Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Yemen instead of Laos, you would:

Health

see 37.0% more spent on your healthcare

Laos spends $123 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Yemen spends $169 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 45.1% more likely to be obese

In Laos, 9.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Yemen, that number is 13.3% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

have 70.4% fewer doctors per person

Laos has 3.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Yemen has 1.0 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 19.2% less access to essential health services

Laos scores 52 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Yemen scores 42 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 14.6 times more likely to be unemployed

In Laos, 1.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Yemen, that number is 17.3% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

have 64.2% more children

In Laos, there are approximately 20.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Yemen, there are 34.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 24.3% more 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 Yemen, on the other hand, 33.8 children do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 13.4% less likely to have access to electricity

In Laos, approximately 96% of people have electricity access (99% in urban areas, and 95% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Yemen, that number is 84% of people on average (96% in urban areas, and 75% in rural areas) as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 73.0% less likely to have internet access

In Laos, approximately 65.6% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Yemen, about 17.7% do as of 2022.

View global rankings →

be 21.7% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Laos, approximately 96% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 93% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Yemen, that number is 75% of people on average (89% in urban areas, and 66% in rural areas) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 7.3 times more on healthcare

Laos spends 1.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Yemen, that number is 9.7% of GDP as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 81.7% more likely to die in a road accident

In Laos, road accidents kill 16.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Yemen, they kill 29.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

find 53.3% less home broadband

Laos has 2.7 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Yemen has 1.3 as of 2022.

View global rankings →

live with 35.4 times more strain on fresh water

Laos withdraws 5% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Yemen withdraws 170% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

use 94.6% less electricity

Laos uses 1,665 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Yemen uses 90 kWh as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Environment

emit 92.2% less CO2

Laos emits 3.4 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Yemen emits 0.3 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 58.0% more likely to die from air pollution

In Laos, air pollution causes 69.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Yemen, it causes 109.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →

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

Compare further: Laos vs. Yemen

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Yemen is 3.4% cheaper than Laos overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Laos is about 2.2 times smaller than Yemen.
→
Moving from Laos to Yemen · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→

Yemen: At a glance

Yemen is a sovereign country in Middle East, with a total land area of approximately 527,968 sq km. North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement and brief civil war in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. Fighting in the northwest between the government and the Huthis, a Zaydi Shia minority, began in 2004 and has since resulted in six rounds of fighting - the last ended in early 2010 with a cease-fire that continues to hold. The southern secessionist movement was revitalized in 2008 when a popular socioeconomic protest movement initiated the prior year took on political goals including secession. Public rallies in Sana'a against then President SALIH - inspired by similar demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt - slowly built momentum starting in late January 2011 fueled by complaints over high unemployment, poor economic conditions, and corruption. By the following month, some protests had resulted in violence, and the demonstrations had spread to other major cities. By March the opposition had hardened its demands and was unifying behind calls for SALIH's immediate ouster, and prominent military and tribal leaders began defecting from SALIH's camp. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in late April 2011, in an attempt to mediate the crisis in Yemen, proposed an agreement in which the president would step down in exchange for immunity from prosecution. SALIH's refusal to sign an agreement led to heavy street fighting and his injury in an explosion in June 2011. The UN Security Council passed Resolution 2014 in October 2011 calling on both sides to end the violence and complete a power transfer deal. In late November 2011, SALIH signed the GCC-brokered agreement to step down and to transfer some of his powers to Vice President Abd Rabuh Mansur HADI. Following elections in February 2012, won by HADI, SALIH formally transferred his powers. In accordance with the GCC initiative, Yemen launched a National Dialogue in March 2013 to discuss key constitutional, political, and social issues. HADI concluded the National Dialogue in January 2014. Subsequent steps in the transition process include constitutional drafting, a constitutional referendum, and national elections.
Read more

How big is Yemen compared to Laos? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Yemen or Laos. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.