Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Africa instead of Samoa, you would:
Health
be 50.6% less likely to be obese
In Samoa, 64.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In South Africa, that number is 31.8% of people as of 2024.
see 2.9 times more spent on your healthcare
Samoa spends $475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). South Africa spends $1,354 as of 2023.
have 41.5% more doctors per person
Samoa has 5.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. South Africa has 7.9 as of 2022.
have 29.1% more access to essential health services
Samoa scores 55 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. South Africa scores 71 as of 2021.
live 5.5 years less
In Samoa, the average life expectancy is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024. In South Africa, that number is 66 years (63 years for men, 70 years for women) as of 2024.
be 85.8% more likely to die by suicide
Samoa has a suicide rate of 12.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In South Africa, it is 22.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 12.3% more money
Samoa has a GDP per capita of $5,873 as of 2025, while in South Africa, the GDP per capita is $6,598 as of 2025.
be 6.5 times more likely to be unemployed
In Samoa, 5.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In South Africa, that number is 32.4% as of 2025.
Life
be 16.8% 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 South Africa, 118.0 women do as of 2023.
be 96.7% 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 South Africa, on the other hand, 24.2 children do as of 2024.
have 26.0% fewer children
In Samoa, there are approximately 25.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In South Africa, there are 18.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 12.3% less likely to have access to electricity
In Samoa, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In South Africa, that number is 88% of people on average (91% in urban areas, and 94% in rural areas) as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 10.3% more on education
Samoa spends 5.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. South Africa spends 6.0% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 31.4% more on healthcare
Samoa spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In South Africa, that number is 8.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 6.9 times more coastline
Samoa has a total of 403 km of coastline. In South Africa, that number is 2,798 km.
Safety
be 2.6 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Samoa, road accidents kill 9.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In South Africa, they kill 24.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 6.1 times more home broadband
Samoa has 0.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. South Africa has 5.3 as of 2024.
Environment
be 38.2% more likely to die from air pollution
In Samoa, air pollution causes 34.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In South Africa, it causes 47.0 as of 2019.
emit 4.3 times more CO2
Samoa emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. South Africa emits 6.9 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. South Africa
South Africa: At a glance
How big is South Africa compared to Samoa? See an in-depth size comparison.