Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Bhutan instead of Tonga, you would:
Health
be 82.3% less likely to be obese
In Tonga, 73.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Bhutan, that number is 13.1% of people as of 2024.
see 32.1% more spent on your healthcare
Tonga spends $512 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Bhutan spends $677 as of 2023.
have 45.5% fewer doctors per person
Tonga has 10.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Bhutan has 5.5 as of 2022.
Economy
be 39.8% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Tonga, 20.6% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Bhutan, however, that number is 12.4% as of 2022.
be 60.7% more likely to be unemployed
In Tonga, 2.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bhutan, that number is 3.2% as of 2025.
make 31.4% less money
Tonga has a GDP per capita of $6,547 as of 2025, while in Bhutan, the GDP per capita is $4,493 as of 2025.
Life
be 29.9% less 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 Bhutan, 47.0 women do as of 2023.
be 34.8% less likely to be literate
In Tonga, the literacy rate is 99.5% as of 2023. In Bhutan, it is 64.9% as of 2022.
be 75.6% 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 Bhutan, on the other hand, 13.7 children do as of 2024.
have 45.6% fewer children
In Tonga, there are approximately 23.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Bhutan, there are 12.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 35.3% more likely to have internet access
In Tonga, approximately 67.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Bhutan, about 91.3% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 39.9% less on healthcare
Tonga spends 7.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Bhutan, that number is 4.4% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 10.2% more on education
Tonga spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Bhutan spends 5.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Safety
be 2.6 times more likely to be murdered
Tonga has a homicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bhutan, that number is 2.5 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 43.5% more likely to die in a road accident
In Tonga, road accidents kill 8.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Bhutan, they kill 12.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 64.3% less home broadband
Tonga has 8.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Bhutan has 2.9 as of 2024.
Environment
be 2.4 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Tonga, air pollution causes 24.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Bhutan, it causes 57.0 as of 2019.
emit 23.3% more CO2
Tonga emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Bhutan emits 2.0 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Tonga vs. Bhutan
Bhutan: At a glance
How big is Bhutan compared to Tonga? See an in-depth size comparison.