Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Vietnam instead of Panama, you would:
Health
be 63.6% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Panama, 1.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Vietnam, that number is 0.4% of people as of 2024.
be 93.6% less likely to be obese
In Panama, 37.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Vietnam, that number is 2.4% of people as of 2024.
live 5.0 years less
In Panama, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024. In Vietnam, that number is 75 years (70 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024.
see 79.2% less spent on your healthcare
Panama spends $3,318 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Vietnam spends $690 as of 2023.
have 31.9% fewer doctors per person
Panama has 16.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Vietnam has 11.1 as of 2021.
have 12.8% less access to essential health services
Panama scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Vietnam scores 68 as of 2021.
be 2.2 times more likely to die by suicide
Panama has a suicide rate of 3.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Vietnam, it is 7.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 81.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Panama, 8.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Vietnam, that number is 1.5% as of 2025.
be 80.6% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Panama, 21.7% live below the poverty line as of 2023. In Vietnam, however, that number is 4.2% as of 2022.
make 74.4% less money
Panama has a GDP per capita of $19,790 as of 2025, while in Vietnam, the GDP per capita is $5,066 as of 2025.
Life
be 29.7% 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 Vietnam, 48.0 women do as of 2023.
have 15.4% fewer children
In Panama, there are approximately 15.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Vietnam, there are 13.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 15.6% more likely to have internet access
In Panama, approximately 72.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Vietnam, about 84.2% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 45.3% less on healthcare
Panama spends 8.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Vietnam, that number is 4.6% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 17.0% more on education
Panama spends 2.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Vietnam spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 38.3% more coastline
Panama has a total of 2,490 km of coastline. In Vietnam, that number is 3,444 km.
Safety
be 2.4 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Panama, road accidents kill 7.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Vietnam, they kill 17.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 30.8% more home broadband
Panama has 18.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Vietnam has 23.7 as of 2024.
live with 20.1 times more strain on fresh water
Panama withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Vietnam withdraws 18% as of 2022.
Environment
be 3.1 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Panama, air pollution causes 17.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Vietnam, it causes 52.0 as of 2019.
emit 55.8% more CO2
Panama emits 2.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Vietnam emits 4.3 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Panama vs. Vietnam
Vietnam: At a glance
How big is Vietnam compared to Panama? See an in-depth size comparison.