Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Senegal instead of Belgium, you would:

Health

be 60.2% less likely to be obese

In Belgium, 22.1% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Senegal, that number is 8.8% of people as of 2016.

live 11.9 years less

In Belgium, the average life expectancy is 82 years (79 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022. In Senegal, that number is 70 years (68 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 46.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Belgium, 5.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Senegal, that number is 2.9% as of 2023.

pay a 25.5% lower top tax rate

Belgium has a top tax rate of 53.7% as of 2016. In Senegal, the top tax rate is 40.0% as of 2016.

make 93.1% less money

Belgium has a GDP per capita of $63,600 as of 2023, while in Senegal, the GDP per capita is $4,400 as of 2023.

be 3.8 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Belgium, 12.3% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Senegal, however, that number is 46.7% as of 2011.

Life

have 2.8 times more children

In Belgium, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Senegal, there are 30.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 52.2 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Belgium, approximately 5.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Senegal, 261.0 women do as of 2020.

be 10.2 times more likely to die during infancy

In Belgium, approximately 3.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Senegal, on the other hand, 32.4 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 32.1% less likely to have access to electricity

In Belgium, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In Senegal, 68% of the population do as of 2022.

be 36.3% less likely to have internet access

In Belgium, approximately 91.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Senegal, about 58.0% do as of 2021.

be 12.7% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Belgium, approximately 100% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Senegal, that number is 87% of people on average (96% in urban areas, and 79% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 17.9% less on education

Belgium spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Senegal spends 5.5% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 53.2% less on healthcare

Belgium spends 11.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Senegal, that number is 5.2% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 8.0 times more coastline

Belgium has a total of 66 km of coastline. In Senegal, that number is 531 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Service Public Fédéral Finances, The World Factbook, Direction Generale des Impots et des Domaines.

Senegal: At a glance

Senegal is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 192,530 sq km. The French colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted their independence as the Mali Federation in 1960. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) has led a low-level separatist insurgency in southern Senegal since the 1980s, and several peace deals have failed to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until Abdoulaye WADE was elected president in 2000. He was reelected in 2007 and during his two terms amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and to weaken the opposition. His decision to run for a third presidential term sparked a large public backlash that led to his defeat in a March 2012 runoff election with Macky SALL.
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How big is Senegal compared to Belgium? See an in-depth size comparison.

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