Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Djibouti instead of South Africa, you would:

Health

be 95.8% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In South Africa, 19.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Djibouti, that number is 0.8% of people as of 2020.

be 52.3% less likely to be obese

In South Africa, 28.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Djibouti, that number is 13.5% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 54.5% less money

South Africa has a GDP per capita of $14,300 as of 2023, while in Djibouti, the GDP per capita is $6,500 as of 2023.

be 27.1% more likely to live below the poverty line

In South Africa, 16.6% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Djibouti, however, that number is 21.1% as of 2017.

Life

have 23.2% more children

In South Africa, there are approximately 17.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Djibouti, there are 21.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 84.3% more likely to die during childbirth

In South Africa, approximately 127.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Djibouti, 234.0 women do as of 2020.

be 81.3% more likely to die during infancy

In South Africa, approximately 25.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Djibouti, on the other hand, 46.9 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 24.9% less likely to have access to electricity

In South Africa, approximately 86% of people have electricity access (87% in urban areas, and 92% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Djibouti, that number is 65% of people on average (54% in urban areas, and 36% in rural areas) as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 45.5% less on education

South Africa spends 6.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Djibouti spends 3.6% of total GDP on education as of 2018.

spend 76.7% less on healthcare

South Africa spends 8.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Djibouti, that number is 2.0% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 88.8% less coastline

South Africa has a total of 2,798 km of coastline. In Djibouti, that number is 314 km.

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

Djibouti: At a glance

Djibouti is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 23,180 sq km. The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas became Djibouti in 1977. Hassan Gouled APTIDON installed an authoritarian one-party state and proceeded to serve as president until 1999. Unrest among the Afar minority during the 1990s led to a civil war that ended in 2001 with a peace accord between Afar rebels and the Somali Issa-dominated government. In 1999, Djibouti's first multiparty presidential elections resulted in the election of Ismail Omar GUELLEH as president; he was reelected to a second term in 2005 and extended his tenure in office via a constitutional amendment, which allowed him to begin a third term in 2011. Djibouti occupies a strategic geographic location at the intersection of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and serves as an important shipping portal for goods entering and leaving the east African highlands and transshipments between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The government holds longstanding ties to France, which maintains a significant military presence in the country, and has strong ties with the United States. Djibouti hosts several thousand members of US armed services at US-run Camp Lemonnier.
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How big is Djibouti compared to South Africa? See an in-depth size comparison.

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