Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Ukraine instead of Syria, you would:

Health

be 13.3% less likely to be obese

In Syria, 27.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Ukraine, that number is 24.1% of people as of 2016.

live 0.8 years less

In Syria, the average life expectancy is 74 years (73 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022. In Ukraine, that number is 73 years (69 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 5.6 times more money

Syria has a GDP per capita of $2,900 as of 2021, while in Ukraine, the GDP per capita is $16,200 as of 2023.

be 27.4% less likely to be unemployed

In Syria, 13.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Ukraine, that number is 9.8% as of 2021.

be 98.1% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Syria, 82.5% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In Ukraine, however, that number is 1.6% as of 2020.

pay a 18.2% lower top tax rate

Syria has a top tax rate of 22.0% as of 2016. In Ukraine, the top tax rate is 18.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 43.3% less likely to die during childbirth

In Syria, approximately 30.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Ukraine, 17.0 women do as of 2020.

be 15.7% more likely to be literate

In Syria, the literacy rate is 86.4% as of 2015. In Ukraine, it is 100.0% as of 2021.

be 53.8% less likely to die during infancy

In Syria, approximately 15.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Ukraine, on the other hand, 7.3 children do as of 2022.

have 55.8% fewer children

In Syria, there are approximately 21.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Ukraine, there are 9.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2020.

Basic Needs

be 12.4% more likely to have access to electricity

In Syria, approximately 89% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In Ukraine, 100% of the population do as of 2022.

be 2.0 times more likely to have internet access

In Syria, approximately 46.6% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Ukraine, about 94.5% do as of 2022.

Geography

see 14.4 times more coastline

Syria has a total of 193 km of coastline. In Ukraine, that number is 2,782 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Syria, Ministry of Revenue and Duties of Ukraine.

Ukraine: At a glance

Ukraine is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 579,330 sq km. Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine was able to achieve a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and forced to endure a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for some 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although final independence for Ukraine was achieved in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties. A peaceful mass protest "Orange Revolution" in the closing months of 2004 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in parliamentary (Rada) elections and to become prime minister in August of 2006, and to be elected president in February 2010. In October 2012, Ukraine held Rada elections, widely criticized by Western observers as flawed due to use of government resources to favor ruling party candidates, interference with media access, and harassment of opposition candidates. President YANUKOVYCH's backtracking on a trade and cooperation agreement with the EU in November 2013 - in favor of closer economic ties with Russia - led to a three-month protest occupation of Kyiv's central square. The government's eventual use of force to break up the protest camp in February 2014 led to all out pitched battles, scores of deaths, international condemnation, and the president's abrupt departure to Russia. An interim government scheduled new presidential elections for 25 May 2014. On 1 March 2014, one week after the overthrow in Kyiv, Russian President PUTIN ordered the invasion of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula claiming the action was to protect ethnic Russians living there. On 16 March 2014, a "referendum" was held regarding the integration of Crimea into the Russian Federation. The "referendum" was condemned as illegitimate by the Ukrainian Government, the EU, the US, and the UN General Assembly. Russian forces now occupy Crimea and Russian authorities claim it as Russian territory. The Ukrainian Government asserts that Crimea remains part of Ukraine.
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