Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Guinea-Bissau instead of Benin, you would:
Health
live 3.3 years longer
In Benin, the average life expectancy is 61 years (60 years for men, 62 years for women) as of 2024. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 64 years (62 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2024.
see 79.3% more spent on your healthcare
Benin spends $138 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Guinea-Bissau spends $247 as of 2023.
have 16.7% more doctors per person
Benin has 2.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Guinea-Bissau has 2.5 as of 2022.
be 3.1 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Benin, 0.7% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 2.2% of people as of 2024.
Economy
be 67.9% more likely to be unemployed
In Benin, 1.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.
be 39.5% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Benin, 36.2% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Guinea-Bissau, however, that number is 50.5% as of 2021.
make 32.2% less money
Benin has a GDP per capita of $1,658 as of 2025, while in Guinea-Bissau, the GDP per capita is $1,124 as of 2025.
Life
be 24.4% more likely to be literate
In Benin, the literacy rate is 51.4% as of 2022. In Guinea-Bissau, it is 63.9% as of 2022.
have 11.5% fewer children
In Benin, there are approximately 33.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Guinea-Bissau, there are 29.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 28.9% less likely to have access to electricity
In Benin, approximately 57% of people have electricity access (70% in urban areas, and 44% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 40% of people on average (64% in urban areas, and 21% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 12.4% less likely to have internet access
In Benin, approximately 34.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Guinea-Bissau, about 29.8% do as of 2024.
be 11.2% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Benin, approximately 70% of people have access to drinking water (76% in urban areas, and 63% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 62% of people on average (73% in urban areas, and 53% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 16.4% less on education
Benin spends 3.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Guinea-Bissau spends 2.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 2.6 times more on healthcare
Benin spends 3.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 8.8% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.9 times more coastline
Benin has a total of 121 km of coastline. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 350 km.
Safety
be 23.0% more likely to die in a road accident
In Benin, road accidents kill 24.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Guinea-Bissau, they kill 30.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 39.3% more home broadband
Benin has 0.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Guinea-Bissau has 0.4 as of 2024.
live with 53.1% more strain on fresh water
Benin withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Guinea-Bissau withdraws 2% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 67.3% less CO2
Benin emits 0.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Guinea-Bissau emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 15.6% more likely to die from air pollution
In Benin, air pollution causes 77.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Guinea-Bissau, it causes 89.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2020). How we calculate this
Compare further: Benin vs. Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau: At a glance
How big is Guinea-Bissau compared to Benin? See an in-depth size comparison.