Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Afghanistan instead of Cook Islands, you would:

Health

be 71.6% less likely to be obese

In Cook Islands, 72.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Afghanistan, that number is 20.6% of people as of 2024.

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live 10.8 years less

In Cook Islands, the average life expectancy is 77 years (74 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2022. In Afghanistan, that number is 66 years (65 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024.

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have 10.9% less access to essential health services

Cook Islands scores 46 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Afghanistan scores 41 as of 2021.

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Life

have 2.9 times more children

In Cook Islands, there are approximately 12.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Afghanistan, there are 35.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 3.0 times more likely to die during infancy

In Cook Islands, approximately 15.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Afghanistan, on the other hand, 48.3 children do as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 75.2% less likely to have internet access

In Cook Islands, approximately 64.8% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Afghanistan, about 16.1% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 37.0% less on education

Cook Islands spends 4.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Afghanistan spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

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spend 4.7 times more on healthcare

Cook Islands spends 3.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Afghanistan, that number is 15.0% of GDP as of 2023.

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Safety

be 36.9% more likely to die in a road accident

In Cook Islands, road accidents kill 17.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Afghanistan, they kill 24.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 99.6% less home broadband

Cook Islands has 18.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Afghanistan has 0.1 as of 2023.

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Sources: The World Factbook (2020–2024), World Bank (2023–2024), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021–2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: Cook Islands vs. Afghanistan

Cost of Living Comparison · 5 categories - 2026 data
Afghanistan is 66.5% cheaper than Cook Islands overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Cook Islands is about 2,764 times smaller than Afghanistan.
→
Moving from Cook Islands to Afghanistan · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→

Afghanistan: At a glance

Afghanistan is a sovereign country in South Asia, with a total land area of approximately 652,230 sq km. Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian Empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 communist counter-coup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-communist mujahedin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. The UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan and the National Assembly was inaugurated the following December. KARZAI was re-elected in August 2009 for a second term. Despite gains toward building a stable central government, a resurgent Taliban and continuing provincial instability - particularly in the south and the east - remain serious challenges for the Afghan Government.
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How big is Afghanistan compared to Cook Islands? See an in-depth size comparison.

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