If you lived in Tonga instead of Panama, you would:

Health

live 6.7 years less

In Panama, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024. In Tonga, that number is 73 years (70 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024.

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be 95.7% more likely to be obese

In Panama, 37.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Tonga, that number is 73.8% of people as of 2024.

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see 84.6% less spent on your healthcare

Panama spends $3,318 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Tonga spends $512 as of 2023.

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have 37.6% fewer doctors per person

Panama has 16.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Tonga has 10.1 as of 2021.

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have 26.9% less access to essential health services

Panama scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Tonga scores 57 as of 2021.

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be 43.8% more likely to die by suicide

Panama has a suicide rate of 3.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Tonga, it is 4.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 76.0% less likely to be unemployed

In Panama, 8.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Tonga, that number is 2.0% as of 2025.

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make 66.9% less money

Panama has a GDP per capita of $19,790 as of 2025, while in Tonga, the GDP per capita is $6,547 as of 2025.

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Life

be 35.0% less likely to die during infancy

In Panama, approximately 12.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Tonga, on the other hand, 7.8 children do as of 2024.

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have 45.2% more children

In Panama, there are approximately 15.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Tonga, there are 23.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 81.1% more likely to die during childbirth

In Panama, approximately 37.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Tonga, 67.0 women do as of 2023.

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Expenditures

spend 11.6% less on healthcare

Panama spends 8.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Tonga, that number is 7.4% of GDP as of 2023.

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spend 2.1 times more on education

Panama spends 2.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Tonga spends 5.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

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Geography

see 83.2% less coastline

Panama has a total of 2,490 km of coastline. In Tonga, that number is 419 km.

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Safety

be 16.4% more likely to die in a road accident

In Panama, road accidents kill 7.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Tonga, they kill 8.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 54.9% less home broadband

Panama has 18.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Tonga has 8.2 as of 2022.

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Environment

emit 40.5% less CO2

Panama emits 2.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Tonga emits 1.6 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 41.2% more likely to die from air pollution

In Panama, air pollution causes 17.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Tonga, it causes 24.0 as of 2019.

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

Tonga: At a glance

Tonga is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 717 sq km. Tonga - unique among Pacific nations - never completely lost its indigenous governance. The archipelagos of "The Friendly Islands" were united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845. Tonga became a constitutional monarchy in 1875 and a British protectorate in 1900; it withdrew from the protectorate and joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. Tonga remains the only monarchy in the Pacific.
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How big is Tonga compared to Panama? See an in-depth size comparison.

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