Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Somalia instead of Maldives, you would:
Health
be 16.5% less likely to be obese
In Maldives, 17.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 14.9% of people as of 2024.
live 22.3 years less
In Maldives, the average life expectancy is 81 years (80 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 59 years (56 years for men, 62 years for women) as of 2024.
see 97.7% less spent on your healthcare
Maldives spends $2,288 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Somalia spends $52 as of 2023.
have 55.7% less access to essential health services
Maldives scores 61 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Somalia scores 27 as of 2021.
be 5.4 times more likely to die by suicide
Maldives has a suicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Somalia, it is 8.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 4.2 times more likely to be unemployed
In Maldives, 4.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Somalia, that number is 18.9% as of 2025.
be 10.3 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Maldives, 5.4% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Somalia, however, that number is 55.4% as of 2022.
make 95.5% less money
Maldives has a GDP per capita of $14,615 as of 2025, while in Somalia, the GDP per capita is $661 as of 2025.
Life
have 4.0 times more children
In Maldives, there are approximately 10.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Somalia, there are 42.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 17.6 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Maldives, approximately 32.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Somalia, 563.0 women do as of 2023.
be 44.7% less likely to be literate
In Maldives, the literacy rate is 97.9% as of 2021. In Somalia, it is 54.1% as of 2022.
be 13.9 times more likely to die during infancy
In Maldives, approximately 4.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Somalia, on the other hand, 65.4 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 49.7% less likely to have access to electricity
In Maldives, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Somalia, that number is 50% of people on average (79% in urban areas, and 24% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 67.2% less likely to have internet access
In Maldives, approximately 85.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Somalia, about 27.9% do as of 2024.
be 24.5% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Maldives, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 75% of people on average (84% in urban areas, and 68% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 59.6% less on healthcare
Maldives spends 9.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Somalia, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 4.7 times more coastline
Maldives has a total of 644 km of coastline. In Somalia, that number is 3,025 km.
Safety
be 15.5 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Maldives, road accidents kill 1.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Somalia, they kill 20.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 96.3% less home broadband
Maldives has 19.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Somalia has 0.7 as of 2023.
live with 56.5% more strain on fresh water
Maldives withdraws 16% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Somalia withdraws 25% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 98.6% less CO2
Maldives emits 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Somalia emits 0.1 tonnes as of 2024.
be 2.2 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Maldives, air pollution causes 29.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Somalia, it causes 64.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Maldives vs. Somalia
Somalia: At a glance
How big is Somalia compared to Maldives? See an in-depth size comparison.