Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

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

In Cameroon, 3.0% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.5% of people as of 2020.

be 23.7% less likely to be obese

In Cameroon, 11.4% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.7% of people as of 2016.

live 4.5 years less

In Cameroon, the average life expectancy is 63 years (61 years for men, 65 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.

Economy

be 13.5% less likely to be unemployed

In Cameroon, 3.8% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.3% as of 2022.

pay a 14.3% lower top tax rate

Cameroon has a top tax rate of 35.0% as of 2016. In Sierra Leone, the top tax rate is 30.0% as of 2014.

make 56.8% less money

Cameroon has a GDP per capita of $3,700 as of 2022, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $1,600 as of 2022.

be 51.5% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Cameroon, 37.5% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.

Life

be 37.0% less likely to be literate

In Cameroon, the literacy rate is 77.1% as of 2018. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.

be 50.7% more likely to die during infancy

In Cameroon, approximately 48.7 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 11.2% fewer children

In Cameroon, there are approximately 34.7 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 58.1% less likely to have access to electricity

In Cameroon, approximately 65% of people have electricity access (95% in urban areas, and 25% 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 72.4% less likely to have internet access

In Cameroon, approximately 46.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, about 12.7% do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 2.8 times more on education

Cameroon spends 3.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sierra Leone spends 9.1% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

spend 2.3 times more on healthcare

Cameroon spends 3.8% 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, Ministry of Finance, National Revenue Authority.

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.
Read more

How big is Sierra Leone compared to Cameroon? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Sierra Leone.or Cameroon It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.