Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Libya instead of Iraq, you would:
Health
be 15.2% less likely to be obese
In Iraq, 39.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Libya, that number is 33.7% of people as of 2024.
see 25.2% more spent on your healthcare
Iraq spends $843 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Libya spends $1,055 as of 2023.
live 1.3 years less
In Iraq, the average life expectancy is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024. In Libya, that number is 71 years (70 years for men, 73 years for women) as of 2024.
be 68.4% more likely to die by suicide
Iraq has a suicide rate of 3.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Libya, it is 5.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 19.2% more money
Iraq has a GDP per capita of $5,410 as of 2025, while in Libya, the GDP per capita is $6,449 as of 2025.
be 21.2% more likely to be unemployed
In Iraq, 15.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Libya, that number is 18.8% as of 2025.
Life
be 60.7% less likely to die during infancy
In Iraq, approximately 20.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Libya, on the other hand, 7.9 children do as of 2024.
have 35.5% fewer children
In Iraq, there are approximately 25.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Libya, there are 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 26.8% less likely to have access to electricity
In Iraq, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Libya, that number is 73% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 96% in rural areas) as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 41.2% more on healthcare
Iraq spends 5.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Libya, that number is 7.8% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 30.5 times more coastline
Iraq has a total of 58 km of coastline. In Libya, that number is 1,770 km.
Safety
be 58.1% more likely to die in a road accident
In Iraq, road accidents kill 21.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Libya, they kill 34.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
use 2.8 times more electricity
Iraq uses 1,377 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Libya uses 3,796 kWh as of 2023.
find 74.4% less home broadband
Iraq has 17.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Libya has 4.5 as of 2022.
live with 13.7 times more strain on fresh water
Iraq withdraws 60% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Libya withdraws 817% as of 2022.
Environment
be 37.9% less likely to die from air pollution
In Iraq, air pollution causes 87.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Libya, it causes 54.0 as of 2019.
emit 67.2% more CO2
Iraq emits 5.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Libya emits 8.7 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Iraq vs. Libya
Libya: At a glance
How big is Libya compared to Iraq? See an in-depth size comparison.