Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Moldova instead of Samoa, you would:

Health

be 65.3% less likely to be obese

In Samoa, 64.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Moldova, that number is 22.3% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

see 2.5 times more spent on your healthcare

Samoa spends $475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Moldova spends $1,181 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 7.2 times more doctors per person

Samoa has 5.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Moldova has 40.2 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 29.1% more access to essential health services

Samoa scores 55 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Moldova scores 71 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

be 17.8% more likely to die by suicide

Samoa has a suicide rate of 12.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Moldova, it is 14.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 70.0% less likely to be unemployed

In Samoa, 5.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Moldova, that number is 1.5% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

make 46.8% more money

Samoa has a GDP per capita of $5,873 as of 2025, while in Moldova, the GDP per capita is $8,622 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

be 81.2% less 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 Moldova, 19.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 22.8% 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 Moldova, on the other hand, 15.1 children do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

have 57.6% fewer children

In Samoa, there are approximately 25.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Moldova, there are 10.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 20.1% more on education

Samoa spends 5.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Moldova spends 6.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

find 33.7 times more home broadband

Samoa has 0.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Moldova has 29.6 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Environment

be 70.6% more likely to die from air pollution

In Samoa, air pollution causes 34.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Moldova, it causes 58.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →

emit 2.1 times more CO2

Samoa emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Moldova emits 3.4 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: Samoa vs. Moldova

Cost of Living Comparison · 5 categories - 2026 data
Moldova is 30.1% more expensive than Samoa overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Samoa is about 12 times smaller than Moldova.
→
Moving from Samoa to Moldova · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→

Moldova: At a glance

Moldova is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 32,891 sq km. Part of Romania during the interwar period, Moldova was incorporated into the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Although the country has been independent from the USSR since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Nistru River supporting the separatist region of Transnistria, composed of a Slavic majority population (mostly Ukrainians and Russians), but with a sizeable ethnic Moldovan minority. One of the poorest nations in Europe, Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a communist, Vladimir VORONIN, as its president in 2001. VORONIN served as Moldova's president until he resigned in September 2009, following the opposition's gain of a narrow majority in July parliamentary elections and the Communist Party's (PCRM) subsequent inability to attract the three-fifths of parliamentary votes required to elect a president and, by doing so, put into place a permanent government. Four Moldovan opposition parties formed a new coalition, the Alliance for European Integration (AEI), iterations of which have acted as Moldova's governing coalitions since. Moldova experienced significant political uncertainty between 2009 and early 2012, holding three general elections and numerous presidential ballots in parliament, all of which failed to secure a president. Following November 2010 parliamentary elections, a reconstituted AEI-coalition consisting of three of the four original AEI parties formed a government, and in March 2012 was finally able to elect an independent as president. As of late May 2013, the ruling coalition - comprised of two of the original AEI parties and a splinter group from a third - is called the Pro-European Coalition. In November 2013, the Moldovan Government initialed an Association Agreement with the European Union (EU), advancing the coalition's policy priority of EU integration.
Read more

How big is Moldova compared to Samoa? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Moldova or Samoa. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.