Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Africa instead of Libya, you would:
Health
be 12.9% less likely to be obese
In Libya, 32.5% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Africa, that number is 28.3% of people as of 2016.
be 191.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Libya, 0.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In South Africa, that number is 19.1% of people as of 2020.
live 11.9 years less
In Libya, the average life expectancy is 77 years (75 years for men, 80 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.
Economy
make 11.7% more money
Libya has a GDP per capita of $10,300 as of 2020, while in South Africa, the GDP per capita is $11,500 as of 2020.
pay a 4.5 times higher top tax rate
Libya has a top tax rate of 10.0% as of 2016. In South Africa, the top tax rate is 45.0% as of 2017.
Life
be 65.3% more likely to die during childbirth
In Libya, approximately 72.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In South Africa, 119.0 women do as of 2017.
be 2.3 times more likely to die during infancy
In Libya, approximately 11.2 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.
have 13.9% fewer children
In Libya, there are approximately 21.6 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 3.2 times more likely to have internet access
In Libya, approximately 22.0% of the population has internet access as of 2019. In South Africa, about 70.0% do as of 2020.
Geography
see 58.1% more coastline
Libya has a total of 1,770 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, Ministry of Finance, South African Revenue Service.
South Africa: At a glance
How big is South Africa compared to Libya? See an in-depth size comparison.