Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Vanuatu instead of Samoa, you would:
Health
be 64.9% less likely to be obese
In Samoa, 64.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Vanuatu, that number is 22.6% of people as of 2024.
see 70.2% less spent on your healthcare
Samoa spends $475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Vanuatu spends $141 as of 2023.
have 70.8% fewer doctors per person
Samoa has 5.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Vanuatu has 1.6 as of 2019.
have 14.5% less access to essential health services
Samoa scores 55 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Vanuatu scores 47 as of 2021.
be 31.1% more likely to die by suicide
Samoa has a suicide rate of 12.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Vanuatu, it is 15.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 27.4% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Samoa, 21.9% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Vanuatu, however, that number is 15.9% as of 2020.
make 31.2% less money
Samoa has a GDP per capita of $5,873 as of 2025, while in Vanuatu, the GDP per capita is $4,039 as of 2025.
Life
have 10.7% more children
In Samoa, there are approximately 25.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Vanuatu, there are 27.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 11.2% less likely to be literate
In Samoa, the literacy rate is 99.1% as of 2021. In Vanuatu, it is 88.0% as of 2023.
be 17.1% 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 Vanuatu, on the other hand, 14.4 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 38.4% 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 Vanuatu, that number is 62% of people on average (88% in urban areas, and 54% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 12.4% 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 Vanuatu, that number is 87% of people on average (97% in urban areas, and 84% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 39.2% less on healthcare
Samoa spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Vanuatu, that number is 4.1% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 39.9% more on education
Samoa spends 5.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Vanuatu spends 7.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 6.3 times more coastline
Samoa has a total of 403 km of coastline. In Vanuatu, that number is 2,528 km.
Safety
be 94.7% less likely to be murdered
Samoa has a homicide rate of 6.3 per 100,000 people as of 2018. In Vanuatu, that number is 0.3 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 30.2% more likely to die in a road accident
In Samoa, road accidents kill 9.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Vanuatu, they kill 12.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 31.8% more home broadband
Samoa has 0.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Vanuatu has 1.2 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 45.6% less CO2
Samoa emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Vanuatu emits 0.9 tonnes as of 2024.
be 67.6% more likely to die from air pollution
In Samoa, air pollution causes 34.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Vanuatu, it causes 57.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2020–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Samoa vs. Vanuatu
Vanuatu: At a glance
How big is Vanuatu compared to Samoa? See an in-depth size comparison.