Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Switzerland instead of Latvia, you would:
Health
live 7.3 years longer
In Latvia, the average life expectancy is 76 years (71 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2022. In Switzerland, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022.
be 17.4% less likely to be obese
In Latvia, 23.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Switzerland, that number is 19.5% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 2.3 times more money
Latvia has a GDP per capita of $29,900 as of 2020, while in Switzerland, the GDP per capita is $68,400 as of 2020.
be 62.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Latvia, 6.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In Switzerland, that number is 2.3% as of 2019.
be 30.1% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Latvia, 22.9% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Switzerland, however, that number is 16.0% as of 2018.
pay a 73.9% higher top tax rate
Latvia has a top tax rate of 23.0% as of 2016. In Switzerland, the top tax rate is 40.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 73.7% less likely to die during childbirth
In Latvia, approximately 19.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Switzerland, 5.0 women do as of 2017.
be 26.2% less likely to die during infancy
In Latvia, approximately 4.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Switzerland, on the other hand, 3.6 children do as of 2022.
have 18.7% more children
In Latvia, there are approximately 8.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Switzerland, there are 10.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Expenditures
spend 16.7% more on education
Latvia spends 4.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. Switzerland spends 4.9% of total GDP on education as of 2018.
spend 71.2% more on healthcare
Latvia spends 6.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Switzerland, that number is 11.3% of GDP as of 2019.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: State Revenue Service, Latvia, The World Factbook, Swiss Federal Tax Administration.
Switzerland: At a glance
How big is Switzerland compared to Latvia? See an in-depth size comparison.