Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Malawi instead of North Korea, you would:

Health

be 14.7% less likely to be obese

In North Korea, 6.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Malawi, that number is 5.8% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 68.0% more likely to be unemployed

In North Korea, 3.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Malawi, that number is 5.0% as of 2023.

Life

have 2.0 times more children

In North Korea, there are approximately 13.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Malawi, there are 26.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 3.6 times more likely to die during childbirth

In North Korea, approximately 107.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Malawi, 381.0 women do as of 2020.

be 32.7% less likely to be literate

In North Korea, the literacy rate is 100.0% as of 2015. In Malawi, it is 67.3% as of 2021.

be 50.5% more likely to die during infancy

In North Korea, approximately 22.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Malawi, on the other hand, 33.4 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 74.4% less likely to have access to electricity

In North Korea, approximately 55% of people have electricity access (36% in urban areas, and 11% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Malawi, that number is 14% of people on average (54% in urban areas, and 6% in rural areas) as of 2022.

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

Malawi: At a glance

Malawi is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 94,080 sq km. Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule under President Hastings Kamuzu BANDA the country held multiparty elections in 1994, under a provisional constitution that came into full effect the following year. President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA, elected in May 2004 after a failed attempt by the previous president to amend the constitution to permit another term, struggled to assert his authority against his predecessor and subsequently started his own party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2005. MUTHARIKA was reelected to a second term in May 2009. He oversaw some economic improvement in his first term, but was accused of economic mismanagement and poor governance in his second term. He died abruptly in April 2012 and was succeeded by his vice president, Joyce BANDA, who had earlier started her own party, the People's Party (PP). Population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, corruption, and the scourge of HIV/AIDS pose major problems for Malawi.
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