Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Swaziland instead of Lesotho, you would:
Health
be 27.0% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Lesotho, 21.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Swaziland, that number is 26.8% of people as of 2020.
Economy
make 3.7 times more money
Lesotho has a GDP per capita of $2,300 as of 2020, while in Swaziland, the GDP per capita is $8,400 as of 2020.
be 18.5% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Lesotho, 49.7% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Swaziland, however, that number is 58.9% as of 2016.
pay a 10.0% higher top tax rate
Lesotho has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2016. In Swaziland, the top tax rate is 33.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 19.7% less likely to die during childbirth
In Lesotho, approximately 544.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Swaziland, 437.0 women do as of 2017.
be 11.3% more likely to be literate
In Lesotho, the literacy rate is 79.4% as of 2015. In Swaziland, it is 88.4% as of 2018.
be 18.2% less likely to die during infancy
In Lesotho, approximately 48.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Swaziland, on the other hand, 39.6 children do as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 2.5 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Lesotho, approximately 36% of people have electricity access (63% in urban areas, and 26% in rural areas) as of 2019. In Swaziland, that number is 90% of people on average (98% in urban areas, and 87% in rural areas) as of 2019.
Expenditures
spend 28.4% less on education
Lesotho spends 7.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Swaziland spends 5.3% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 39.8% less on healthcare
Lesotho spends 11.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Swaziland, that number is 6.8% of GDP as of 2019.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Swaziland Revenue Authority, The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance.
Swaziland: At a glance
How big is Swaziland compared to Lesotho? See an in-depth size comparison.