Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Taiwan instead of Western Sahara, you would:

Health

live 16.7 years longer

In Western Sahara, the average life expectancy is 64 years (62 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2020. In Taiwan, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 19.1 times more money

Western Sahara has a GDP per capita of $2,500 as of 2007, while in Taiwan, the GDP per capita is $47,800 as of 2019.

Life

be 91.7% less likely to die during infancy

In Western Sahara, approximately 47.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2020. In Taiwan, on the other hand, 4.0 children do as of 2022.

have 73.9% fewer children

In Western Sahara, there are approximately 28.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2020. In Taiwan, there are 7.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Geography

see 41.1% more coastline

Western Sahara has a total of 1,110 km of coastline. In Taiwan, that number is 1,566 km.

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

Taiwan: At a glance

Taiwan is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 32,260 sq km. In 1895, military defeat forced China's Qing Dynasty to cede Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan came under Chinese Nationalist control after World War II. Following the communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government using the 1947 constitution drawn up for all of China. Beginning in the 1950s, the ruling authorities gradually democratized and incorporated the local population within the governing structure. This process expanded rapidly in the 1980s. In 2000, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist (Kuomintang or KMT) to the Democratic Progressive Party. Throughout this period, the island prospered and became one of East Asia's economic "Tigers." The dominant political issues continue to be management of sensitive relations between Taiwan and China - specifically the question of Taiwan's eventual status - as well as domestic priorities for economic reform and growth.
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How big is Taiwan compared to Western Sahara? See an in-depth size comparison.

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