If you lived in Moldova instead of United Arab Emirates, you would:

Health

be 29.5% less likely to be obese

In United Arab Emirates, 31.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Moldova, that number is 22.3% of people as of 2024.

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have 34.2% more doctors per person

United Arab Emirates has 29.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Moldova has 40.2 as of 2023.

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live 11.7 years less

In United Arab Emirates, the average life expectancy is 83 years (82 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Moldova, that number is 71 years (67 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 68.3% less spent on your healthcare

United Arab Emirates spends $3,727 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Moldova spends $1,181 as of 2023.

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have 13.4% less access to essential health services

United Arab Emirates scores 82 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Moldova scores 71 as of 2021.

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be 8.3 times more likely to die by suicide

United Arab Emirates has a suicide rate of 1.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Moldova, it is 14.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 30.9% less likely to be unemployed

In United Arab Emirates, 2.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Moldova, that number is 1.5% as of 2025.

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make 82.9% less money

United Arab Emirates has a GDP per capita of $50,274 as of 2024, while in Moldova, the GDP per capita is $8,622 as of 2025.

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Life

be 6.3 times more likely to die during childbirth

In United Arab Emirates, approximately 3.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Moldova, 19.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 4.0 times more likely to die during infancy

In United Arab Emirates, approximately 3.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Moldova, on the other hand, 15.1 children do as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 22.6% less likely to have internet access

In United Arab Emirates, approximately 100.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Moldova, about 77.4% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 68.6% more on education

United Arab Emirates spends 3.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Moldova spends 6.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 35.6% more on healthcare

United Arab Emirates spends 5.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Moldova, that number is 6.7% of GDP as of 2023.

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Safety

be 3.7 times more likely to be murdered

United Arab Emirates has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Moldova, that number is 2.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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be 54.2% more likely to die in a road accident

In United Arab Emirates, road accidents kill 5.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Moldova, they kill 9.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 99.2% less strain on fresh water

United Arab Emirates withdraws 1510% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Moldova withdraws 13% as of 2022.

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find 27.4% less home broadband

United Arab Emirates has 40.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Moldova has 29.6 as of 2024.

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use 84.2% less electricity

United Arab Emirates uses 15,285 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Moldova uses 2,412 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

be 17.1% less likely to die from air pollution

In United Arab Emirates, air pollution causes 70.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Moldova, it causes 58.0 as of 2019.

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emit 81.3% less CO2

United Arab Emirates emits 18.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Moldova emits 3.4 tonnes as of 2024.

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

Moldova: At a glance

Moldova is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 32,891 sq km. Part of Romania during the interwar period, Moldova was incorporated into the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Although the country has been independent from the USSR since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Nistru River supporting the separatist region of Transnistria, composed of a Slavic majority population (mostly Ukrainians and Russians), but with a sizeable ethnic Moldovan minority. One of the poorest nations in Europe, Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a communist, Vladimir VORONIN, as its president in 2001. VORONIN served as Moldova's president until he resigned in September 2009, following the opposition's gain of a narrow majority in July parliamentary elections and the Communist Party's (PCRM) subsequent inability to attract the three-fifths of parliamentary votes required to elect a president and, by doing so, put into place a permanent government. Four Moldovan opposition parties formed a new coalition, the Alliance for European Integration (AEI), iterations of which have acted as Moldova's governing coalitions since. Moldova experienced significant political uncertainty between 2009 and early 2012, holding three general elections and numerous presidential ballots in parliament, all of which failed to secure a president. Following November 2010 parliamentary elections, a reconstituted AEI-coalition consisting of three of the four original AEI parties formed a government, and in March 2012 was finally able to elect an independent as president. As of late May 2013, the ruling coalition - comprised of two of the original AEI parties and a splinter group from a third - is called the Pro-European Coalition. In November 2013, the Moldovan Government initialed an Association Agreement with the European Union (EU), advancing the coalition's policy priority of EU integration.
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