Quality of life comparison
If you lived in California instead of Zambia, you would:
Health
live 12.7 years longer
In Zambia, the average life expectancy is 66 years (65 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2022. In California, that number is 79 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2020.
Economy
make 22.7 times more money
Zambia has a GDP per capita of $3,700 as of 2023, while in California, the GDP per capita is $84,028 as of 2024.
be 13.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Zambia, 5.9% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In California, that number is 5.1% as of 2025.
be 80.5% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Zambia, 60.0% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In California, however, that number is 11.7% as of 2023.
Basic Needs
be 4.4 times more likely to have internet access
In Zambia, approximately 21.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In California, about 92.6% do as of 2023.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, OECD Regional Demography, Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey), Bureau of Economic Analysis.
