Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Somalia instead of Zimbabwe, you would:
Health
be 99.0% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Zimbabwe, 9.8% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
be 54.1% less likely to die by suicide
Zimbabwe has a suicide rate of 17.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Somalia, it is 8.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 4.1 years less
In Zimbabwe, the average life expectancy is 63 years (60 years for men, 65 years for women) as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 59 years (56 years for men, 62 years for women) as of 2024.
see 49.5% less spent on your healthcare
Zimbabwe spends $103 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Somalia spends $52 as of 2023.
have 50.9% less access to essential health services
Zimbabwe scores 55 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Somalia scores 27 as of 2021.
Economy
be 2.0 times more likely to be unemployed
In Zimbabwe, 9.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Somalia, that number is 18.9% as of 2025.
be 44.6% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Zimbabwe, 38.3% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Somalia, however, that number is 55.4% as of 2022.
make 78.1% less money
Zimbabwe has a GDP per capita of $3,021 as of 2025, while in Somalia, the GDP per capita is $661 as of 2025.
Life
have 41.7% more children
In Zimbabwe, there are approximately 29.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Somalia, there are 42.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 57.3% more likely to die during childbirth
In Zimbabwe, approximately 358.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Somalia, 563.0 women do as of 2023.
be 39.7% less likely to be literate
In Zimbabwe, the literacy rate is 89.7% as of 2021. In Somalia, it is 54.1% as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 12.0% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Zimbabwe, approximately 67% of people have access to drinking water (94% in urban areas, and 54% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 75% of people on average (84% in urban areas, and 68% in rural areas) as of 2024.
be 18.9% less likely to have access to electricity
In Zimbabwe, approximately 62% of people have electricity access (84% in urban areas, and 51% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Somalia, that number is 50% of people on average (79% in urban areas, and 24% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 32.9% less likely to have internet access
In Zimbabwe, approximately 41.6% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Somalia, about 27.9% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 27.6% more on healthcare
Zimbabwe spends 2.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Somalia, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 32.4% less likely to die in a road accident
In Zimbabwe, road accidents kill 29.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Somalia, they kill 20.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 46.8% less strain on fresh water
Zimbabwe withdraws 46% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Somalia withdraws 25% as of 2022.
find 62.9% less home broadband
Zimbabwe has 1.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Somalia has 0.7 as of 2023.
Environment
emit 93.5% less CO2
Zimbabwe emits 0.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Somalia emits 0.1 tonnes as of 2024.
be 14.3% more likely to die from air pollution
In Zimbabwe, air pollution causes 56.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Somalia, it causes 64.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Zimbabwe vs. Somalia
Somalia: At a glance
How big is Somalia compared to Zimbabwe? See an in-depth size comparison.