Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Cook Islands instead of Laos, you would:
Health
live 7.9 years longer
In Laos, the average life expectancy is 69 years (67 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2024. In Cook Islands, that number is 77 years (74 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2022.
have 4.1 times more doctors per person
Laos has 3.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Cook Islands has 13.4 as of 2019.
be 7.9 times more likely to be obese
In Laos, 9.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Cook Islands, that number is 72.4% of people as of 2024.
have 11.5% less access to essential health services
Laos scores 52 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Cook Islands scores 46 as of 2021.
Life
be 41.4% less likely to die during infancy
In Laos, approximately 27.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Cook Islands, on the other hand, 15.9 children do as of 2022.
have 42.2% fewer children
In Laos, there are approximately 20.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Cook Islands, there are 12.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 3.7 times more on education
Laos spends 1.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Cook Islands spends 4.6% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 2.4 times more on healthcare
Laos spends 1.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Cook Islands, that number is 3.2% of GDP as of 2020.
Infrastructure
find 6.7 times more home broadband
Laos has 2.7 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Cook Islands has 18.2 as of 2022.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2024), The World Factbook (2020–2024), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Laos vs. Cook Islands
Cook Islands: At a glance
How big is Cook Islands compared to Laos? See an in-depth size comparison.