Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Germany instead of South Africa, you would:

Health

be 99.5% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In South Africa, 19.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Germany, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2020.

live 16.2 years longer

In South Africa, the average life expectancy is 65 years (64 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2022. In Germany, that number is 82 years (79 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2022.

be 21.2% less likely to be obese

In South Africa, 28.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Germany, that number is 22.3% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 4.0 times more money

South Africa has a GDP per capita of $13,500 as of 2022, while in Germany, the GDP per capita is $54,000 as of 2022.

be 89.1% less likely to be unemployed

In South Africa, 28.8% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Germany, that number is 3.1% as of 2022.

be 11.4% less likely to live below the poverty line

In South Africa, 16.6% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Germany, however, that number is 14.7% as of 2021.

Life

be 96.9% less likely to die during childbirth

In South Africa, approximately 127.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Germany, 4.0 women do as of 2020.

be 87.7% less likely to die during infancy

In South Africa, approximately 25.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Germany, on the other hand, 3.2 children do as of 2022.

have 49.7% fewer children

In South Africa, there are approximately 17.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Germany, there are 8.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 12.0% more likely to have access to electricity

In South Africa, approximately 89% of the population has electricity access as of 2021. In Germany, 100% of the population do as of 2021.

be 26.4% more likely to have internet access

In South Africa, approximately 72.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Germany, about 91.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 28.8% less on education

South Africa spends 6.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Germany spends 4.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 48.8% more on healthcare

South Africa spends 8.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Germany, that number is 12.8% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 14.6% less coastline

South Africa has a total of 2,798 km of coastline. In Germany, that number is 2,389 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Germany: At a glance

Germany is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 348,672 sq km. As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation (after Russia), Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.
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How big is Germany compared to South Africa? See an in-depth size comparison.

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