Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Kiribati instead of Jamaica, you would:
Health
live 5.0 years less
In Jamaica, the average life expectancy is 72 years (69 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024. In Kiribati, that number is 67 years (65 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024.
be 29.6% more likely to be obese
In Jamaica, 35.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Kiribati, that number is 45.6% of people as of 2024.
see 53.8% less spent on your healthcare
Jamaica spends $869 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Kiribati spends $401 as of 2023.
have 35.1% less access to essential health services
Jamaica scores 74 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Kiribati scores 48 as of 2021.
be 10.3 times more likely to die by suicide
Jamaica has a suicide rate of 1.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Kiribati, it is 17.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 29.5% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Jamaica, 7.8% live below the poverty line as of 2024. In Kiribati, however, that number is 5.5% as of 2023.
make 68.0% less money
Jamaica has a GDP per capita of $8,003 as of 2025, while in Kiribati, the GDP per capita is $2,559 as of 2025.
Life
be 38.5% less likely to die during childbirth
In Jamaica, approximately 130.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Kiribati, 80.0 women do as of 2023.
have 2.2 times more children
In Jamaica, there are approximately 11.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Kiribati, there are 25.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 2.4 times more likely to die during infancy
In Jamaica, approximately 16.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Kiribati, on the other hand, 38.8 children do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 3.0 times more on education
Jamaica spends 5.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Kiribati spends 16.4% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 44.1% more on healthcare
Jamaica spends 7.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Kiribati, that number is 10.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 11.8% more coastline
Jamaica has a total of 1,022 km of coastline. In Kiribati, that number is 1,143 km.
Safety
be 65.2% less likely to die in a road accident
In Jamaica, road accidents kill 17.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Kiribati, they kill 6.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 99.8% less home broadband
Jamaica has 16.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Kiribati has 0.0 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 79.2% less CO2
Jamaica emits 2.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Kiribati emits 0.6 tonnes as of 2024.
be 2.2 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Jamaica, air pollution causes 22.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Kiribati, it causes 49.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Jamaica vs. Kiribati
Kiribati: At a glance
How big is Kiribati compared to Jamaica? See an in-depth size comparison.