Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Africa instead of Saint Lucia, you would:
Health
be 31.8 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Saint Lucia, 0.6% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2018. In South Africa, that number is 19.1% of people as of 2020.
live 13.6 years less
In Saint Lucia, the average life expectancy is 79 years (76 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In South Africa, that number is 65 years (64 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2022.
be 43.7% more likely to be obese
In Saint Lucia, 19.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Africa, that number is 28.3% of people as of 2016.
Economy
be 33.6% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Saint Lucia, 25.0% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In South Africa, however, that number is 16.6% as of 2016.
make 37.0% less money
Saint Lucia has a GDP per capita of $22,700 as of 2023, while in South Africa, the GDP per capita is $14,300 as of 2023.
be 2.5 times more likely to be unemployed
In Saint Lucia, 11.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In South Africa, that number is 28.0% as of 2023.
Life
have 55.3% more children
In Saint Lucia, there are approximately 11.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In South Africa, there are 17.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 74.0% more likely to die during childbirth
In Saint Lucia, approximately 73.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In South Africa, 127.0 women do as of 2020.
be 2.2 times more likely to die during infancy
In Saint Lucia, approximately 12.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In South Africa, on the other hand, 25.9 children do as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 13.5% less likely to have access to electricity
In Saint Lucia, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (98% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2022. In South Africa, that number is 86% of people on average (87% in urban areas, and 92% in rural areas) as of 2022.
Expenditures
spend 83.3% more on education
Saint Lucia spends 3.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. South Africa spends 6.6% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 28.4% more on healthcare
Saint Lucia spends 6.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In South Africa, that number is 8.6% of GDP as of 2020.
Geography
see 17.7 times more coastline
Saint Lucia has a total of 158 km of coastline. In South Africa, that number is 2,798 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
South Africa: At a glance
How big is South Africa compared to Saint Lucia? See an in-depth size comparison.