Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Malawi instead of Lesotho, you would:
Health
be 63.7% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Lesotho, 17.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Malawi, that number is 6.2% of people as of 2024.
live 9.8 years longer
In Lesotho, the average life expectancy is 58 years (55 years for men, 60 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 64.0% less likely to be obese
In Lesotho, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Malawi, that number is 8.0% of people as of 2024.
be 73.6% less likely to die by suicide
Lesotho has a suicide rate of 28.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Malawi, it is 7.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
see 67.5% less spent on your healthcare
Lesotho spends $386 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Malawi spends $125 as of 2023.
have 77.0% fewer doctors per person
Lesotho has 2.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Malawi has 0.5 as of 2022.
Economy
be 68.9% less likely to be unemployed
In Lesotho, 16.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Malawi, that number is 5.1% as of 2025.
make 38.3% less money
Lesotho has a GDP per capita of $1,089 as of 2025, while in Malawi, the GDP per capita is $672 as of 2025.
Life
be 52.9% less likely to die during childbirth
In Lesotho, approximately 478.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Malawi, 225.0 women do as of 2023.
be 32.5% less likely to die during infancy
In Lesotho, approximately 56.3 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Malawi, on the other hand, 38.0 children do as of 2024.
have 31.1% more children
In Lesotho, there are approximately 23.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Malawi, there are 31.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 25.6% less likely to be literate
In Lesotho, the literacy rate is 90.5% as of 2024. In Malawi, it is 67.3% as of 2021.
Basic Needs
be 72.8% less likely to have access to electricity
In Lesotho, approximately 57% of people have electricity access (85% in urban areas, and 45% 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 63.4% less likely to have internet access
In Lesotho, approximately 51.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Malawi, about 19.0% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 58.5% less on education
Lesotho spends 6.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Malawi spends 2.8% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 48.2% less on healthcare
Lesotho spends 12.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Malawi, that number is 6.5% of GDP as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 76.3% less home broadband
Lesotho has 0.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Malawi has 0.1 as of 2024.
live with 6.8 times more strain on fresh water
Lesotho withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Malawi withdraws 18% as of 2022.
Environment
be 57.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Lesotho, air pollution causes 100.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Malawi, it causes 43.0 as of 2019.
emit 48.8% less CO2
Lesotho emits 0.4 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Malawi emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), World Health Organization (2024), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019), The World Factbook (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Lesotho vs. Malawi
Malawi: At a glance
How big is Malawi compared to Lesotho? See an in-depth size comparison.