If you lived in Samoa instead of Jamaica, you would:

Health

have 22.0% more doctors per person

Jamaica has 4.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Samoa has 5.6 as of 2021.

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be 82.7% more likely to be obese

In Jamaica, 35.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Samoa, that number is 64.3% of people as of 2024.

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see 45.4% less spent on your healthcare

Jamaica spends $869 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Samoa spends $475 as of 2023.

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have 25.7% less access to essential health services

Jamaica scores 74 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Samoa scores 55 as of 2021.

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be 7.1 times more likely to die by suicide

Jamaica has a suicide rate of 1.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Samoa, it is 12.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 52.0% more likely to be unemployed

In Jamaica, 3.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Samoa, that number is 5.0% as of 2025.

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make 26.6% less money

Jamaica has a GDP per capita of $8,003 as of 2025, while in Samoa, the GDP per capita is $5,873 as of 2025.

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Life

be 22.3% 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 Samoa, 101.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 25.0% less 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 Samoa, on the other hand, 12.3 children do as of 2024.

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have 2.2 times more children

In Jamaica, there are approximately 11.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Samoa, there are 25.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 13.6% more likely to have access to drinking water

In Jamaica, approximately 88% of people have access to drinking water (90% in urban areas, and 84% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Samoa, that number is 99% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 99% in rural areas) as of 2024.

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be 16.4% less likely to have internet access

In Jamaica, approximately 90.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Samoa, about 75.3% do as of 2022.

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Expenditures

spend 10.8% less on healthcare

Jamaica spends 7.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Samoa, that number is 6.8% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 60.6% less coastline

Jamaica has a total of 1,022 km of coastline. In Samoa, that number is 403 km.

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Safety

be 46.1% less likely to die in a road accident

In Jamaica, road accidents kill 17.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Samoa, they kill 9.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 94.5% less home broadband

Jamaica has 16.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Samoa has 0.9 as of 2022.

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Environment

emit 43.7% less CO2

Jamaica emits 2.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Samoa emits 1.6 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 54.5% more likely to die from air pollution

In Jamaica, air pollution causes 22.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Samoa, it causes 34.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

Samoa: At a glance

Samoa is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 2,821 sq km. New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997.
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How big is Samoa compared to Jamaica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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