If you lived in Samoa instead of Syria, you would:

Health

see 3.9 times more spent on your healthcare

Syria spends $122 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Samoa spends $475 as of 2023.

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live 0.7 years less

In Syria, the average life expectancy is 73 years (70 years for men, 75 years for women) as of 2024. In Samoa, that number is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024.

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be 94.8% more likely to be obese

In Syria, 33.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Samoa, that number is 64.3% of people as of 2024.

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have 63.1% fewer doctors per person

Syria has 15.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Samoa has 5.6 as of 2021.

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have 14.1% less access to essential health services

Syria scores 64 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Samoa scores 55 as of 2021.

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be 20.3 times more likely to die by suicide

Syria has a suicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Samoa, it is 12.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 63.2% less likely to be unemployed

In Syria, 13.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Samoa, that number is 5.0% as of 2025.

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make 5.6 times more money

Syria has a GDP per capita of $1,057 as of 2022, while in Samoa, the GDP per capita is $5,873 as of 2025.

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Life

be 30.5% less likely to die during infancy

In Syria, approximately 17.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Samoa, on the other hand, 12.3 children do as of 2024.

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be 5.0 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 Samoa, 101.0 women do as of 2023.

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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 Samoa, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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be 61.6% more likely to have internet access

In Syria, approximately 46.6% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Samoa, about 75.3% do as of 2022.

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Expenditures

spend 2.5 times more on healthcare

Syria spends 2.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Samoa, that number is 6.8% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 2.1 times more coastline

Syria has a total of 193 km of coastline. In Samoa, that number is 403 km.

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Safety

be 67.9% less likely to die in a road accident

In Syria, road accidents kill 29.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Samoa, they kill 9.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 87.2% less home broadband

Syria has 6.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Samoa has 0.9 as of 2022.

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Environment

be 59.0% less likely to die from air pollution

In Syria, air pollution causes 83.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Samoa, it causes 34.0 as of 2019.

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emit 26.0% more CO2

Syria emits 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Samoa emits 1.6 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Samoa: At a glance

Samoa is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 2,821 sq km. New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997.
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How big is Samoa compared to Syria? See an in-depth size comparison.

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