Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Senegal instead of Illinois, you would:

Health

live 6.8 years less

In Illinois, the average life expectancy is 77 years (76 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2020. In Senegal, that number is 70 years (68 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2022.

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Economy

be 39.0% less likely to be unemployed

In Illinois, 4.8% of adults are unemployed as of 2025. In Senegal, that number is 2.9% as of 2023.

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make 93.8% less money

Illinois has a GDP per capita of $70,691 as of 2024, while in Senegal, the GDP per capita is $4,400 as of 2023.

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Basic Needs

be 35.3% less likely to have internet access

In Illinois, approximately 89.6% of the population has internet access as of 2023. In Senegal, about 58.0% do as of 2021.

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The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, OECD Regional Demography, Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey), Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Compare further: Illinois vs. Senegal

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Senegal is 23.5% cheaper than Illinois
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Size Comparison · See true size
Illinois is about 1.4 times smaller than Senegal.
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Senegal: At a glance

Senegal is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 192,530 sq km. The French colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted their independence as the Mali Federation in 1960. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) has led a low-level separatist insurgency in southern Senegal since the 1980s, and several peace deals have failed to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until Abdoulaye WADE was elected president in 2000. He was reelected in 2007 and during his two terms amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and to weaken the opposition. His decision to run for a third presidential term sparked a large public backlash that led to his defeat in a March 2012 runoff election with Macky SALL.
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How big is Senegal compared to Illinois? See an in-depth size comparison.

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