Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Malawi instead of Kiribati, you would:
Health
live 1.0 years longer
In Kiribati, the average life expectancy is 67 years (65 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024. In Malawi, that number is 68 years (64 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.
be 82.5% less likely to be obese
In Kiribati, 45.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Malawi, that number is 8.0% of people as of 2024.
be 56.7% less likely to die by suicide
Kiribati has a suicide rate of 17.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Malawi, it is 7.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
see 68.7% less spent on your healthcare
Kiribati spends $401 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Malawi spends $125 as of 2023.
Economy
be 8.6 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Kiribati, 5.5% live below the poverty line as of 2023. In Malawi, however, that number is 47.3% as of 2024.
make 73.8% less money
Kiribati has a GDP per capita of $2,559 as of 2025, while in Malawi, the GDP per capita is $672 as of 2025.
Life
have 23.0% more children
In Kiribati, there are approximately 25.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Malawi, there are 31.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 2.8 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Kiribati, approximately 80.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Malawi, 225.0 women do as of 2023.
be 31.8% less likely to be literate
In Kiribati, the literacy rate is 98.6% as of 2020. In Malawi, it is 67.3% as of 2021.
Basic Needs
be 83.7% less likely to have access to electricity
In Kiribati, approximately 96% of people have electricity access (89% in urban areas, and 94% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Malawi, that number is 16% of people on average (58% in urban areas, and 6% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 78.8% less likely to have internet access
In Kiribati, approximately 89.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Malawi, about 19.0% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 83.2% less on education
Kiribati spends 16.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Malawi spends 2.8% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 40.4% less on healthcare
Kiribati spends 10.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Malawi, that number is 6.5% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 75.0% less likely to be murdered
Kiribati has a homicide rate of 7.2 per 100,000 people as of 2012. In Malawi, that number is 1.8 per 100,000 as of 2012.
be 3.3 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Kiribati, road accidents kill 6.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Malawi, they kill 20.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 3.0 times more home broadband
Kiribati has 0.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Malawi has 0.1 as of 2024.
Environment
be 12.2% less likely to die from air pollution
In Kiribati, air pollution causes 49.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Malawi, it causes 43.0 as of 2019.
emit 62.7% less CO2
Kiribati emits 0.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Malawi emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2012–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Kiribati vs. Malawi
Malawi: At a glance
How big is Malawi compared to Kiribati? See an in-depth size comparison.