If you lived in Senegal instead of Malta, you would:

Health

be 62.1% less likely to be obese

In Malta, 30.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Senegal, that number is 11.6% of people as of 2024.

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live 14.0 years less

In Malta, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In Senegal, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 96.4% less spent on your healthcare

Malta spends $5,706 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Senegal spends $206 as of 2023.

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have 97.6% fewer doctors per person

Malta has 45.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Senegal has 1.1 as of 2023.

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have 41.2% less access to essential health services

Malta scores 85 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Senegal scores 50 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 2.2 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Malta, 16.7% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Senegal, however, that number is 37.5% as of 2021.

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make 95.9% less money

Malta has a GDP per capita of $47,907 as of 2025, while in Senegal, the GDP per capita is $1,955 as of 2025.

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Life

have 3.8 times more children

In Malta, there are approximately 7.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Senegal, there are 29.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 29.6 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Malta, approximately 8.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Senegal, 237.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 46.9% less likely to be literate

In Malta, the literacy rate is 94.9% as of 2021. In Senegal, it is 50.4% as of 2023.

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be 6.1 times more likely to die during infancy

In Malta, approximately 4.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Senegal, on the other hand, 28.9 children do as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 25.8% less likely to have access to electricity

In Malta, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Senegal, that number is 74% of people on average (96% in urban areas, and 56% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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be 35.9% less likely to have internet access

In Malta, approximately 93.9% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Senegal, about 60.1% do as of 2024.

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be 12.0% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Malta, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Senegal, that number is 88% of people on average (95% in urban areas, and 81% in rural areas) as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 51.1% less on healthcare

Malta spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Senegal, that number is 4.3% of GDP as of 2023.

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spend 30.8% more on education

Malta spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Senegal spends 6.2% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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Geography

see 2.7 times more coastline

Malta has a total of 197 km of coastline. In Senegal, that number is 531 km.

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Safety

be 10.9 times more likely to die in a road accident

In Malta, road accidents kill 1.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Senegal, they kill 20.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 77.6% less strain on fresh water

Malta withdraws 73% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Senegal withdraws 16% as of 2022.

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find 90.9% less home broadband

Malta has 44.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Senegal has 4.0 as of 2024.

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use 91.8% less electricity

Malta uses 5,013 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Senegal uses 410 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

emit 75.8% less CO2

Malta emits 3.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Senegal emits 0.8 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 3.1 times more likely to die from air pollution

In Malta, air pollution causes 21.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Senegal, it causes 65.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Senegal: At a glance

Senegal is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 192,530 sq km. The French colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted their independence as the Mali Federation in 1960. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) has led a low-level separatist insurgency in southern Senegal since the 1980s, and several peace deals have failed to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until Abdoulaye WADE was elected president in 2000. He was reelected in 2007 and during his two terms amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and to weaken the opposition. His decision to run for a third presidential term sparked a large public backlash that led to his defeat in a March 2012 runoff election with Macky SALL.
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How big is Senegal compared to Malta? See an in-depth size comparison.

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