If you lived in Senegal instead of Central African Republic, you would:

Health

be 87.5% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Central African Republic, 2.4% 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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live 11.2 years longer

In Central African Republic, the average life expectancy is 58 years (56 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2024. In Senegal, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 50.4% more spent on your healthcare

Central African Republic spends $137 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Senegal spends $206 as of 2023.

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have 47.3% more doctors per person

Central African Republic has 0.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Senegal has 1.1 as of 2023.

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have 56.2% more access to essential health services

Central African Republic scores 32 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Senegal scores 50 as of 2021.

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be 26.4% less likely to die by suicide

Central African Republic has a suicide rate of 9.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Senegal, it is 6.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 56.3% less likely to be unemployed

In Central African Republic, 6.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Senegal, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.

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be 45.5% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Central African Republic, 68.8% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Senegal, however, that number is 37.5% as of 2021.

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make 3.5 times more money

Central African Republic has a GDP per capita of $556 as of 2025, while in Senegal, the GDP per capita is $1,955 as of 2025.

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Life

be 65.8% less likely to die during childbirth

In Central African Republic, approximately 692.0 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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be 34.3% more likely to be literate

In Central African Republic, the literacy rate is 37.5% as of 2020. In Senegal, it is 50.4% as of 2023.

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be 50.9% less likely to die during infancy

In Central African Republic, approximately 58.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Senegal, on the other hand, 28.9 children do as of 2024.

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have 36.8% fewer children

In Central African Republic, there are approximately 46.2 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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Basic Needs

be 4.2 times more likely to have access to electricity

In Central African Republic, approximately 18% of people have electricity access (37% in urban areas, and 2% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Senegal, that number is 74% of people on average (96% in urban areas, and 56% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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be 4.4 times more likely to have internet access

In Central African Republic, approximately 13.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Senegal, about 60.1% do as of 2024.

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be 2.4 times more likely to have access to drinking water

In Central African Republic, approximately 36% of people have access to drinking water (48% in urban areas, and 27% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Senegal, that number is 88% of people on average (95% in urban areas, and 81% in rural areas) as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 59.5% less on healthcare

Central African Republic spends 10.7% 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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spend 3.4 times more on education

Central African Republic spends 1.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Senegal spends 6.2% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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Safety

be 98.7% less likely to be murdered

Central African Republic has a homicide rate of 20.1 per 100,000 people as of 2016. In Senegal, that number is 0.3 per 100,000 as of 2015.

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be 19.7% less likely to die in a road accident

In Central African Republic, road accidents kill 25.9 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 202.0 times more home broadband

Central African Republic has 0.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Senegal has 4.0 as of 2024.

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live with 47.9 times more strain on fresh water

Central African Republic withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Senegal withdraws 16% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 33.7% less likely to die from air pollution

In Central African Republic, air pollution causes 98.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Senegal, it causes 65.0 as of 2019.

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emit 12.8 times more CO2

Central African Republic emits 0.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Senegal emits 0.8 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2015–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2020). 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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