If you lived in Afghanistan instead of Tuvalu, you would:

Health

be 68.4% less likely to be obese

In Tuvalu, 65.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Afghanistan, that number is 20.6% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

live 1.0 years less

In Tuvalu, the average life expectancy is 67 years (64 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024. In Afghanistan, that number is 66 years (65 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

see 80.3% less spent on your healthcare

Tuvalu spends $1,671 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Afghanistan spends $330 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 76.4% fewer doctors per person

Tuvalu has 13.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2020. Afghanistan has 3.2 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 21.2% less access to essential health services

Tuvalu scores 52 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Afghanistan scores 41 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

make 93.1% less money

Tuvalu has a GDP per capita of $6,041 as of 2025, while in Afghanistan, the GDP per capita is $417 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Life

have 59.4% more children

In Tuvalu, there are approximately 22.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Afghanistan, there are 35.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 3.1 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Tuvalu, approximately 170.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Afghanistan, 521.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 62.7% less likely to be literate

In Tuvalu, the literacy rate is 100.0% as of 2022. In Afghanistan, it is 37.3% as of 2021.

View global rankings →

be 2.9 times more likely to die during infancy

In Tuvalu, approximately 16.5 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.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 14.7% less likely to have access to electricity

In Tuvalu, 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.

View global rankings →

be 80.2% less likely to have internet access

In Tuvalu, approximately 81.2% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Afghanistan, about 16.1% do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 18.1% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Tuvalu, approximately 99% of people have access to drinking water (98% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Afghanistan, that number is 81% of people on average (97% in urban areas, and 75% in rural areas) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 77.4% less on education

Tuvalu spends 12.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Afghanistan spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

View global rankings →

spend 44.7% less on healthcare

Tuvalu spends 27.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Afghanistan, that number is 15.0% of GDP as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 34.6% more likely to die in a road accident

In Tuvalu, road accidents kill 17.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Afghanistan, they kill 24.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

find 98.2% less home broadband

Tuvalu has 4.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Afghanistan has 0.1 as of 2023.

View global rankings →


Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021–2022), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2020). How we calculate this

Afghanistan: At a glance

Afghanistan is a sovereign country in South Asia, with a total land area of approximately 652,230 sq km. Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian Empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 communist counter-coup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-communist mujahedin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. The UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan and the National Assembly was inaugurated the following December. KARZAI was re-elected in August 2009 for a second term. Despite gains toward building a stable central government, a resurgent Taliban and continuing provincial instability - particularly in the south and the east - remain serious challenges for the Afghan Government.
Read more

How big is Afghanistan compared to Tuvalu? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Afghanistan or Tuvalu. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.