Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Belarus instead of Switzerland, you would:

Health

live 9.0 years less

In Switzerland, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022. In Belarus, that number is 74 years (69 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2022.

be 25.6% more likely to be obese

In Switzerland, 19.5% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Belarus, that number is 24.5% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 11.9% less likely to be unemployed

In Switzerland, 4.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Belarus, that number is 3.6% as of 2023.

be 67.3% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Switzerland, 14.7% live below the poverty line as of 2020. In Belarus, however, that number is 4.8% as of 2020.

pay a 67.5% lower top tax rate

Switzerland has a top tax rate of 40.0% as of 2016. In Belarus, the top tax rate is 13.0% as of 2017.

make 66.6% less money

Switzerland has a GDP per capita of $82,900 as of 2023, while in Belarus, the GDP per capita is $27,700 as of 2023.

Life

be 85.7% less likely to die during childbirth

In Switzerland, approximately 7.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Belarus, 1.0 women do as of 2020.

have 17.8% fewer children

In Switzerland, there are approximately 10.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Belarus, there are 8.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 11.5% less likely to have internet access

In Switzerland, approximately 96.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Belarus, about 85.0% do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 45.8% less on healthcare

Switzerland spends 11.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Belarus, that number is 6.4% of GDP as of 2020.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Swiss Federal Tax Administration, Ministry for Taxes and Levies of the Republic of Belarus.

Belarus: At a glance

Belarus is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 202,900 sq km. After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than have any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. Since his election in July 1994 as the country's first directly elected president, Aleksandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means and a centralized economic system. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion remain in place.
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How big is Belarus compared to Switzerland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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