Where is it better to live in Saudi Arabia or in Belarus?
To answer the question - which country - Saudi Arabia or Belarus, is more comfortable for living, let’s compare different constituents which make the standard of living:
Would you like to contrast other countries? Fill them in the proper gaps and choose the criteria for comparison:
Perhaps, it’s difficult to argue that it’s better to live in a rich country than in a poor one. As of 2024 year data, the basic indicator of the economic development - GDP by purchasing power parity per capita - was:
● In Saudi Arabia - 61 thousand dollars,
● In Belarus - 32,9 thousand dollars.
Thus, according to the gross production per one person, Saudi Arabia leaves Belarus behind by %.
Let’s compare the data about minimum and average labor level pay in both countries.
● The minimum wage in Saudi Arabia set at 4,000 riyals (approximately US$ 1,070);
● The minimum wage in Belarus set at RUB 626 (approximately 190 US$).
The average gross salary (before the taxes and other mandatory fees) is:
● in Saudi Arabia - 6,928 riyals (about 1850 US$);
● in Belarus - 1,619 BYN (about 800 US$).
Where are the prices lower? up↑
The average GDP gap per capita is narrowed down by the difference in cost of living. According to the statistics of the data base Numbeo, at the beginning of 2025 year, Saudi Arabia is a more expensive country.
The price level in Saudi Arabia for basic goods and services (including food, consumer goods, transport, mobile connection and utility bills) is on average % higher than in Belarus. In other words, at the current exchange rate 1000 dollars in Belarus will have the same purchasing power as dollars in Saudi Arabia.
Where is the crime rate lower? up↑
One can evaluate the general level of criminal situation with the help of “crime rate”. This indicator is calculated by the portal Numbeo, which specializes in rating scores of different life aspects in all the world regions and shows how safe it is to live in the country from a risk of becoming a victim of lawbreakers (the higher the crime rate is, the higher the risk is). As of 2025 year, the crime rate is:
● in Saudi Arabia - 23.9;
● in Belarus - 49.8
***
To estimate the population law-abidingness and law enforcement activity, let’s pay attention to the statics of premeditated murders and to the data about the number of Saudis and Belarusians, being imprisoned.
Yearly out of 100 thousand people, murders kill:
● in Saudi Arabia - 0.80 people;
● in Belarus - 2.33 people
***As of 2023 year, in prisons and criminal camps the number of inmates is:
● in Saudi Arabia - 68.1 thousand, or 207 prisoners per 100,000 people;
● in Belarus - 32.6 thousand, or 345 prisoners per 100,000 people
So, if we consider the risks connected with the crimes, the safer country is definitely Saudi Arabia.
Where do people get sick less and live longer? up↑
The life quality is greatly defined by how long the people live. According to the latest data, the life expectancy is:
● in Saudi Arabia - 74.3 years (73.1 years among men and 76.1 years among women)
● in Belarus - 74.8 years (69.7 years among men and 79.6 years among women)
***
To get an idea about the nation’s health and the system of health care, one should look at the spread of dangerous diseases in the country. Let’s compare where people often suffer from such diseases as HIV-infections, tuberculosis and cancer.
According to the data of the World Health Organization (WHO), the spread of HIV-infections is:
● in Saudi Arabia - 11000 of the infected (0.03% of population)
● in Belarus - 28000 of the infected (0.29% of population)
The number of people infected by tuberculosis is:
● in Saudi Arabia - 3400 people (10 per 100,000 people);
● in Belarus - 2800 people (29 per 100,000 people)
The cancer situation is the following:
● in Saudi Arabia per 100 000 people yearly one finds 96.4 new cases of the disease and registers 51.3 lethal cases;
● in Belarus per 100k people every year one fixes 252.8 of newly infected people and 118 lethal cases from cancer.
We should not judge about the quality of medicine only by the number of cancer cases, we should look at the ratio between the number of new cases and the number of cancer deaths (the lower it is, the higher the rate of the cured ones is; consequently, the better the health care system works). In the countries under consideration, we see the following ratio between the newly-infected and the dead:
● in Saudi Arabia - ;
● in Belarus -
***
We can estimate the effectiveness of the health care systems of Saudi Arabia and Belarus on the base of the health care quality index which is estimated by Nubmbeo. The index comprehensively displays how bad or good it is in the country with medical services, taking into consideration hospital facilities, medicines, staff professionalism and treatment availability in terms of cost. As of 2025 year, the index is:
● in Saudi Arabia - 61.8;
● in Belarus - 48.5
Where do people drink and smoke less? up↑
It’s considered that It’s more comfortable to live in that country where people are less exposed to bad habits. The following WHO data show that the situation with the alcohol consumption (pure alcohol) runs as this:
● in Saudi Arabia - 0.2 liters per every person older 15 years old;
● in Belarus - 11.5 liters per every person older 15 years old
***
Addiction to smoking in the countries under consideration is seen like that:
● in Saudi Arabia there are 14,9 % of active smokers among the adults (27,6 % of adult males and 2,1 % of adult females smoke there);
● in Belarus 30,1 % of adult population smoke on a constant base (46,3 % of men and 13,9 % of women)
By unit tobacco consumption per capita the leader is Belarus - here on average every adult smokes 2911 cigarettes per year, against 1341 cigarettes per capita in Saudi Arabia.
Where do people have more reasons to be satisfied with their lives? up↑
Perhaps, it’s very difficult to make up an indicator, with the help of which one can define how much the people of this or that country are satisfied by their lives. Nevertheless, there have been a couple of researches.
There is an overall index, is used by UNO - Human Development Index (HDI). This index considers various reasons why citizens feel comfortable. According to 2022 data, HDI in Saudi Arabia is 0.875; in Belarus - 0.808.
***
To indirectly evaluate how much the people are satisfied with their lives, one can consider the number of suicides. It comes logically that the better the lives of the people are arranged, the fewer reasons for the suicides there are. In the countries under consideration, per 100 000 people there are:
● in Saudi Arabia - 5,4 suicides (7,8 among men and 1,9 among women) ;
● in Belarus - 16,5 suicides (30,1 among men and 5,3 among women)
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