Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Mexico instead of Vietnam, you would:
Health
see 98.4% more spent on your healthcare
Vietnam spends $690 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Mexico spends $1,368 as of 2023.
have 2.3 times more doctors per person
Vietnam has 11.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Mexico has 25.9 as of 2022.
have 10.3% more access to essential health services
Vietnam scores 68 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Mexico scores 75 as of 2021.
be 15.6 times more likely to be obese
In Vietnam, 2.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Mexico, that number is 37.4% of people as of 2024.
Economy
make 2.7 times more money
Vietnam has a GDP per capita of $5,066 as of 2025, while in Mexico, the GDP per capita is $13,889 as of 2025.
be 75.7% more likely to be unemployed
In Vietnam, 1.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Mexico, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.
be 7.0 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Vietnam, 4.2% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Mexico, however, that number is 29.6% as of 2024.
Life
have 15.2% more children
In Vietnam, there are approximately 13.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Mexico, there are 15.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 40.5% more on education
Vietnam spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Mexico spends 4.1% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 20.6% more on healthcare
Vietnam spends 4.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Mexico, that number is 5.5% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.7 times more coastline
Vietnam has a total of 3,444 km of coastline. In Mexico, that number is 9,330 km.
Safety
be 32.2% less likely to die in a road accident
In Vietnam, road accidents kill 17.7 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Mexico, they kill 12.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 2.5 times more strain on fresh water
Vietnam withdraws 18% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Mexico withdraws 45% as of 2022.
Environment
be 42.3% less likely to die from air pollution
In Vietnam, air pollution causes 52.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Mexico, it causes 30.0 as of 2019.
emit 14.8% less CO2
Vietnam emits 4.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Mexico emits 3.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Vietnam vs. Mexico
Mexico: At a glance
How big is Mexico compared to Vietnam? See an in-depth size comparison.