Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Samoa instead of Palau, you would:
Health
live 2.5 years longer
In Palau, the average life expectancy is 69 years (67 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2024. In Samoa, that number is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024.
be 58.7% more likely to be obese
In Palau, 40.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Samoa, that number is 64.3% of people as of 2024.
see 74.4% less spent on your healthcare
Palau spends $1,857 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Samoa spends $475 as of 2023.
have 69.0% fewer doctors per person
Palau has 18.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Samoa has 5.6 as of 2021.
have 15.4% less access to essential health services
Palau scores 65 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Samoa scores 55 as of 2021.
Economy
make 69.9% less money
Palau has a GDP per capita of $19,532 as of 2025, while in Samoa, the GDP per capita is $5,873 as of 2025.
Life
be 33.9% less likely to die during infancy
In Palau, approximately 18.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Samoa, on the other hand, 12.3 children do as of 2024.
have 2.3 times more children
In Palau, there are approximately 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Samoa, there are 25.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 10.3% less likely to have internet access
In Palau, approximately 83.9% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Samoa, about 75.3% do as of 2022.
Expenditures
spend 37.5% less on healthcare
Palau spends 10.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Samoa, that number is 6.8% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 58.7% more on education
Palau spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Samoa spends 5.5% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 73.5% less coastline
Palau has a total of 1,519 km of coastline. In Samoa, that number is 403 km.
Safety
be 44.3% less likely to be murdered
Palau has a homicide rate of 11.2 per 100,000 people as of 2018. In Samoa, that number is 6.3 per 100,000 as of 2018.
be 56.8% less likely to die in a road accident
In Palau, road accidents kill 22.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Samoa, they kill 9.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 88.0% less home broadband
Palau has 7.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Samoa has 0.9 as of 2022.
Environment
emit 98.1% less CO2
Palau emits 82.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Samoa emits 1.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021–2022), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Palau vs. Samoa
Samoa: At a glance
How big is Samoa compared to Palau? See an in-depth size comparison.