Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Somalia instead of Guinea-Bissau, you would:
Health
be 95.5% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Guinea-Bissau, 2.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
live 5.3 years less
In Guinea-Bissau, the average life expectancy is 64 years (62 years for men, 67 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 17.3% more likely to be obese
In Guinea-Bissau, 12.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 14.9% of people as of 2024.
see 78.9% less spent on your healthcare
Guinea-Bissau spends $247 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Somalia spends $52 as of 2023.
have 27.0% less access to essential health services
Guinea-Bissau scores 37 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Somalia scores 27 as of 2021.
Economy
be 7.1 times more likely to be unemployed
In Guinea-Bissau, 2.7% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Somalia, that number is 18.9% as of 2025.
make 41.2% less money
Guinea-Bissau has a GDP per capita of $1,124 as of 2025, while in Somalia, the GDP per capita is $661 as of 2025.
Life
have 43.3% more children
In Guinea-Bissau, there are approximately 29.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Somalia, there are 42.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 15.3% less likely to be literate
In Guinea-Bissau, the literacy rate is 63.9% as of 2022. In Somalia, it is 54.1% as of 2022.
be 55.3% more likely to die during infancy
In Guinea-Bissau, approximately 42.1 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 24.2% more 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 Somalia, that number is 50% of people on average (79% in urban areas, and 24% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 21.8% 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 Somalia, that number is 75% of people on average (84% in urban areas, and 68% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 57.6% less on healthcare
Guinea-Bissau spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Somalia, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 8.6 times more coastline
Guinea-Bissau has a total of 350 km of coastline. In Somalia, that number is 3,025 km.
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 Somalia, they kill 20.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 84.6% more home broadband
Guinea-Bissau has 0.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Somalia has 0.7 as of 2023.
live with 16.4 times more strain on fresh water
Guinea-Bissau withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Somalia withdraws 25% as of 2022.
Environment
be 28.1% less likely to die from air pollution
In Guinea-Bissau, air pollution causes 89.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Somalia, it causes 64.0 as of 2019.
emit 68.8% less CO2
Guinea-Bissau emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Somalia emits 0.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Guinea-Bissau vs. Somalia
Somalia: At a glance
How big is Somalia compared to Guinea-Bissau? See an in-depth size comparison.