Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 97.4% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Namibia, 11.6% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Senegal, that number is 0.3% of people as of 2020.

live 3.5 years longer

In Namibia, the average life expectancy is 66 years (64 years for men, 69 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 48.8% less likely to be obese

In Namibia, 17.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Senegal, that number is 8.8% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 84.9% less likely to be unemployed

In Namibia, 19.4% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Senegal, that number is 2.9% as of 2023.

make 61.7% less money

Namibia has a GDP per capita of $11,500 as of 2023, while in Senegal, the GDP per capita is $4,400 as of 2023.

be 2.7 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Namibia, 17.4% live below the poverty line as of 2015. In Senegal, however, that number is 46.7% as of 2011.

Life

have 24.3% more children

In Namibia, there are approximately 24.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Senegal, there are 30.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 21.4% more likely to die during childbirth

In Namibia, approximately 215.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Senegal, 261.0 women do as of 2020.

be 39.0% less likely to be literate

In Namibia, the literacy rate is 92.3% as of 2021. In Senegal, it is 56.3% as of 2021.

be 10.3% more likely to die during infancy

In Namibia, approximately 29.4 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 20.8% more likely to have access to electricity

In Namibia, approximately 56% of people have electricity access (75% in urban areas, and 33% 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.

Expenditures

spend 42.7% less on education

Namibia spends 9.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Senegal spends 5.5% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 41.6% less on healthcare

Namibia spends 8.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Senegal, that number is 5.2% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 66.2% less coastline

Namibia has a total of 1,572 km of coastline. In Senegal, that number is 531 km.

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

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 Namibia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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