Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Vanuatu instead of Samoa, you would:

Health

be 46.7% less likely to be obese

In Samoa, 47.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Vanuatu, that number is 25.2% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 47.7% less likely to be unemployed

In Samoa, 9.8% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Vanuatu, that number is 5.1% as of 2023.

be 27.4% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Samoa, 21.9% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Vanuatu, however, that number is 15.9% as of 2020.

make 50.0% less money

Samoa has a GDP per capita of $6,000 as of 2023, while in Vanuatu, the GDP per capita is $3,000 as of 2023.

Life

be 15.6% less likely to die during infancy

In Samoa, approximately 17.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2020. In Vanuatu, on the other hand, 14.3 children do as of 2022.

have 10.6% more children

In Samoa, there are approximately 18.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Vanuatu, there are 20.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 59.3% more likely to die during childbirth

In Samoa, approximately 59.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Vanuatu, 94.0 women do as of 2020.

be 10.1% less likely to be literate

In Samoa, the literacy rate is 99.1% as of 2021. In Vanuatu, it is 89.1% as of 2021.

Basic Needs

be 28.8% less likely to have access to electricity

In Samoa, approximately 98% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 98% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Vanuatu, that number is 70% of people on average (97% in urban areas, and 61% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 15.4% less likely to have internet access

In Samoa, approximately 78.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Vanuatu, about 66.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 52.1% less on education

Samoa spends 4.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Vanuatu spends 2.3% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 24.5% less on healthcare

Samoa spends 5.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Vanuatu, that number is 4.0% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 6.3 times more coastline

Samoa has a total of 403 km of coastline. In Vanuatu, that number is 2,528 km.

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

Vanuatu: At a glance

Vanuatu is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 12,189 sq km. Multiple waves of colonizers, each speaking a distinct language, migrated to the New Hebrides in the millennia preceding European exploration in the 18th century. This settlement pattern accounts for the complex linguistic diversity found on the archipelago to this day. The British and French, who settled the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980, when the new name of Vanuatu was adopted.
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How big is Vanuatu compared to Samoa? See an in-depth size comparison.

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