Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 4.6 years longer

In Tuvalu, the average life expectancy is 67 years (64 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024. In Samoa, that number is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 71.6% less spent on your healthcare

Tuvalu spends $1,671 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Samoa spends $475 as of 2023.

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have 58.3% fewer doctors per person

Tuvalu has 13.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2020. Samoa has 5.6 as of 2021.

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Life

be 40.6% less 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 Samoa, 101.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 25.5% less 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 Samoa, on the other hand, 12.3 children do as of 2024.

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have 13.7% more children

In Tuvalu, there are approximately 22.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Samoa, there are 25.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 57.5% less on education

Tuvalu spends 12.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Samoa spends 5.5% of total GDP on education as of 2024.

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spend 75.0% less on healthcare

Tuvalu spends 27.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Samoa, that number is 6.8% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 16.8 times more coastline

Tuvalu has a total of 24 km of coastline. In Samoa, that number is 403 km.

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Safety

be 46.4% less likely to die in a road accident

In Tuvalu, road accidents kill 17.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Samoa, they kill 9.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 80.5% less home broadband

Tuvalu has 4.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Samoa has 0.9 as of 2022.

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

Compare further: Tuvalu vs. Samoa

Cost of Living Comparison · 2 categories - 2026 data
Samoa is 2.1 times more expensive than Tuvalu overall
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Size Comparison · See true size
Tuvalu is about 109 times smaller than Samoa.
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Moving from Tuvalu to Samoa · UN DESA 2020
58 people born in Tuvalu live in Samoa.
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Samoa: At a glance

Samoa is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 2,821 sq km. New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997.
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How big is Samoa compared to Tuvalu? See an in-depth size comparison.

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