Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Laos instead of Samoa, you would:
Health
be 85.7% less likely to be obese
In Samoa, 64.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Laos, that number is 9.2% of people as of 2024.
be 61.8% less likely to die by suicide
Samoa has a suicide rate of 12.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Laos, it is 4.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 2.6 years less
In Samoa, the average life expectancy is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024. In Laos, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2024.
see 74.0% less spent on your healthcare
Samoa spends $475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Laos spends $123 as of 2023.
have 41.0% fewer doctors per person
Samoa has 5.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Laos has 3.3 as of 2022.
Economy
be 76.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Samoa, 5.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Laos, that number is 1.2% as of 2025.
make 60.4% less money
Samoa has a GDP per capita of $5,873 as of 2025, while in Laos, the GDP per capita is $2,325 as of 2025.
Life
be 23.7% less likely to be literate
In Samoa, the literacy rate is 99.1% as of 2021. In Laos, it is 75.6% as of 2023.
be 2.2 times more likely to die during infancy
In Samoa, approximately 12.3 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Laos, on the other hand, 27.2 children do as of 2024.
have 16.2% fewer children
In Samoa, there are approximately 25.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Laos, there are 20.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 12.9% less likely to have internet access
In Samoa, approximately 75.3% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Laos, about 65.6% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 77.5% less on education
Samoa spends 5.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Laos spends 1.2% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 80.4% less on healthcare
Samoa spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Laos, that number is 1.3% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 70.8% more likely to die in a road accident
In Samoa, road accidents kill 9.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Laos, they kill 16.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 3.1 times more home broadband
Samoa has 0.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Laos has 2.7 as of 2023.
Environment
be 2.0 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Samoa, air pollution causes 34.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Laos, it causes 69.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.1 times more CO2
Samoa emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Laos emits 3.4 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Samoa vs. Laos
Laos: At a glance
How big is Laos compared to Samoa? See an in-depth size comparison.