Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Africa instead of Vanuatu, you would:
Health
live 9.8 years less
In Vanuatu, the average life expectancy is 75 years (73 years for men, 77 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.
be 12.3% more likely to be obese
In Vanuatu, 25.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Africa, that number is 28.3% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 4.1 times more money
Vanuatu has a GDP per capita of $2,800 as of 2020, while in South Africa, the GDP per capita is $11,500 as of 2020.
be 16.8 times more likely to be unemployed
In Vanuatu, 1.7% of adults are unemployed as of 1999. In South Africa, that number is 28.5% as of 2019.
Life
be 65.3% more likely to die during childbirth
In Vanuatu, approximately 72.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In South Africa, 119.0 women do as of 2017.
be 80.4% more likely to die during infancy
In Vanuatu, approximately 14.3 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.
have 14.0% fewer children
In Vanuatu, there are approximately 21.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In South Africa, there are 18.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 52.1% more likely to have access to electricity
In Vanuatu, approximately 62% of people have electricity access (94% in urban areas, and 51% in rural areas) as of 2018. In South Africa, that number is 94% of people on average (95% in urban areas, and 92% in rural areas) as of 2019.
be 2.7 times more likely to have internet access
In Vanuatu, approximately 26.0% of the population has internet access as of 2019. In South Africa, about 70.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 3.0 times more on education
Vanuatu spends 2.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. South Africa spends 6.8% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 2.7 times more on healthcare
Vanuatu spends 3.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In South Africa, that number is 9.1% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 10.7% more coastline
Vanuatu has a total of 2,528 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 Vanuatu? See an in-depth size comparison.