Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Bhutan instead of Portugal, you would:
Health
be 27.7% less likely to be obese
In Portugal, 18.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Bhutan, that number is 13.1% of people as of 2024.
be 57.5% less likely to die by suicide
Portugal has a suicide rate of 11.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Bhutan, it is 4.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 9.1 years less
In Portugal, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In Bhutan, that number is 73 years (72 years for men, 75 years for women) as of 2024.
see 86.3% less spent on your healthcare
Portugal spends $4,928 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bhutan spends $677 as of 2023.
have 90.5% fewer doctors per person
Portugal has 58.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Bhutan has 5.5 as of 2022.
have 31.8% less access to essential health services
Portugal scores 88 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Bhutan scores 60 as of 2021.
Economy
be 47.6% less likely to be unemployed
In Portugal, 6.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bhutan, that number is 3.2% as of 2025.
be 24.4% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Portugal, 16.4% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Bhutan, however, that number is 12.4% as of 2022.
make 86.0% less money
Portugal has a GDP per capita of $32,082 as of 2025, while in Bhutan, the GDP per capita is $4,493 as of 2025.
Life
have 58.6% more children
In Portugal, there are approximately 7.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Bhutan, there are 12.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 3.1 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Portugal, approximately 15.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Bhutan, 47.0 women do as of 2023.
be 32.3% less likely to be literate
In Portugal, the literacy rate is 95.9% as of 2021. In Bhutan, it is 64.9% as of 2022.
be 5.1 times more likely to die during infancy
In Portugal, approximately 2.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Bhutan, on the other hand, 13.7 children do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 56.8% less on healthcare
Portugal spends 10.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Bhutan, that number is 4.4% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 28.6% more on education
Portugal spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Bhutan spends 5.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Safety
be 3.4 times more likely to be murdered
Portugal has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Bhutan, that number is 2.5 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 69.4% more likely to die in a road accident
In Portugal, road accidents kill 7.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Bhutan, they kill 12.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 88.6% less strain on fresh water
Portugal withdraws 12% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Bhutan withdraws 1% as of 2022.
find 93.5% less home broadband
Portugal has 45.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Bhutan has 2.9 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 39.5% less CO2
Portugal emits 3.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Bhutan emits 2.0 tonnes as of 2024.
be 5.7 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Portugal, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bhutan, it causes 57.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Portugal vs. Bhutan
Bhutan: At a glance
How big is Bhutan compared to Portugal? See an in-depth size comparison.