Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 67.8% less likely to be obese

In Cook Islands, 72.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Malaysia, that number is 23.3% of people as of 2024.

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have 65.2% more access to essential health services

Cook Islands scores 46 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Malaysia scores 76 as of 2021.

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Life

be 56.1% less 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 Malaysia, on the other hand, 7.0 children do as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 51.3% more likely to have internet access

In Cook Islands, approximately 64.8% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Malaysia, about 98.0% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 23.7% less on education

Cook Islands spends 4.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Malaysia spends 3.5% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 23.7% more on healthcare

Cook Islands spends 3.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Malaysia, that number is 4.0% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 39.0 times more coastline

Cook Islands has a total of 120 km of coastline. In Malaysia, that number is 4,675 km.

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Safety

be 21.0% less likely to die in a road accident

In Cook Islands, road accidents kill 17.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Malaysia, they kill 13.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 25.6% less home broadband

Cook Islands has 18.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Malaysia has 13.6 as of 2024.

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

Compare further: Cook Islands vs. Malaysia

Cost of Living Comparison · 5 categories - 2026 data
Malaysia is 33.5% cheaper than Cook Islands overall
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Size Comparison · See true size
Cook Islands is about 1,398 times smaller than Malaysia.
→
Moving from Cook Islands to Malaysia · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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Malaysia: At a glance

Malaysia is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 328,657 sq km. During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia; these were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula except Singapore formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore, as well as Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo, joined the Federation. The first several years of the country's independence were marred by a communist insurgency, Indonesian confrontation with Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's withdrawal in 1965. During the 22-year term of Prime Minister MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (1981-2003), Malaysia was successful in diversifying its economy from dependence on exports of raw materials to the development of manufacturing, services, and tourism. Prime Minister Mohamed NAJIB bin Abdul Razak (in office since April 2009) has continued these pro-business policies and has introduced some civil reforms.
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How big is Malaysia compared to Cook Islands? See an in-depth size comparison.

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