If you lived in Senegal instead of Botswana, you would:

Health

be 98.1% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Botswana, 15.7% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Senegal, that number is 0.3% of people as of 2024.

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be 41.4% less likely to be obese

In Botswana, 19.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Senegal, that number is 11.6% of people as of 2024.

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be 19.0% less likely to die by suicide

Botswana has a suicide rate of 8.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Senegal, it is 6.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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see 84.3% less spent on your healthcare

Botswana spends $1,310 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Senegal spends $206 as of 2023.

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have 71.2% fewer doctors per person

Botswana has 3.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Senegal has 1.1 as of 2023.

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Economy

be 88.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Botswana, 24.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Senegal, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.

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make 74.9% less money

Botswana has a GDP per capita of $7,778 as of 2025, while in Senegal, the GDP per capita is $1,955 as of 2025.

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Life

have 19.8% more children

In Botswana, there are approximately 24.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Senegal, there are 29.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 52.9% 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 Senegal, 237.0 women do as of 2023.

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Expenditures

spend 23.6% less on education

Botswana spends 8.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Senegal spends 6.2% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 31.0% less on healthcare

Botswana spends 6.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Senegal, that number is 4.3% of GDP as of 2023.

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Safety

be 26.1% more likely to die in a road accident

In Botswana, road accidents kill 16.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Senegal, they kill 20.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 45.7% less home broadband

Botswana has 7.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Senegal has 4.0 as of 2024.

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live with 7.3 times more strain on fresh water

Botswana withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Senegal withdraws 16% as of 2022.

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use 75.0% less electricity

Botswana uses 1,641 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Senegal uses 410 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

emit 71.9% less CO2

Botswana emits 2.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Senegal emits 0.8 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 18.2% more likely to die from air pollution

In Botswana, air pollution causes 55.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Senegal, it causes 65.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Senegal: At a glance

Senegal is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 192,530 sq km. The French colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted their independence as the Mali Federation in 1960. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) has led a low-level separatist insurgency in southern Senegal since the 1980s, and several peace deals have failed to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until Abdoulaye WADE was elected president in 2000. He was reelected in 2007 and during his two terms amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and to weaken the opposition. His decision to run for a third presidential term sparked a large public backlash that led to his defeat in a March 2012 runoff election with Macky SALL.
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