Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Singapore instead of South Africa, you would:

Health

be 99.0% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In South Africa, 20.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2018. In Singapore, that number is 0.2% of people as of 2018.

live 21.2 years longer

In South Africa, the average life expectancy is 65 years (63 years for men, 66 years for women) as of 2020. In Singapore, that number is 86 years (83 years for men, 89 years for women) as of 2020.

be 78.4% less likely to be obese

In South Africa, 28.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Singapore, that number is 6.1% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 6.9 times more money

South Africa has a GDP per capita of $13,600 as of 2017, while in Singapore, the GDP per capita is $94,100 as of 2017.

be 92.0% less likely to be unemployed

In South Africa, 27.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Singapore, that number is 2.2% as of 2017.

pay a 51.1% lower top tax rate

South Africa has a top tax rate of 45.0% as of 2017. In Singapore, the top tax rate is 22.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 93.3% less likely to die during childbirth

In South Africa, approximately 119.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Singapore, 8.0 women do as of 2017.

be 11.8% more likely to be literate

In South Africa, the literacy rate is 87.0% as of 2017. In Singapore, it is 97.3% as of 2018.

be 91.7% less likely to die during infancy

In South Africa, approximately 27.8 children die before they reach the age of one as of 2020. In Singapore, on the other hand, 2.3 children do as of 2020.

have 53.6% fewer children

In South Africa, there are approximately 19.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2020. In Singapore, there are 8.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2020.

Basic Needs

be 18.8% more likely to have access to electricity

In South Africa, approximately 84% of the population has electricity access as of 2017. In Singapore, 100% of the population do as of 2016.

be 57.0% more likely to have internet access

In South Africa, approximately 56.2% of the population has internet access as of 2018. In Singapore, about 88.2% do as of 2018.

Expenditures

spend 53.2% less on education

South Africa spends 6.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. Singapore spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2013.

Geography

see 93.1% less coastline

South Africa has a total of 2,798 km of coastline. In Singapore, that number is 193 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, South African Revenue Service.

Singapore: At a glance

Singapore is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 709 sq km. Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated two years later and became independent. Singapore subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.
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How big is Singapore compared to South Africa? See an in-depth size comparison.

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