Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Vanuatu instead of Panama, you would:
Health
be 90.9% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Panama, 1.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Vanuatu, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
be 40.2% less likely to be obese
In Panama, 37.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Vanuatu, that number is 22.6% of people as of 2024.
live 8.1 years less
In Panama, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 83 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 95.7% less spent on your healthcare
Panama spends $3,318 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Vanuatu spends $141 as of 2023.
have 89.9% fewer doctors per person
Panama has 16.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Vanuatu has 1.6 as of 2019.
have 39.7% less access to essential health services
Panama scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Vanuatu scores 47 as of 2021.
be 4.8 times more likely to die by suicide
Panama has a suicide rate of 3.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Vanuatu, it is 15.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 39.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Panama, 8.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Vanuatu, that number is 5.1% as of 2025.
be 26.7% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Panama, 21.7% live below the poverty line as of 2023. In Vanuatu, however, that number is 15.9% as of 2020.
make 79.6% less money
Panama has a GDP per capita of $19,790 as of 2025, while in Vanuatu, the GDP per capita is $4,039 as of 2025.
Life
have 74.2% more children
In Panama, there are approximately 15.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Vanuatu, there are 27.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 2.7 times 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 Vanuatu, 100.0 women do as of 2023.
be 20.0% more 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 Vanuatu, on the other hand, 14.4 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 36.5% less likely to have access to electricity
In Panama, approximately 97% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 91% 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.
Expenditures
spend 50.5% less on healthcare
Panama spends 8.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Vanuatu, that number is 4.1% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 3.1 times more on education
Panama spends 2.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Vanuatu spends 7.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Safety
be 97.2% less likely to be murdered
Panama has a homicide rate of 11.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Vanuatu, that number is 0.3 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 71.2% more likely to die in a road accident
In Panama, road accidents kill 7.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Vanuatu, they kill 12.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 93.6% less home broadband
Panama has 18.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Vanuatu has 1.2 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 68.2% less CO2
Panama emits 2.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Vanuatu emits 0.9 tonnes as of 2024.
be 3.4 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Panama, air pollution causes 17.0 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 (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2020). How we calculate this
Compare further: Panama vs. Vanuatu
Vanuatu: At a glance
How big is Vanuatu compared to Panama? See an in-depth size comparison.