If you lived in Senegal instead of Lesotho, you would:

Health

be 98.2% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Lesotho, 17.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Senegal, that number is 0.3% of people as of 2024.

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live 11.1 years longer

In Lesotho, the average life expectancy is 58 years (55 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2024. In Senegal, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.

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be 47.8% less likely to be obese

In Lesotho, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Senegal, that number is 11.6% of people as of 2024.

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be 76.4% less likely to die by suicide

Lesotho has a suicide rate of 28.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Senegal, it is 6.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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see 46.7% less spent on your healthcare

Lesotho spends $386 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Senegal spends $206 as of 2023.

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have 53.6% fewer doctors per person

Lesotho has 2.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Senegal has 1.1 as of 2023.

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Economy

be 83.3% less likely to be unemployed

In Lesotho, 16.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Senegal, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.

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make 79.5% more money

Lesotho has a GDP per capita of $1,089 as of 2025, while in Senegal, the GDP per capita is $1,955 as of 2025.

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Life

be 50.4% 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 Senegal, 237.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 48.7% 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 Senegal, on the other hand, 28.9 children do as of 2024.

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have 22.8% more children

In Lesotho, there are approximately 23.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Senegal, there are 29.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 44.3% less likely to be literate

In Lesotho, the literacy rate is 90.5% as of 2024. In Senegal, it is 50.4% as of 2023.

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Basic Needs

be 29.5% more 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 Senegal, that number is 74% of people on average (96% in urban areas, and 56% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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be 16.1% more likely to have internet access

In Lesotho, approximately 51.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Senegal, about 60.1% do as of 2024.

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be 12.8% more likely to have access to drinking water

In Lesotho, approximately 78% of people have access to drinking water (95% in urban areas, and 71% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Senegal, that number is 88% of people on average (95% in urban areas, and 81% in rural areas) as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 65.7% less on healthcare

Lesotho spends 12.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Senegal, that number is 4.3% of GDP as of 2023.

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Infrastructure

find 10.6 times more home broadband

Lesotho has 0.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Senegal has 4.0 as of 2024.

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live with 6.3 times more strain on fresh water

Lesotho withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Senegal withdraws 16% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 35.0% less likely to die from air pollution

In Lesotho, air pollution causes 100.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Senegal, it causes 65.0 as of 2019.

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emit 79.1% more CO2

Lesotho emits 0.4 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Senegal emits 0.8 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), World Health Organization (2024), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019). How we calculate this

Senegal: At a glance

Senegal is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 192,530 sq km. The French colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted their independence as the Mali Federation in 1960. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) has led a low-level separatist insurgency in southern Senegal since the 1980s, and several peace deals have failed to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until Abdoulaye WADE was elected president in 2000. He was reelected in 2007 and during his two terms amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and to weaken the opposition. His decision to run for a third presidential term sparked a large public backlash that led to his defeat in a March 2012 runoff election with Macky SALL.
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