Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Ethiopia instead of Malawi, you would:
Health
be 88.7% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Malawi, 6.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Ethiopia, that number is 0.7% of people as of 2024.
be 63.5% less likely to be obese
In Malawi, 8.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Ethiopia, that number is 2.9% of people as of 2024.
have 2.6 times more doctors per person
Malawi has 0.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Ethiopia has 1.4 as of 2023.
be 19.8% less likely to die by suicide
Malawi has a suicide rate of 7.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Ethiopia, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
see 31.6% less spent on your healthcare
Malawi spends $125 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Ethiopia spends $86 as of 2023.
have 27.1% less access to essential health services
Malawi scores 48 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Ethiopia scores 35 as of 2021.
Economy
be 34.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Malawi, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Ethiopia, that number is 3.3% as of 2025.
be 30.0% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Malawi, 47.3% live below the poverty line as of 2024. In Ethiopia, however, that number is 33.1% as of 2021.
make 38.9% more money
Malawi has a GDP per capita of $672 as of 2025, while in Ethiopia, the GDP per capita is $933 as of 2025.
Life
be 10.2% less likely to be literate
In Malawi, the literacy rate is 67.3% as of 2021. In Ethiopia, it is 60.5% as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 3.6 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 Ethiopia, that number is 55% of people on average (95% in urban areas, and 44% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 15.7% more likely to have internet access
In Malawi, approximately 19.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Ethiopia, about 21.9% do as of 2024.
be 23.9% less 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 Ethiopia, that number is 56% of people on average (83% in urban areas, and 47% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 16.4% less on education
Malawi spends 2.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Ethiopia spends 2.3% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 57.1% less on healthcare
Malawi spends 6.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Ethiopia, that number is 2.8% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 12.4% less likely to die in a road accident
In Malawi, road accidents kill 20.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Ethiopia, they kill 17.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 4.8 times more likely to be murdered
Malawi has a homicide rate of 1.8 per 100,000 people as of 2012. In Ethiopia, that number is 8.6 per 100,000 as of 2012.
Infrastructure
find 6.6 times more home broadband
Malawi has 0.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Ethiopia has 0.6 as of 2024.
live with 84.3% more strain on fresh water
Malawi withdraws 18% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Ethiopia withdraws 32% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 31.8% less CO2
Malawi emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Ethiopia emits 0.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2012–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Malawi vs. Ethiopia
Ethiopia: At a glance
How big is Ethiopia compared to Malawi? See an in-depth size comparison.