Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Somalia instead of Gambia, you would:
Health
be 92.3% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Gambia, 1.3% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
live 7.1 years less
In Gambia, the average life expectancy is 66 years (64 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 59 years (56 years for men, 62 years for women) as of 2024.
be 20.3% more likely to be obese
In Gambia, 12.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 14.9% of people as of 2024.
see 44.7% less spent on your healthcare
Gambia spends $94 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Somalia spends $52 as of 2023.
have 41.3% less access to essential health services
Gambia scores 46 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Somalia scores 27 as of 2021.
be 65.5% more likely to die by suicide
Gambia has a suicide rate of 4.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Somalia, it is 8.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 2.9 times more likely to be unemployed
In Gambia, 6.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Somalia, that number is 18.9% as of 2025.
make 28.1% less money
Gambia has a GDP per capita of $919 as of 2025, while in Somalia, the GDP per capita is $661 as of 2025.
Life
have 41.8% more children
In Gambia, there are approximately 29.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Somalia, there are 42.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 59.0% more likely to die during childbirth
In Gambia, approximately 354.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Somalia, 563.0 women do as of 2023.
be 100.0% more likely to die during infancy
In Gambia, approximately 32.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Somalia, on the other hand, 65.4 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 24.8% less likely to have access to electricity
In Gambia, approximately 67% of people have electricity access (85% in urban areas, and 35% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Somalia, that number is 50% of people on average (79% in urban areas, and 24% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 43.5% less likely to have internet access
In Gambia, approximately 49.5% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Somalia, about 27.9% do as of 2024.
be 13.6% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Gambia, approximately 87% of people have access to drinking water (92% in urban areas, and 78% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 75% of people on average (84% in urban areas, and 68% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 29.4% more on healthcare
Gambia spends 2.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Somalia, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 37.8 times more coastline
Gambia has a total of 80 km of coastline. In Somalia, that number is 3,025 km.
Infrastructure
find 38.5% more home broadband
Gambia has 0.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Somalia has 0.7 as of 2023.
live with 11.1 times more strain on fresh water
Gambia withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Somalia withdraws 25% as of 2022.
Environment
be 28.9% less likely to die from air pollution
In Gambia, air pollution causes 90.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Somalia, it causes 64.0 as of 2019.
emit 72.2% less CO2
Gambia emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Somalia emits 0.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Gambia vs. Somalia
Somalia: At a glance
How big is Somalia compared to Gambia? See an in-depth size comparison.