If you lived in Italy instead of Libya, you would:

Health

live 12.8 years longer

In Libya, the average life expectancy is 71 years (70 years for men, 73 years for women) as of 2024. In Italy, that number is 84 years (82 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024.

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be 58.4% less likely to be obese

In Libya, 33.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Italy, that number is 14.0% of people as of 2024.

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see 4.7 times more spent on your healthcare

Libya spends $1,055 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Italy spends $4,993 as of 2024.

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have 35.5% more access to essential health services

Libya scores 62 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Italy scores 84 as of 2021.

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be 39.8% more likely to die by suicide

Libya has a suicide rate of 5.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Italy, it is 7.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 65.9% less likely to be unemployed

In Libya, 18.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Italy, that number is 6.4% as of 2025.

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make 6.7 times more money

Libya has a GDP per capita of $6,449 as of 2025, while in Italy, the GDP per capita is $43,309 as of 2025.

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Life

be 89.8% less likely to die during childbirth

In Libya, approximately 59.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Italy, 6.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 70.9% less likely to die during infancy

In Libya, approximately 7.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Italy, on the other hand, 2.3 children do as of 2024.

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have 61.8% fewer children

In Libya, there are approximately 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Italy, there are 6.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 36.6% more likely to have access to electricity

In Libya, approximately 73% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 96% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Italy, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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Geography

see 4.3 times more coastline

Libya has a total of 1,770 km of coastline. In Italy, that number is 7,600 km.

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Safety

be 85.3% less likely to die in a road accident

In Libya, road accidents kill 34.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Italy, they kill 5.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 7.0 times more home broadband

Libya has 4.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Italy has 31.8 as of 2024.

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live with 96.4% less strain on fresh water

Libya withdraws 817% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Italy withdraws 30% as of 2022.

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use 35.3% more electricity

Libya uses 3,796 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Italy uses 5,137 kWh as of 2024.

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Environment

be 72.2% less likely to die from air pollution

In Libya, air pollution causes 54.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Italy, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.

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emit 41.3% less CO2

Libya emits 8.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Italy emits 5.1 tonnes as of 2024.

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

Italy: At a glance

Italy is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 294,140 sq km. Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy is a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include sluggish economic growth, high youth and female unemployment, organized crime, corruption, and economic disparities between southern Italy and the more prosperous north.
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How big is Italy compared to Libya? See an in-depth size comparison.

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