Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Benin instead of Mali, you would:

Health

be 11.6% more likely to be obese

In Mali, 8.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Benin, that number is 9.6% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 52.0% more money

Mali has a GDP per capita of $2,500 as of 2023, while in Benin, the GDP per capita is $3,800 as of 2023.

be 51.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Mali, 3.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Benin, that number is 1.4% as of 2023.

be 13.7% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Mali, 44.6% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Benin, however, that number is 38.5% as of 2019.

Life

be 29.0% more likely to be literate

In Mali, the literacy rate is 35.5% as of 2018. In Benin, it is 45.8% as of 2021.

be 18.9% more likely to die during childbirth

In Mali, approximately 440.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Benin, 523.0 women do as of 2020.

Basic Needs

be 13.5% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Mali, approximately 86% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 76% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Benin, that number is 75% of people on average (79% in urban areas, and 71% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 31.8% less on education

Mali spends 4.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Benin spends 3.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 39.5% less on healthcare

Mali spends 4.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Benin, that number is 2.6% of GDP as of 2020.

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

Benin: At a glance

Benin is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 110,622 sq km. Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a West African kingdom that rose to prominence in about 1600 and over the next two and half centuries became a regional power, largely based on its slave trade. Coastal areas of Dahomey began to be controlled by the French in the second half of the 19th century; the entire kingdom was conquered by 1894. French Dahomey achieved independence in 1960; it changed its name to the Republic of Benin in 1975. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent. YAYI, who won a second five-year term in March 2011, has attempted to stem corruption and has strongly promoted accelerating Benin's economic growth.
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How big is Benin compared to Mali? See an in-depth size comparison.

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