Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Africa instead of Tonga, you would:
Health
be 41.3% less likely to be obese
In Tonga, 48.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Africa, that number is 28.3% of people as of 2016.
live 12.2 years less
In Tonga, the average life expectancy is 78 years (76 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2022. In South Africa, that number is 65 years (64 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2022.
Economy
make 79.7% more money
Tonga has a GDP per capita of $6,400 as of 2019, while in South Africa, the GDP per capita is $11,500 as of 2020.
be 26.2% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Tonga, 22.5% live below the poverty line as of 2010. In South Africa, however, that number is 16.6% as of 2016.
be 25.9 times more likely to be unemployed
In Tonga, 1.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2011. In South Africa, that number is 28.5% as of 2019.
Life
be 2.3 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Tonga, approximately 52.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In South Africa, 119.0 women do as of 2017.
be 2.1 times more likely to die during infancy
In Tonga, approximately 12.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In South Africa, on the other hand, 25.9 children do as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 70.7% more likely to have internet access
In Tonga, approximately 41.0% of the population has internet access as of 2019. In South Africa, about 70.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 15.0% less on education
Tonga spends 8.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. South Africa spends 6.8% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 82.0% more on healthcare
Tonga spends 5.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In South Africa, that number is 9.1% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 6.7 times more coastline
Tonga has a total of 419 km of coastline. In South Africa, that number is 2,798 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
South Africa: At a glance
How big is South Africa compared to Tonga? See an in-depth size comparison.