Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Burundi, you would:

Health

be 50.0% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Burundi, 1.0% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.5% of people as of 2020.

live 8.7 years less

In Burundi, the average life expectancy is 67 years (65 years for men, 70 years for women) as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, that number is 59 years (57 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2022.

be 61.1% more likely to be obese

In Burundi, 5.4% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.7% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 2.3 times more money

Burundi has a GDP per capita of $700 as of 2022, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $1,600 as of 2022.

be 12.1% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Burundi, 64.6% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.

be 3.6 times more likely to be unemployed

In Burundi, 0.9% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.3% as of 2022.

Life

be 34.9% less likely to be literate

In Burundi, the literacy rate is 74.7% as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.

be 94.0% more likely to die during infancy

In Burundi, approximately 37.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, on the other hand, 73.4 children do as of 2022.

have 11.0% fewer children

In Burundi, there are approximately 34.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 2.7 times more likely to have access to electricity

In Burundi, approximately 10% of people have electricity access (63% in urban areas, and 2% in rural areas) as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, that number is 27% of people on average (57% in urban areas, and 5% in rural areas) as of 2021.

be 2.2 times more likely to have internet access

In Burundi, approximately 5.8% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, about 12.7% do as of 2022.

be 10.8% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Burundi, approximately 82% of people have improved drinking water access (99% in urban areas, and 79% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, that number is 73% of people on average (92% in urban areas, and 58% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 82.0% more on education

Burundi spends 5.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sierra Leone spends 9.1% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

spend 35.4% more on healthcare

Burundi spends 6.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.8% of GDP as of 2020.

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

Sierra Leone: At a glance

Sierra Leone is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 71,620 sq km. Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about a third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 and 2012 national elections, and over the past year have deployed over 850 peacekeepers in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). As of January 2014, Sierra Leone also fielded 122 staff for five UN peacekeeping missions. In March 2014, the closure of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) marked the end of more than 15 years of peacekeeping and political operations in Sierra Leone. The government's priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption.
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How big is Sierra Leone compared to Burundi? See an in-depth size comparison.

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