Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Slovakia instead of Serbia, you would:

Health

live 4.1 years longer

In Serbia, the average life expectancy is 74 years (72 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2022. In Slovakia, that number is 78 years (75 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 66.5% more money

Serbia has a GDP per capita of $18,200 as of 2020, while in Slovakia, the GDP per capita is $30,300 as of 2020.

be 64.5% less likely to be unemployed

In Serbia, 14.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Slovakia, that number is 5.0% as of 2019.

be 48.7% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Serbia, 23.2% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Slovakia, however, that number is 11.9% as of 2018.

pay a 66.7% higher top tax rate

Serbia has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2017. In Slovakia, the top tax rate is 25.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 58.3% less likely to die during childbirth

In Serbia, approximately 12.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Slovakia, 5.0 women do as of 2017.

Basic Needs

be 15.4% more likely to have internet access

In Serbia, approximately 78.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Slovakia, about 90.0% do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 19.5% less on healthcare

Serbia spends 8.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Slovakia, that number is 7.0% of GDP as of 2019.

spend 11.1% more on education

Serbia spends 3.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Slovakia spends 4.0% of total GDP on education as of 2018.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Republic of Serbia, Tax Directorate, Slovakia.

Slovakia: At a glance

Slovakia is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 48,105 sq km. Slovakia's roots can be traced to the 9th century state of Great Moravia. Subsequently, the Slovaks became part of the Hungarian Kingdom, where they remained for the next 1,000 years. Following the formation of the dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1867, language and education policies favoring the use of Hungarian (Magyarization) resulted in a strengthening of Slovak nationalism and a cultivation of cultural ties with the closely related Czechs, who were under Austrian rule. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the close of World War I, the Slovaks joined the Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar period, Slovak nationalist leaders pushed for autonomy within Czechoslovakia, and in 1939 Slovakia became an independent state allied with Nazi Germany. Following World War II, Czechoslovakia was reconstituted and came under communist rule within Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize communist rule and create "socialism with a human face," ushering in a period of repression known as "normalization." The peaceful "Velvet Revolution" swept the Communist Party from power at the end of 1989 and inaugurated a return to democratic rule and a market economy. On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a nonviolent "velvet divorce" into its two national components, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Slovakia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004 and the euro zone on 1 January 2009.
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