If you lived in Senegal instead of Republic of the Congo, you would:

Health

be 90.6% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Republic of the Congo, 3.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Senegal, that number is 0.3% of people as of 2024.

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live 2.9 years longer

In Republic of the Congo, the average life expectancy is 66 years (64 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024. In Senegal, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.

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have 22.0% more access to essential health services

Republic of the Congo scores 41 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Senegal scores 50 as of 2021.

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have 37.0% fewer doctors per person

Republic of the Congo has 1.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Senegal has 1.1 as of 2023.

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Economy

be 86.3% less likely to be unemployed

In Republic of the Congo, 19.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Senegal, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.

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make 22.3% less money

Republic of the Congo has a GDP per capita of $2,515 as of 2025, while in Senegal, the GDP per capita is $1,955 as of 2025.

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Life

be 37.5% less likely to be literate

In Republic of the Congo, the literacy rate is 80.6% as of 2021. In Senegal, it is 50.4% as of 2023.

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Basic Needs

be 44.6% more likely to have access to electricity

In Republic of the Congo, approximately 51% of people have electricity access (69% in urban areas, and 11% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Senegal, that number is 74% of people on average (96% in urban areas, and 56% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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be 27.2% more likely to have internet access

In Republic of the Congo, approximately 47.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Senegal, about 60.1% do as of 2024.

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be 19.8% more likely to have access to drinking water

In Republic of the Congo, approximately 73% of people have access to drinking water (87% in urban areas, and 44% in rural areas) as of 2021. In Senegal, that number is 88% of people on average (95% in urban areas, and 81% in rural areas) as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 84.4% more on education

Republic of the Congo spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Senegal spends 6.2% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 30.9% more on healthcare

Republic of the Congo spends 3.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Senegal, that number is 4.3% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 3.1 times more coastline

Republic of the Congo has a total of 169 km of coastline. In Senegal, that number is 531 km.

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Safety

be 2.5 times more likely to die in a road accident

In Republic of the Congo, road accidents kill 8.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Senegal, they kill 20.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 3.2 times more home broadband

Republic of the Congo has 1.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Senegal has 4.0 as of 2024.

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use 21.2% more electricity

Republic of the Congo uses 338 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Senegal uses 410 kWh as of 2023.

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live with 542.7 times more strain on fresh water

Republic of the Congo withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Senegal withdraws 16% as of 2022.

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Environment

emit 42.5% less CO2

Republic of the Congo emits 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Senegal emits 0.8 tonnes as of 2024.

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

Senegal: At a glance

Senegal is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 192,530 sq km. The French colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted their independence as the Mali Federation in 1960. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) has led a low-level separatist insurgency in southern Senegal since the 1980s, and several peace deals have failed to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until Abdoulaye WADE was elected president in 2000. He was reelected in 2007 and during his two terms amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and to weaken the opposition. His decision to run for a third presidential term sparked a large public backlash that led to his defeat in a March 2012 runoff election with Macky SALL.
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