Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Cameroon instead of Malawi, you would:
Health
be 59.7% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Malawi, 6.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Cameroon, that number is 2.5% of people as of 2024.
see 96.4% more spent on your healthcare
Malawi spends $125 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Cameroon spends $246 as of 2023.
have 2.5 times more doctors per person
Malawi has 0.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Cameroon has 1.4 as of 2022.
live 3.6 years less
In Malawi, the average life expectancy is 68 years (64 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024. In Cameroon, that number is 64 years (62 years for men, 66 years for women) as of 2024.
be 2.0 times more likely to be obese
In Malawi, 8.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Cameroon, that number is 16.0% of people as of 2024.
be 12.3% more likely to die by suicide
Malawi has a suicide rate of 7.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Cameroon, it is 8.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 29.0% less likely to be unemployed
In Malawi, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Cameroon, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
be 20.3% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Malawi, 47.3% live below the poverty line as of 2024. In Cameroon, however, that number is 37.7% as of 2021.
make 2.9 times more money
Malawi has a GDP per capita of $672 as of 2025, while in Cameroon, the GDP per capita is $1,972 as of 2025.
Basic Needs
be 4.6 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 Cameroon, that number is 72% of people on average (96% in urban areas, and 26% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 2.4 times more likely to have internet access
In Malawi, approximately 19.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Cameroon, about 46.3% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 30.3% less on healthcare
Malawi spends 6.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Cameroon, that number is 4.5% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 47.5% less likely to die in a road accident
In Malawi, road accidents kill 20.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Cameroon, they kill 10.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 23.7 times more home broadband
Malawi has 0.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Cameroon has 2.1 as of 2022.
live with 91.1% less strain on fresh water
Malawi withdraws 18% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Cameroon withdraws 2% as of 2022.
Environment
be 2.3 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Malawi, air pollution causes 43.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Cameroon, it causes 101.0 as of 2019.
emit 59.1% more CO2
Malawi emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Cameroon emits 0.3 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Malawi vs. Cameroon
Cameroon: At a glance
How big is Cameroon compared to Malawi? See an in-depth size comparison.