If you lived in Ethiopia instead of Marshall Islands, you would:

Health

be 93.0% less likely to be obese

In Marshall Islands, 42.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Ethiopia, that number is 2.9% of people as of 2024.

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see 90.2% less spent on your healthcare

Marshall Islands spends $874 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Ethiopia spends $86 as of 2023.

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have 40.7% less access to essential health services

Marshall Islands scores 59 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Ethiopia scores 35 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 4.6 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Marshall Islands, 7.2% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Ethiopia, however, that number is 33.1% as of 2021.

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make 89.0% less money

Marshall Islands has a GDP per capita of $8,489 as of 2025, while in Ethiopia, the GDP per capita is $933 as of 2025.

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Life

have 56.6% more children

In Marshall Islands, there are approximately 20.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Ethiopia, there are 31.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 25.8% more likely to die during childbirth

In Marshall Islands, approximately 155.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Ethiopia, 195.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 36.9% less likely to be literate

In Marshall Islands, the literacy rate is 95.8% as of 2021. In Ethiopia, it is 60.5% as of 2022.

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be 52.0% more likely to die during infancy

In Marshall Islands, approximately 22.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Ethiopia, on the other hand, 34.5 children do as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 44.6% less likely to have access to electricity

In Marshall Islands, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% 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.

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be 66.7% less likely to have internet access

In Marshall Islands, approximately 65.9% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Ethiopia, about 21.9% do as of 2024.

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be 36.4% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Marshall Islands, approximately 87% of people have access to drinking water (86% in urban areas, and 94% 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.

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Expenditures

spend 70.1% less on education

Marshall Islands spends 7.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Ethiopia spends 2.3% of total GDP on education as of 2024.

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spend 79.1% less on healthcare

Marshall Islands spends 13.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Ethiopia, that number is 2.8% of GDP as of 2023.

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Safety

be 48.7% more likely to die in a road accident

In Marshall Islands, road accidents kill 11.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Ethiopia, they kill 17.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 74.9% less home broadband

Marshall Islands has 2.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Ethiopia has 0.6 as of 2024.

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

Ethiopia: At a glance

Ethiopia is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 1,096,570 sq km. Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of a short-lived Italian occupation from 1936-41. In 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea late in the 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. In November 2007, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission (EEBC) issued specific coordinates as virtually demarcating the border and pronounced its work finished. Alleging that the EEBC acted beyond its mandate in issuing the coordinates, Ethiopia has not accepted them and has not withdrawn troops from previously contested areas pronounced by the EEBC as belonging to Eritrea. In August 2012, longtime leader Prime Minister MELES Zenawi died in office and was replaced by his Deputy Prime Minister HAILEMARIAM Desalegn, marking the first peaceful transition of power in decades.
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How big is Ethiopia compared to Marshall Islands? See an in-depth size comparison.

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