Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Somalia instead of Guyana, you would:
Health
be 93.8% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Guyana, 1.6% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
be 50.5% less likely to be obese
In Guyana, 30.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 14.9% of people as of 2024.
be 67.9% less likely to die by suicide
Guyana has a suicide rate of 24.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Somalia, it is 8.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 11.3 years less
In Guyana, the average life expectancy is 70 years (67 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 59 years (56 years for men, 62 years for women) as of 2024.
see 96.1% less spent on your healthcare
Guyana spends $1,331 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Somalia spends $52 as of 2023.
have 64.5% less access to essential health services
Guyana scores 76 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Somalia scores 27 as of 2021.
Economy
be 58.4% more likely to be unemployed
In Guyana, 12.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Somalia, that number is 18.9% as of 2025.
make 98.0% less money
Guyana has a GDP per capita of $32,414 as of 2025, while in Somalia, the GDP per capita is $661 as of 2025.
Life
have 2.1 times more children
In Guyana, there are approximately 19.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Somalia, there are 42.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 7.5 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Guyana, approximately 75.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Somalia, 563.0 women do as of 2023.
be 39.1% less likely to be literate
In Guyana, the literacy rate is 88.8% as of 2021. In Somalia, it is 54.1% as of 2022.
be 2.8 times more likely to die during infancy
In Guyana, approximately 23.2 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 49.1% less likely to have access to electricity
In Guyana, approximately 99% of people have electricity access (99% in urban areas, and 92% 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 66.3% less likely to have internet access
In Guyana, approximately 83.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Somalia, about 27.9% do as of 2024.
be 21.3% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Guyana, approximately 96% of people have access to drinking water (95% in urban areas, and 96% 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 51.4% more on healthcare
Guyana spends 2.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Somalia, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 6.6 times more coastline
Guyana has a total of 459 km of coastline. In Somalia, that number is 3,025 km.
Safety
be 32.9% more likely to die in a road accident
In Guyana, road accidents kill 15.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Somalia, they kill 20.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 94.4% less home broadband
Guyana has 12.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Somalia has 0.7 as of 2023.
live with 7.4 times more strain on fresh water
Guyana withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Somalia withdraws 25% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 98.9% less CO2
Guyana emits 4.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Somalia emits 0.1 tonnes as of 2024.
be 23.1% more likely to die from air pollution
In Guyana, air pollution causes 52.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Somalia, it causes 64.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Guyana vs. Somalia
Somalia: At a glance
How big is Somalia compared to Guyana? See an in-depth size comparison.