Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Burma instead of Malawi, you would:
Health
be 85.5% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Malawi, 6.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Burma, that number is 0.9% of people as of 2024.
see 2.3 times more spent on your healthcare
Malawi spends $125 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Burma spends $283 as of 2023.
have 14.0 times more doctors per person
Malawi has 0.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Burma has 7.6 as of 2019.
be 61.8% less likely to die by suicide
Malawi has a suicide rate of 7.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Burma, it is 2.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 39.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Malawi, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Burma, that number is 3.0% as of 2025.
make 2.2 times more money
Malawi has a GDP per capita of $672 as of 2025, while in Burma, the GDP per capita is $1,489 as of 2025.
Life
be 17.8% less likely to die during childbirth
In Malawi, approximately 225.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Burma, 185.0 women do as of 2023.
be 39.0% more likely to be literate
In Malawi, the literacy rate is 67.3% as of 2021. In Burma, it is 93.5% as of 2020.
be 13.7% less likely to die during infancy
In Malawi, approximately 38.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Burma, on the other hand, 32.8 children do as of 2024.
have 47.1% fewer children
In Malawi, there are approximately 31.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Burma, there are 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 4.9 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Malawi, approximately 16% of people have electricity access (58% in urban areas, and 6% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Burma, that number is 77% of people on average (95% in urban areas, and 69% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 2.3 times more likely to have internet access
In Malawi, approximately 19.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Burma, about 44.0% do as of 2021.
be 17.3% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Malawi, approximately 73% of people have access to drinking water (86% in urban areas, and 70% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Burma, that number is 86% of people on average (96% in urban areas, and 81% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 27.3% less on education
Malawi spends 2.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Burma spends 2.0% of total GDP on education as of 2019.
spend 31.7% less on healthcare
Malawi spends 6.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Burma, that number is 4.5% of GDP as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 31.9 times more home broadband
Malawi has 0.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Burma has 2.9 as of 2024.
live with 66.9% less strain on fresh water
Malawi withdraws 18% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Burma withdraws 6% as of 2022.
Environment
be 65.1% more likely to die from air pollution
In Malawi, air pollution causes 43.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Burma, it causes 71.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.6 times more CO2
Malawi emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Burma emits 0.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), The World Factbook (2021), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019). How we calculate this
Compare further: Malawi vs. Burma
Burma: At a glance
How big is Burma compared to Malawi? See an in-depth size comparison.