Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Marshall Islands instead of Samoa, you would:
Health
be 34.7% less likely to be obese
In Samoa, 64.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Marshall Islands, that number is 42.0% of people as of 2024.
see 84.2% more spent on your healthcare
Samoa spends $475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Marshall Islands spends $874 as of 2023.
live 4.8 years less
In Samoa, the average life expectancy is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024. In Marshall Islands, that number is 67 years (65 years for men, 69 years for women) as of 2024.
Economy
be 67.1% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Samoa, 21.9% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Marshall Islands, however, that number is 7.2% as of 2019.
make 44.5% more money
Samoa has a GDP per capita of $5,873 as of 2025, while in Marshall Islands, the GDP per capita is $8,489 as of 2025.
Life
be 53.5% more likely to die during childbirth
In Samoa, approximately 101.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Marshall Islands, 155.0 women do as of 2023.
be 84.6% 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 Marshall Islands, on the other hand, 22.7 children do as of 2024.
have 19.5% fewer children
In Samoa, there are approximately 25.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Marshall Islands, there are 20.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 12.4% less likely to have internet access
In Samoa, approximately 75.3% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Marshall Islands, about 65.9% do as of 2024.
be 12.1% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Samoa, approximately 99% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 99% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Marshall Islands, that number is 87% of people on average (86% in urban areas, and 94% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 41.0% more on education
Samoa spends 5.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Marshall Islands spends 7.7% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 97.8% more on healthcare
Samoa spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Marshall Islands, that number is 13.4% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 24.0% more likely to die in a road accident
In Samoa, road accidents kill 9.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Marshall Islands, they kill 11.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 2.7 times more home broadband
Samoa has 0.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Marshall Islands has 2.4 as of 2022.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021–2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Samoa vs. Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands: At a glance
How big is Marshall Islands compared to Samoa? See an in-depth size comparison.