If you lived in Benin instead of Tonga, you would:

Health

be 83.4% less likely to be obese

In Tonga, 73.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Benin, that number is 12.2% of people as of 2024.

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live 12.1 years less

In Tonga, the average life expectancy is 73 years (70 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024. In Benin, that number is 61 years (60 years for men, 62 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 73.1% less spent on your healthcare

Tonga spends $512 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Benin spends $138 as of 2023.

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have 78.7% fewer doctors per person

Tonga has 10.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Benin has 2.2 as of 2023.

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have 33.3% less access to essential health services

Tonga scores 57 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Benin scores 38 as of 2021.

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be 50.5% more likely to die by suicide

Tonga has a suicide rate of 4.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Benin, it is 7.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 20.9% less likely to be unemployed

In Tonga, 2.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Benin, that number is 1.6% as of 2025.

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be 75.7% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Tonga, 20.6% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Benin, however, that number is 36.2% as of 2021.

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make 74.7% less money

Tonga has a GDP per capita of $6,547 as of 2025, while in Benin, the GDP per capita is $1,658 as of 2025.

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Life

have 45.1% more children

In Tonga, there are approximately 23.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Benin, there are 33.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 7.7 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Tonga, approximately 67.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Benin, 518.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 48.4% less likely to be literate

In Tonga, the literacy rate is 99.5% as of 2023. In Benin, it is 51.4% as of 2022.

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be 5.8 times more likely to die during infancy

In Tonga, approximately 7.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Benin, on the other hand, 45.2 children do as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 43.0% less likely to have access to electricity

In Tonga, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Benin, that number is 57% of people on average (70% in urban areas, and 44% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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be 49.6% less likely to have internet access

In Tonga, approximately 67.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Benin, about 34.0% do as of 2024.

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be 29.6% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Tonga, approximately 99% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 99% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Benin, that number is 70% of people on average (76% in urban areas, and 63% in rural areas) as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 39.2% less on education

Tonga spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Benin spends 3.2% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 54.6% less on healthcare

Tonga spends 7.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Benin, that number is 3.3% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 71.1% less coastline

Tonga has a total of 419 km of coastline. In Benin, that number is 121 km.

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Safety

be 18.9% more likely to be murdered

Tonga has a homicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Benin, that number is 1.1 per 100,000 as of 2017.

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be 2.9 times more likely to die in a road accident

In Tonga, road accidents kill 8.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Benin, they kill 24.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 96.6% less home broadband

Tonga has 8.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Benin has 0.3 as of 2024.

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Environment

emit 69.9% less CO2

Tonga emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Benin emits 0.5 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 3.2 times more likely to die from air pollution

In Tonga, air pollution causes 24.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Benin, it causes 77.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2017–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

Benin: At a glance

Benin is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 110,622 sq km. Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a West African kingdom that rose to prominence in about 1600 and over the next two and half centuries became a regional power, largely based on its slave trade. Coastal areas of Dahomey began to be controlled by the French in the second half of the 19th century; the entire kingdom was conquered by 1894. French Dahomey achieved independence in 1960; it changed its name to the Republic of Benin in 1975. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent. YAYI, who won a second five-year term in March 2011, has attempted to stem corruption and has strongly promoted accelerating Benin's economic growth.
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