Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Latvia instead of France, you would:
Health
live 6.5 years less
In France, the average life expectancy is 83 years (80 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024. In Latvia, that number is 76 years (72 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2024.
be 99.4% more likely to be obese
In France, 11.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Latvia, that number is 22.3% of people as of 2024.
see 55.8% less spent on your healthcare
France spends $6,868 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Latvia spends $3,034 as of 2023.
have 11.8% less access to essential health services
France scores 85 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Latvia scores 75 as of 2021.
Economy
be 12.9% less likely to be unemployed
In France, 7.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Latvia, that number is 6.6% as of 2025.
be 44.2% more likely to live below the poverty line
In France, 15.6% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Latvia, however, that number is 22.5% as of 2022.
make 46.3% less money
France has a GDP per capita of $48,986 as of 2025, while in Latvia, the GDP per capita is $26,312 as of 2025.
Life
be 35.3% less likely to die during infancy
In France, approximately 3.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Latvia, on the other hand, 2.2 children do as of 2024.
be 2.7 times more likely to die during childbirth
In France, approximately 7.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Latvia, 19.0 women do as of 2023.
have 28.9% fewer children
In France, there are approximately 9.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Latvia, there are 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 18.8% less on education
France spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Latvia spends 4.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 36.9% less on healthcare
France spends 11.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Latvia, that number is 7.3% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 89.7% less coastline
France has a total of 4,853 km of coastline. In Latvia, that number is 498 km.
Safety
be 86.6% more likely to be murdered
France has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Latvia, that number is 2.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 2.1 times more likely to die in a road accident
In France, road accidents kill 4.7 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Latvia, they kill 9.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 95.2% less strain on fresh water
France withdraws 21% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Latvia withdraws 1% as of 2022.
find 47.4% less home broadband
France has 48.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Latvia has 25.8 as of 2024.
use 41.6% less electricity
France uses 6,447 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Latvia uses 3,768 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 4.0 times more likely to die from air pollution
In France, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Latvia, it causes 40.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: France vs. Latvia
Latvia: At a glance
How big is Latvia compared to France? See an in-depth size comparison.