Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Laos instead of Samoa, you would:
Health
be 88.8% less likely to be obese
In Samoa, 47.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Laos, that number is 5.3% of people as of 2016.
live 7.0 years less
In Samoa, the average life expectancy is 75 years (72 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2022. In Laos, that number is 68 years (66 years for men, 70 years for women) as of 2022.
Economy
make 23.8% more money
Samoa has a GDP per capita of $6,300 as of 2020, while in Laos, the GDP per capita is $7,800 as of 2020.
be 86.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Samoa, 5.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Laos, that number is 0.7% as of 2017.
pay a 11.1% lower top tax rate
Samoa has a top tax rate of 27.0% as of 2016. In Laos, the top tax rate is 24.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 4.3 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Samoa, approximately 43.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Laos, 185.0 women do as of 2017.
be 14.5% less likely to be literate
In Samoa, the literacy rate is 99.1% as of 2018. In Laos, it is 84.7% as of 2015.
be 2.2 times more likely to die during infancy
In Samoa, approximately 17.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2020. In Laos, on the other hand, 37.8 children do as of 2022.
Expenditures
spend 39.6% less on education
Samoa spends 4.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Laos spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2014.
spend 59.4% less on healthcare
Samoa spends 6.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Laos, that number is 2.6% of GDP as of 2019.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Revenue, Samoa.
Laos: At a glance
How big is Laos compared to Samoa? See an in-depth size comparison.