Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 78.0% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In South Africa, 19.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Kenya, that number is 4.2% of people as of 2020.

live 4.4 years longer

In South Africa, the average life expectancy is 65 years (64 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2022. In Kenya, that number is 70 years (68 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2022.

be 74.9% less likely to be obese

In South Africa, 28.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Kenya, that number is 7.1% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 79.7% less likely to be unemployed

In South Africa, 28.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Kenya, that number is 5.7% as of 2023.

pay a 33.3% lower top tax rate

South Africa has a top tax rate of 45.0% as of 2017. In Kenya, the top tax rate is 30.0% as of 2016.

make 60.1% less money

South Africa has a GDP per capita of $14,300 as of 2023, while in Kenya, the GDP per capita is $5,700 as of 2023.

be 2.2 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In South Africa, 16.6% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Kenya, however, that number is 36.1% as of 2016.

Life

have 44.6% more children

In South Africa, there are approximately 17.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Kenya, there are 25.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 4.2 times more likely to die during childbirth

In South Africa, approximately 127.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Kenya, 530.0 women do as of 2020.

be 13.1% less likely to be literate

In South Africa, the literacy rate is 95.0% as of 2019. In Kenya, it is 82.6% as of 2021.

Basic Needs

be 12.1% 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 Kenya, that number is 76% of people on average (98% in urban areas, and 68% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 59.7% less likely to have internet access

In South Africa, approximately 72.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Kenya, about 29.0% do as of 2021.

be 26.4% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In South Africa, approximately 97% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 90% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Kenya, that number is 71% of people on average (91% in urban areas, and 63% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 27.3% less on education

South Africa spends 6.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Kenya spends 4.8% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

spend 50.0% less on healthcare

South Africa spends 8.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Kenya, that number is 4.3% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 80.8% less coastline

South Africa has a total of 2,798 km of coastline. In Kenya, that number is 536 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Revenue Authority, The World Factbook, South African Revenue Service.

Kenya: At a glance

Kenya is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 569,140 sq km. Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA led Kenya from independence in 1963 until his death in 1978, when President Daniel MOI took power in a constitutional succession. The country was a de facto one-party state from 1969 until 1982 when the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) made itself the sole legal party in Kenya. MOI acceded to internal and external pressure for political liberalization in late 1991. The ethnically fractured opposition failed to dislodge KANU from power in elections in 1992 and 1997, which were marred by violence and fraud, but were viewed as having generally reflected the will of the Kenyan people. President MOI stepped down in December 2002 following fair and peaceful elections. Mwai KIBAKI, running as the candidate of the multiethnic, united opposition group, the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), defeated KANU candidate Uhuru KENYATTA and assumed the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption platform. KIBAKI's NARC coalition splintered in 2005 over a constitutional review process. Government defectors joined with KANU to form a new opposition coalition, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), which defeated the government's draft constitution in a popular referendum in November 2005. KIBAKI's reelection in December 2007 brought charges of vote rigging from ODM candidate Raila ODINGA and unleashed two months of violence in which as many as 1,500 people died. African Union-sponsored mediation led by former UN Secretary General Kofi ANNAN in late February 2008 resulted in a power-sharing accord bringing ODINGA into the government in the restored position of prime minister. The power sharing accord included a broad reform agenda, the centerpiece of which was constitutional reform. In August 2010, Kenyans overwhelmingly adopted a new constitution in a national referendum. The new constitution introduced additional checks and balances to executive power and significant devolution of power and resources to 47 newly created counties. It also eliminated the position of prime minister following the first presidential election under the new constitution, which occurred on 4 March 2013. Uhuru KENYATTA, the son of founding president Jomo KENYATTA, won the March elections in the first round by a close margin and was sworn into office on 9 April 2013.
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