Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Vanuatu instead of Malta, you would:
Health
be 26.3% less likely to be obese
In Malta, 30.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Vanuatu, that number is 22.6% of people as of 2024.
live 11.3 years less
In Malta, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In Vanuatu, that number is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024.
see 97.5% less spent on your healthcare
Malta spends $5,706 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Vanuatu spends $141 as of 2023.
have 96.4% fewer doctors per person
Malta has 45.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Vanuatu has 1.6 as of 2019.
have 44.7% less access to essential health services
Malta scores 85 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Vanuatu scores 47 as of 2021.
be 2.4 times more likely to die by suicide
Malta has a suicide rate of 6.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Vanuatu, it is 15.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 74.8% more likely to be unemployed
In Malta, 2.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Vanuatu, that number is 5.1% as of 2025.
make 91.6% less money
Malta has a GDP per capita of $47,907 as of 2025, while in Vanuatu, the GDP per capita is $4,039 as of 2025.
Life
have 3.6 times more children
In Malta, there are approximately 7.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Vanuatu, there are 27.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 12.5 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 Vanuatu, 100.0 women do as of 2023.
be 3.1 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 Vanuatu, on the other hand, 14.4 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 38.4% 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 Vanuatu, that number is 62% of people on average (88% in urban areas, and 54% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 25.5% less likely to have internet access
In Malta, approximately 93.9% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Vanuatu, about 69.9% do as of 2022.
be 12.9% 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 Vanuatu, that number is 87% of people on average (97% in urban areas, and 84% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 53.4% less on healthcare
Malta spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Vanuatu, that number is 4.1% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 62.2% more on education
Malta spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Vanuatu spends 7.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 12.8 times more coastline
Malta has a total of 197 km of coastline. In Vanuatu, that number is 2,528 km.
Safety
be 41.1% less likely to be murdered
Malta has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Vanuatu, that number is 0.3 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 6.6 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Malta, road accidents kill 1.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Vanuatu, they kill 12.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 97.4% less home broadband
Malta has 44.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Vanuatu has 1.2 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 72.6% less CO2
Malta emits 3.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Vanuatu emits 0.9 tonnes as of 2024.
be 2.7 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Malta, air pollution causes 21.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Vanuatu, it causes 57.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Malta vs. Vanuatu
Vanuatu: At a glance
How big is Vanuatu compared to Malta? See an in-depth size comparison.