Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Sudan instead of Iraq, you would:

Health

be 78.3% less likely to be obese

In Iraq, 30.4% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sudan, that number is 6.6% of people as of 2014.

live 6.1 years less

In Iraq, the average life expectancy is 73 years (71 years for men, 75 years for women) as of 2022. In Sudan, that number is 67 years (65 years for men, 69 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 26.3% less likely to be unemployed

In Iraq, 15.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Sudan, that number is 11.4% as of 2023.

make 77.8% less money

Iraq has a GDP per capita of $12,600 as of 2023, while in Sudan, the GDP per capita is $2,800 as of 2023.

be 2.0 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Iraq, 23.0% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In Sudan, however, that number is 46.5% as of 2009.

Life

be 21.2% more likely to be literate

In Iraq, the literacy rate is 50.1% as of 2018. In Sudan, it is 60.7% as of 2018.

have 39.7% more children

In Iraq, there are approximately 23.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sudan, there are 33.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 3.6 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Iraq, approximately 76.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Sudan, 270.0 women do as of 2020.

be 2.2 times more likely to die during infancy

In Iraq, approximately 19.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Sudan, on the other hand, 42.3 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 36.8% less likely to have access to electricity

In Iraq, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In Sudan, 63% of the population do as of 2022.

be 41.2% less likely to have internet access

In Iraq, approximately 49.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Sudan, about 28.8% do as of 2021.

be 12.3% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Iraq, approximately 99% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 97% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Sudan, that number is 87% of people on average (99% in urban areas, and 81% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 53.2% less on education

Iraq spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2016. Sudan spends 2.2% of total GDP on education as of 2009.

spend 41.2% less on healthcare

Iraq spends 5.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Sudan, that number is 3.0% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 14.7 times more coastline

Iraq has a total of 58 km of coastline. In Sudan, that number is 853 km.

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

Sudan: At a glance

Sudan is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 1,731,671 sq km. Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from Anglo-Egyptian co rule in 1956. Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in 1972 but another broke out in 1983. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with the signing of several accords. The final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years followed by a referendum on independence for Southern Sudan. The referendum was held in January 2011 and indicated overwhelming support for independence. South Sudan became independent on 9 July 2011. Sudan and South Sudan have yet to fully implement security and economic agreements signed on September 27, 2012 relating to the normalization of relations between the two countries. The final disposition of the contested Abyei region has also to be decided. Since South Sudan's independence, conflict has broken out between the government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states, which has resulted in 1.2 million internally displaced persons or severely affected persons in need of humanitarian assistance. A separate conflict, which broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003, has displaced nearly two million people and caused an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths. Violence in Darfur in 2013 resulted in an additional estimated 6,000 civilians killed and 500,000 displaced. The UN and the African Union have jointly commanded a Darfur peacekeeping operation known as the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) since 2007. Peacekeeping troops have struggled to stabilize the situation and have increasingly become targets for attacks by armed groups. In 2013, 16 peacekeepers were killed, UNAMID's deadliest year so far. Sudan also has faced refugee influxes from neighboring countries, primarily Ethiopia, Eritrea, Chad, Central African Republic, and South Sudan. Armed conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and government denial of access have impeded the provision of humanitarian assistance to affected populations.
Read more

How big is Sudan compared to Iraq? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Sudan.or Iraq It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.