Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Panama instead of Samoa, you would:
Health
live 8.0 years longer
In Samoa, the average life expectancy is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024. In Panama, that number is 80 years (77 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024.
be 41.3% less likely to be obese
In Samoa, 64.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Panama, that number is 37.7% of people as of 2024.
see 7.0 times more spent on your healthcare
Samoa spends $475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Panama spends $3,318 as of 2023.
have 2.9 times more doctors per person
Samoa has 5.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Panama has 16.2 as of 2022.
have 41.8% more access to essential health services
Samoa scores 55 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Panama scores 78 as of 2021.
be 72.6% less likely to die by suicide
Samoa has a suicide rate of 12.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Panama, it is 3.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 3.4 times more money
Samoa has a GDP per capita of $5,873 as of 2025, while in Panama, the GDP per capita is $19,790 as of 2025.
be 67.2% more likely to be unemployed
In Samoa, 5.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Panama, that number is 8.4% as of 2025.
Life
be 63.4% 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 Panama, 37.0 women do as of 2023.
have 36.4% fewer children
In Samoa, there are approximately 25.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Panama, there are 15.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 54.8% less on education
Samoa spends 5.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Panama spends 2.5% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 22.9% more on healthcare
Samoa spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Panama, that number is 8.3% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 6.2 times more coastline
Samoa has a total of 403 km of coastline. In Panama, that number is 2,490 km.
Safety
be 24.0% less likely to die in a road accident
In Samoa, road accidents kill 9.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Panama, they kill 7.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 20.6 times more home broadband
Samoa has 0.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Panama has 18.1 as of 2023.
Environment
be 50.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Samoa, air pollution causes 34.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Panama, it causes 17.0 as of 2019.
emit 71.2% more CO2
Samoa emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Panama emits 2.7 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Samoa vs. Panama
Panama: At a glance
How big is Panama compared to Samoa? See an in-depth size comparison.