Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Senegal instead of New York, you would:

Health

be 61.2% less likely to be obese

In New York, 29.9% of adults are obese as of 2022. In Senegal, that number is 11.6% of people as of 2024.

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Economy

be 38.0% less likely to be unemployed

In New York, 4.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Senegal, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.

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be 2.8 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In New York, 13.3% live below the poverty line as of 2023. In Senegal, however, that number is 37.5% as of 2021.

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make 97.9% less money

New York has a GDP per capita of $91,992 as of 2024, while in Senegal, the GDP per capita is $1,955 as of 2025.

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Basic Needs

be 33.0% less likely to have internet access

In New York, approximately 89.7% of the population has internet access as of 2023. In Senegal, about 60.1% do as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), World Health Organization (2024), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: New York vs. Senegal

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Senegal is 45.8% cheaper than New York
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Size Comparison · See true size
New York is about 1.6 times smaller than Senegal.
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Moving from New York to Senegal · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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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 New York? See an in-depth size comparison.

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