If you lived in Madagascar instead of Guinea-Bissau, you would:

Health

be 77.3% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Guinea-Bissau, 2.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Madagascar, that number is 0.5% of people as of 2024.

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be 64.5% less likely to be obese

In Guinea-Bissau, 12.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Madagascar, that number is 4.5% of people as of 2024.

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be 20.6% less likely to die by suicide

Guinea-Bissau has a suicide rate of 7.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Madagascar, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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see 74.6% less spent on your healthcare

Guinea-Bissau spends $247 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Madagascar spends $63 as of 2023.

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have 31.7% fewer doctors per person

Guinea-Bissau has 2.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Madagascar has 1.7 as of 2022.

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Economy

be 13.9% more likely to be unemployed

In Guinea-Bissau, 2.7% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Madagascar, that number is 3.0% as of 2025.

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be 48.9% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Guinea-Bissau, 50.5% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Madagascar, however, that number is 75.2% as of 2021.

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make 46.7% less money

Guinea-Bissau has a GDP per capita of $1,124 as of 2025, while in Madagascar, the GDP per capita is $599 as of 2025.

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Life

be 16.8% more likely to be literate

In Guinea-Bissau, the literacy rate is 63.9% as of 2022. In Madagascar, it is 74.7% as of 2021.

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Basic Needs

be 37.3% less likely to have internet access

In Guinea-Bissau, approximately 29.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Madagascar, about 18.7% do as of 2024.

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be 10.5% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Guinea-Bissau, approximately 62% of people have access to drinking water (73% in urban areas, and 53% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Madagascar, that number is 55% of people on average (78% in urban areas, and 39% in rural areas) as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 61.1% less on healthcare

Guinea-Bissau spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Madagascar, that number is 3.4% of GDP as of 2023.

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spend 13.0% more on education

Guinea-Bissau spends 2.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Madagascar spends 3.0% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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Geography

see 13.8 times more coastline

Guinea-Bissau has a total of 350 km of coastline. In Madagascar, that number is 4,828 km.

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Safety

be 26.2% less likely to die in a road accident

In Guinea-Bissau, road accidents kill 30.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Madagascar, they kill 22.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 69.2% less home broadband

Guinea-Bissau has 0.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Madagascar has 0.1 as of 2023.

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live with 7.5 times more strain on fresh water

Guinea-Bissau withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Madagascar withdraws 11% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 34.8% less likely to die from air pollution

In Guinea-Bissau, air pollution causes 89.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Madagascar, it causes 58.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2020), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Madagascar: At a glance

Madagascar is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 581,540 sq km. Formerly an independent kingdom, Madagascar became a French colony in 1896 but regained independence in 1960. During 1992-93, free presidential and National Assembly elections were held ending 17 years of single-party rule. In 1997, in the second presidential race, Didier RATSIRAKA, the leader during the 1970s and 1980s, was returned to the presidency. The 2001 presidential election was contested between the followers of Didier RATSIRAKA and Marc RAVALOMANANA, nearly causing secession of half of the country. In April 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner. RAVALOMANANA achieved a second term following a landslide victory in the generally free and fair presidential elections of 2006. In early 2009, protests over increasing restrictions on opposition press and activities resulted in RAVALOMANANA handing over power to the military, which then conferred the presidency on the mayor of Antananarivo, Andry RAJOELINA, in what amounted to a coup d'etat. Following a lengthy mediation process led by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Madagascar held UN-supported presidential and parliamentary elections in 2013. Former de facto finance minister Hery RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA defeated RAVALOMANANA's favored candidate Jean-Louis ROBINSON in a presidential runoff and was inaugurated in January 2014. Most international observers, while noting some irregularities, declared polls to be a credible reflection of the Malagasy public's will.
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