Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 96.3% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Malawi, 8.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Senegal, that number is 0.3% of people as of 2020.

live 2.5 years less

In Malawi, the average life expectancy is 72 years (69 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022. In Senegal, that number is 70 years (68 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2022.

be 51.7% more likely to be obese

In Malawi, 5.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Senegal, that number is 8.8% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 2.6 times more money

Malawi has a GDP per capita of $1,700 as of 2023, while in Senegal, the GDP per capita is $4,400 as of 2023.

be 41.9% less likely to be unemployed

In Malawi, 5.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Senegal, that number is 2.9% as of 2023.

pay a 33.3% higher top tax rate

Malawi has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2016. In Senegal, the top tax rate is 40.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 31.5% less likely to die during childbirth

In Malawi, approximately 381.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Senegal, 261.0 women do as of 2020.

have 13.5% more children

In Malawi, there are approximately 26.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Senegal, there are 30.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 16.3% less likely to be literate

In Malawi, the literacy rate is 67.3% as of 2021. In Senegal, it is 56.3% as of 2021.

Basic Needs

be 4.9 times more likely to have access to electricity

In Malawi, approximately 14% of people have electricity access (54% in urban areas, and 6% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Senegal, that number is 68% of people on average (94% in urban areas, and 43% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 2.4 times more likely to have internet access

In Malawi, approximately 24.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Senegal, about 58.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 89.7% more on education

Malawi spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Senegal spends 5.5% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Malawi Revenue Authority, 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 Malawi? See an in-depth size comparison.

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