Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Afghanistan instead of Timor-Leste, you would:
Health
live 1.6 years less
In Timor-Leste, the average life expectancy is 68 years (66 years for men, 70 years for women) as of 2024. In Afghanistan, that number is 66 years (65 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024.
be 5.7 times more likely to be obese
In Timor-Leste, 3.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Afghanistan, that number is 20.6% of people as of 2024.
see 28.5% less spent on your healthcare
Timor-Leste spends $461 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Afghanistan spends $330 as of 2023.
have 57.8% fewer doctors per person
Timor-Leste has 7.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2020. Afghanistan has 3.2 as of 2023.
have 21.2% less access to essential health services
Timor-Leste scores 52 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Afghanistan scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
be 8.4 times more likely to be unemployed
In Timor-Leste, 1.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Afghanistan, that number is 13.3% as of 2025.
make 68.9% less money
Timor-Leste has a GDP per capita of $1,341 as of 2025, while in Afghanistan, the GDP per capita is $417 as of 2024.
Life
have 60.8% more children
In Timor-Leste, there are approximately 21.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Afghanistan, there are 35.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 2.7 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Timor-Leste, approximately 192.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Afghanistan, 521.0 women do as of 2023.
be 46.3% less likely to be literate
In Timor-Leste, the literacy rate is 69.4% as of 2022. In Afghanistan, it is 37.3% as of 2021.
be 39.6% more likely to die during infancy
In Timor-Leste, approximately 34.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Afghanistan, on the other hand, 48.3 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 14.7% less likely to have access to electricity
In Timor-Leste, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Afghanistan, that number is 85% of people on average (96% in urban areas, and 81% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 60.5% less likely to have internet access
In Timor-Leste, approximately 40.8% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Afghanistan, about 16.1% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 44.7% less on education
Timor-Leste spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Afghanistan spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 56.1% more on healthcare
Timor-Leste spends 9.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Afghanistan, that number is 15.0% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 2.0 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Timor-Leste, road accidents kill 12.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Afghanistan, they kill 24.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 8.0 times more home broadband
Timor-Leste has 0.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Afghanistan has 0.1 as of 2023.
live with 93.7% more strain on fresh water
Timor-Leste withdraws 28% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Afghanistan withdraws 55% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 44.0% less CO2
Timor-Leste emits 0.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Afghanistan emits 0.3 tonnes as of 2024.
be 2.3 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Timor-Leste, air pollution causes 61.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Afghanistan, it causes 143.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2020). How we calculate this
Compare further: Timor-Leste vs. Afghanistan
Afghanistan: At a glance
How big is Afghanistan compared to Timor-Leste? See an in-depth size comparison.