Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Afghanistan instead of Botswana, you would:
Health
be 99.4% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Botswana, 15.7% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Afghanistan, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
be 56.9% less likely to die by suicide
Botswana has a suicide rate of 8.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Afghanistan, it is 3.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 3.0 years less
In Botswana, the average life expectancy is 69 years (67 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2024. In Afghanistan, that number is 66 years (65 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024.
see 74.8% less spent on your healthcare
Botswana spends $1,310 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Afghanistan spends $330 as of 2023.
have 16.4% fewer doctors per person
Botswana has 3.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Afghanistan has 3.2 as of 2023.
have 25.5% less access to essential health services
Botswana scores 55 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Afghanistan scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
be 45.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Botswana, 24.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Afghanistan, that number is 13.3% as of 2025.
make 94.6% less money
Botswana has a GDP per capita of $7,778 as of 2025, while in Afghanistan, the GDP per capita is $417 as of 2024.
Life
have 43.7% more children
In Botswana, there are approximately 24.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Afghanistan, there are 35.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 3.4 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Botswana, approximately 155.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Afghanistan, 521.0 women do as of 2023.
be 50.5% more likely to die during infancy
In Botswana, approximately 32.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Afghanistan, on the other hand, 48.3 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 12.2% more likely to have access to electricity
In Botswana, approximately 76% of people have electricity access (98% in urban areas, and 25% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Afghanistan, that number is 85% of people on average (96% in urban areas, and 81% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 72.0% less likely to have internet access
In Botswana, approximately 57.5% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Afghanistan, about 16.1% do as of 2024.
be 11.9% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Botswana, approximately 92% of people have access to drinking water (97% in urban areas, and 78% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Afghanistan, that number is 81% of people on average (97% in urban areas, and 75% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 64.0% less on education
Botswana spends 8.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Afghanistan spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 2.4 times more on healthcare
Botswana spends 6.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Afghanistan, that number is 15.0% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 64.6% less likely to be murdered
Botswana has a homicide rate of 11.4 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Afghanistan, that number is 4.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 46.1% more likely to die in a road accident
In Botswana, road accidents kill 16.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Afghanistan, they kill 24.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 98.9% less home broadband
Botswana has 7.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Afghanistan has 0.1 as of 2023.
live with 24.6 times more strain on fresh water
Botswana withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Afghanistan withdraws 55% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 89.8% less CO2
Botswana emits 2.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Afghanistan emits 0.3 tonnes as of 2024.
be 2.6 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Botswana, air pollution causes 55.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Afghanistan, it causes 143.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2020). How we calculate this
Compare further: Botswana vs. Afghanistan
Afghanistan: At a glance
How big is Afghanistan compared to Botswana? See an in-depth size comparison.