends 6.8% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 85.7% more on healthcare
Guyana spends 4.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In South Africa, that number is 9.1% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 6.1 times more coastline
Guyana has a total of 459 km of coastline. In South Africa, that number is 2,798 km.
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 Guyana? See an in-depth size comparison.