If you lived in Australia instead of Saudi Arabia, you would:

Health

live 4.1 years longer

In Saudi Arabia, the average life expectancy is 79 years (77 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024. In Australia, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 23.7% less likely to be obese

In Saudi Arabia, 40.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Australia, that number is 30.6% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

see 2.2 times more spent on your healthcare

Saudi Arabia spends $3,475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Australia spends $7,691 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 20.0% more doctors per person

Saudi Arabia has 34.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Australia has 40.9 as of 2022.

View global rankings →

have 17.6% more access to essential health services

Saudi Arabia scores 74 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Australia scores 87 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

be 13.8 times more likely to die by suicide

Saudi Arabia has a suicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Australia, it is 13.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

make 88.6% more money

Saudi Arabia has a GDP per capita of $34,537 as of 2025, while in Australia, the GDP per capita is $65,130 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

be 34.5% more likely to be unemployed

In Saudi Arabia, 3.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Australia, that number is 4.1% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

be 71.4% less likely to die during childbirth

In Saudi Arabia, approximately 7.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Australia, 2.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 34.0% less likely to die during infancy

In Saudi Arabia, approximately 4.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Australia, on the other hand, 3.1 children do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

have 35.2% fewer children

In Saudi Arabia, there are approximately 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Australia, there are 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 12.9% more on education

Saudi Arabia spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Australia spends 5.1% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

View global rankings →

spend 82.8% more on healthcare

Saudi Arabia spends 5.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Australia, that number is 10.4% of GDP as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Geography

see 9.8 times more coastline

Saudi Arabia has a total of 2,640 km of coastline. In Australia, that number is 25,760 km.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 75.7% less likely to die in a road accident

In Saudi Arabia, road accidents kill 18.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Australia, they kill 4.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

live with 99.5% less strain on fresh water

Saudi Arabia withdraws 974% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Australia withdraws 5% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

find 17.2% less home broadband

Saudi Arabia has 44.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Australia has 36.5 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

use 17.7% less electricity

Saudi Arabia uses 11,911 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Australia uses 9,801 kWh as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Environment

be 89.0% less likely to die from air pollution

In Saudi Arabia, air pollution causes 91.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Australia, it causes 10.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →

emit 23.7% less CO2

Saudi Arabia emits 18.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Australia emits 14.1 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →


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

Australia: At a glance

Australia is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 7,682,300 sq km. Prehistoric settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia at least 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession of the east coast in the name of Great Britain (all of Australia was claimed as British territory in 1829 with the creation of the colony of Western Australia). Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the Allied effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has become an internationally competitive, advanced market economy due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s and its location in one of the fastest growing regions of the world economy. Long-term concerns include aging of the population, pressure on infrastructure, and environmental issues such as floods, droughts, and bushfires. Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth, making it particularly vulnerable to the challenges of climate change. Australia is home to 10 per cent of the world's biodiversity, and a great number of its flora and fauna exist nowhere else in the world. In January 2013, Australia assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2013-14 term.
Read more

How big is Australia compared to Saudi Arabia? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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