Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Africa instead of Maldives, you would:
Health
have 16.4% more access to essential health services
Maldives scores 61 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. South Africa scores 71 as of 2021.
be 172.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Maldives, 0.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In South Africa, that number is 17.2% of people as of 2024.
live 15.0 years less
In Maldives, the average life expectancy is 81 years (80 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024. In South Africa, that number is 66 years (63 years for men, 70 years for women) as of 2024.
be 77.9% more likely to be obese
In Maldives, 17.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Africa, that number is 31.8% of people as of 2024.
see 40.8% less spent on your healthcare
Maldives spends $2,288 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). South Africa spends $1,354 as of 2023.
have 64.5% fewer doctors per person
Maldives has 22.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2019. South Africa has 7.9 as of 2022.
be 15.2 times more likely to die by suicide
Maldives has a suicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Africa, it is 22.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 7.2 times more likely to be unemployed
In Maldives, 4.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In South Africa, that number is 32.4% as of 2025.
be 7.0 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Maldives, 5.4% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In South Africa, however, that number is 37.9% as of 2022.
make 54.9% less money
Maldives has a GDP per capita of $14,615 as of 2025, while in South Africa, the GDP per capita is $6,598 as of 2025.
Life
have 74.5% more children
In Maldives, there are approximately 10.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In South Africa, there are 18.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 3.7 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 South Africa, 118.0 women do as of 2023.
be 5.1 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 South Africa, on the other hand, 24.2 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 12.3% 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 South Africa, that number is 88% of people on average (91% in urban areas, and 94% in rural areas) as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 16.4% more on education
Maldives spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. South Africa spends 6.0% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 4.3 times more coastline
Maldives has a total of 644 km of coastline. In South Africa, that number is 2,798 km.
Safety
be 70.5 times more likely to be murdered
Maldives has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Africa, that number is 43.7 per 100,000 as of 2022.
be 18.8 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Maldives, road accidents kill 1.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In South Africa, they kill 24.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 72.8% less home broadband
Maldives has 19.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. South Africa has 5.3 as of 2024.
live with 4.3 times more strain on fresh water
Maldives withdraws 16% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. South Africa withdraws 68% as of 2022.
Environment
be 62.1% more likely to die from air pollution
In Maldives, air pollution causes 29.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Africa, it causes 47.0 as of 2019.
emit 92.7% more CO2
Maldives emits 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. South Africa emits 6.9 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Maldives vs. South Africa
South Africa: At a glance
How big is South Africa compared to Maldives? See an in-depth size comparison.