If you lived in Moldova instead of Paraguay, you would:

Health

be 35.7% less likely to be obese

In Paraguay, 34.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Moldova, that number is 22.3% of people as of 2024.

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live 2.7 years less

In Paraguay, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024. In Moldova, that number is 71 years (67 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 19.6% less spent on your healthcare

Paraguay spends $1,469 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Moldova spends $1,181 as of 2023.

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be 2.2 times more likely to die by suicide

Paraguay has a suicide rate of 6.4 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Moldova, it is 14.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 68.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Paraguay, 4.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Moldova, that number is 1.5% as of 2025.

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make 22.7% more money

Paraguay has a GDP per capita of $7,027 as of 2025, while in Moldova, the GDP per capita is $8,622 as of 2025.

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be 2.1 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Paraguay, 16.0% live below the poverty line as of 2025. In Moldova, however, that number is 33.6% as of 2024.

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Life

be 67.2% less likely to die during childbirth

In Paraguay, approximately 58.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Moldova, 19.0 women do as of 2023.

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have 46.3% fewer children

In Paraguay, there are approximately 19.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Moldova, there are 10.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 19.4% less on healthcare

Paraguay spends 8.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Moldova, that number is 6.7% of GDP as of 2023.

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spend 85.8% more on education

Paraguay spends 3.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Moldova spends 6.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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Safety

be 62.5% less likely to be murdered

Paraguay has a homicide rate of 6.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Moldova, that number is 2.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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be 56.7% less likely to die in a road accident

In Paraguay, road accidents kill 21.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Moldova, they kill 9.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 2.3 times more home broadband

Paraguay has 12.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Moldova has 29.6 as of 2024.

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live with 6.8 times more strain on fresh water

Paraguay withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Moldova withdraws 13% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 2.3 times more likely to die from air pollution

In Paraguay, air pollution causes 25.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Moldova, it causes 58.0 as of 2019.

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emit 2.9 times more CO2

Paraguay emits 1.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Moldova emits 3.4 tonnes as of 2024.

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

Moldova: At a glance

Moldova is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 32,891 sq km. Part of Romania during the interwar period, Moldova was incorporated into the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Although the country has been independent from the USSR since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Nistru River supporting the separatist region of Transnistria, composed of a Slavic majority population (mostly Ukrainians and Russians), but with a sizeable ethnic Moldovan minority. One of the poorest nations in Europe, Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a communist, Vladimir VORONIN, as its president in 2001. VORONIN served as Moldova's president until he resigned in September 2009, following the opposition's gain of a narrow majority in July parliamentary elections and the Communist Party's (PCRM) subsequent inability to attract the three-fifths of parliamentary votes required to elect a president and, by doing so, put into place a permanent government. Four Moldovan opposition parties formed a new coalition, the Alliance for European Integration (AEI), iterations of which have acted as Moldova's governing coalitions since. Moldova experienced significant political uncertainty between 2009 and early 2012, holding three general elections and numerous presidential ballots in parliament, all of which failed to secure a president. Following November 2010 parliamentary elections, a reconstituted AEI-coalition consisting of three of the four original AEI parties formed a government, and in March 2012 was finally able to elect an independent as president. As of late May 2013, the ruling coalition - comprised of two of the original AEI parties and a splinter group from a third - is called the Pro-European Coalition. In November 2013, the Moldovan Government initialed an Association Agreement with the European Union (EU), advancing the coalition's policy priority of EU integration.
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