If you lived in Guinea-Bissau instead of Madagascar, you would:

Health

see 3.9 times more spent on your healthcare

Madagascar spends $63 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Guinea-Bissau spends $247 as of 2023.

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have 46.5% more doctors per person

Madagascar has 1.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Guinea-Bissau has 2.5 as of 2022.

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be 4.4 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Madagascar, 0.5% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 2.2% of people as of 2024.

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be 2.8 times more likely to be obese

In Madagascar, 4.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 12.7% of people as of 2024.

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be 25.9% more likely to die by suicide

Madagascar has a suicide rate of 6.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Guinea-Bissau, it is 7.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 12.2% less likely to be unemployed

In Madagascar, 3.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.

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be 32.8% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Madagascar, 75.2% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Guinea-Bissau, however, that number is 50.5% as of 2021.

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make 87.5% more money

Madagascar has a GDP per capita of $599 as of 2025, while in Guinea-Bissau, the GDP per capita is $1,124 as of 2025.

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Life

be 14.4% less likely to be literate

In Madagascar, the literacy rate is 74.7% as of 2021. In Guinea-Bissau, it is 63.9% as of 2022.

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Basic Needs

be 59.4% more likely to have internet access

In Madagascar, approximately 18.7% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Guinea-Bissau, about 29.8% do as of 2024.

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be 11.7% more likely to have access to drinking water

In Madagascar, approximately 55% of people have access to drinking water (78% in urban areas, and 39% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 62% of people on average (73% in urban areas, and 53% in rural areas) as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 11.5% less on education

Madagascar spends 3.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Guinea-Bissau spends 2.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

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spend 2.6 times more on healthcare

Madagascar spends 3.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 8.8% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 92.8% less coastline

Madagascar has a total of 4,828 km of coastline. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 350 km.

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Safety

be 35.6% more likely to die in a road accident

In Madagascar, road accidents kill 22.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Guinea-Bissau, they kill 30.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 3.3 times more home broadband

Madagascar has 0.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Guinea-Bissau has 0.4 as of 2024.

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live with 86.7% less strain on fresh water

Madagascar withdraws 11% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Guinea-Bissau withdraws 2% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 53.4% more likely to die from air pollution

In Madagascar, air pollution causes 58.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Guinea-Bissau, it causes 89.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2020), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Guinea-Bissau: At a glance

Guinea-Bissau is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 28,120 sq km. Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable political and military upheaval. In 1980, a military coup established authoritarian dictator Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA as president. Despite setting a path to a market economy and multiparty system, VIEIRA's regime was characterized by the suppression of political opposition and the purging of political rivals. Several coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him. In 1994 VIEIRA was elected president in the country's first free elections. A military mutiny and resulting civil war in 1998 eventually led to VIEIRA's ouster in May 1999. In February 2000, a transitional government turned over power to opposition leader Kumba YALA after he was elected president in transparent polling. In September 2003, after only three years in office, YALA was overthrown in a bloodless military coup, and businessman Henrique ROSA was sworn in as interim president. In 2005, former President VIEIRA was re-elected president pledging to pursue economic development and national reconciliation; he was assassinated in March 2009. Malam Bacai SANHA was elected in an emergency election held in June 2009, but he passed away in January 2012 from an existing illness. A military coup in April 2012 prevented Guinea-Bissau's second-round presidential election - to determine SANHA's successor - from taking place.
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