Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Samoa instead of Puerto Rico, you would:

Health

live 6.5 years less

In Puerto Rico, the average life expectancy is 82 years (78 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022. In Samoa, that number is 75 years (72 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

pay a 18.2% lower top tax rate

Puerto Rico has a top tax rate of 33.0% as of 2016. In Samoa, the top tax rate is 27.0% as of 2016.

make 84.8% less money

Puerto Rico has a GDP per capita of $34,300 as of 2022, while in Samoa, the GDP per capita is $5,200 as of 2022.

be 67.3% more likely to be unemployed

In Puerto Rico, 6.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Samoa, that number is 10.0% as of 2022.

Life

have 2.4 times more children

In Puerto Rico, there are approximately 7.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Samoa, there are 18.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 73.5% more likely to die during childbirth

In Puerto Rico, approximately 34.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Samoa, 59.0 women do as of 2020.

be 2.8 times more likely to die during infancy

In Puerto Rico, approximately 6.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Samoa, on the other hand, 17.0 children do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 33.3% more on education

Puerto Rico spends 3.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Samoa spends 4.8% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 19.6% less coastline

Puerto Rico has a total of 501 km of coastline. In Samoa, that number is 403 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Puerto Rican Department of Treasury, Ministry of Revenue, Samoa.

Samoa: At a glance

Samoa is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 2,821 sq km. New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997.
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How big is Samoa compared to Puerto Rico? See an in-depth size comparison.

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