Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Malawi instead of Guinea-Bissau, you would:
Health
live 3.3 years longer
In Guinea-Bissau, the average life expectancy is 64 years (62 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2024. In Malawi, that number is 68 years (64 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.
be 37.1% less likely to be obese
In Guinea-Bissau, 12.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Malawi, that number is 8.0% of people as of 2024.
have 29.7% more access to essential health services
Guinea-Bissau scores 37 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Malawi scores 48 as of 2021.
be 2.8 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Guinea-Bissau, 2.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Malawi, that number is 6.2% of people as of 2024.
see 49.3% less spent on your healthcare
Guinea-Bissau spends $247 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Malawi spends $125 as of 2023.
have 78.6% fewer doctors per person
Guinea-Bissau has 2.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Malawi has 0.5 as of 2022.
Economy
be 89.9% more likely to be unemployed
In Guinea-Bissau, 2.7% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Malawi, that number is 5.1% as of 2025.
make 40.2% less money
Guinea-Bissau has a GDP per capita of $1,124 as of 2025, while in Malawi, the GDP per capita is $672 as of 2025.
Life
be 55.4% less likely to die during childbirth
In Guinea-Bissau, approximately 505.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Malawi, 225.0 women do as of 2023.
Basic Needs
be 18.2% more 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 Malawi, that number is 73% of people on average (86% in urban areas, and 70% in rural areas) as of 2024.
be 61.5% less likely to have access to electricity
In Guinea-Bissau, approximately 40% of people have electricity access (64% in urban areas, and 21% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Malawi, that number is 16% of people on average (58% in urban areas, and 6% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 36.3% less likely to have internet access
In Guinea-Bissau, approximately 29.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Malawi, about 19.0% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 26.0% less on healthcare
Guinea-Bissau spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Malawi, that number is 6.5% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 33.8% less likely to die in a road accident
In Guinea-Bissau, road accidents kill 30.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Malawi, they kill 20.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 76.9% less home broadband
Guinea-Bissau has 0.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Malawi has 0.1 as of 2024.
live with 11.7 times more strain on fresh water
Guinea-Bissau withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Malawi withdraws 18% as of 2022.
Environment
be 51.7% less likely to die from air pollution
In Guinea-Bissau, air pollution causes 89.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Malawi, it causes 43.0 as of 2019.
emit 37.5% more CO2
Guinea-Bissau emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Malawi emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Guinea-Bissau vs. Malawi
Malawi: At a glance
How big is Malawi compared to Guinea-Bissau? See an in-depth size comparison.