Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Guatemala instead of Syria, you would:
Health
be 15.2% less likely to be obese
In Syria, 33.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Guatemala, that number is 28.0% of people as of 2024.
see 7.6 times more spent on your healthcare
Syria spends $122 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Guatemala spends $935 as of 2023.
have 15.8% fewer doctors per person
Syria has 15.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Guatemala has 12.8 as of 2020.
be 8.4 times more likely to die by suicide
Syria has a suicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Guatemala, it is 4.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 80.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Syria, 13.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Guatemala, that number is 2.6% as of 2025.
make 6.2 times more money
Syria has a GDP per capita of $1,057 as of 2022, while in Guatemala, the GDP per capita is $6,598 as of 2025.
Life
be 4.7 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Syria, approximately 20.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Guatemala, 94.0 women do as of 2023.
be 13.0% less likely to be literate
In Syria, the literacy rate is 94.4% as of 2021. In Guatemala, it is 82.1% as of 2024.
have 11.0% fewer children
In Syria, there are approximately 23.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Guatemala, there are 20.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 13.1% more likely to have access to electricity
In Syria, approximately 88% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 73% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Guatemala, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 29.2% more likely to have internet access
In Syria, approximately 46.6% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Guatemala, about 60.2% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 2.5 times more on healthcare
Syria spends 2.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Guatemala, that number is 6.8% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.1 times more coastline
Syria has a total of 193 km of coastline. In Guatemala, that number is 400 km.
Safety
be 57.9% less likely to die in a road accident
In Syria, road accidents kill 29.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Guatemala, they kill 12.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 95.4% less strain on fresh water
Syria withdraws 124% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Guatemala withdraws 6% as of 2022.
find 22.2% less home broadband
Syria has 6.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Guatemala has 5.3 as of 2024.
use 14.2% less electricity
Syria uses 854 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Guatemala uses 733 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 51.8% less likely to die from air pollution
In Syria, air pollution causes 83.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Guatemala, it causes 40.0 as of 2019.
emit 12.6% less CO2
Syria emits 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Guatemala emits 1.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Syria vs. Guatemala
Guatemala: At a glance
How big is Guatemala compared to Syria? See an in-depth size comparison.