Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Lesotho, you would:
Health
be 92.9% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Lesotho, 21.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.5% of people as of 2020.
be 47.6% less likely to be obese
In Lesotho, 16.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.7% of people as of 2016.
live 0.8 years less
In Lesotho, the average life expectancy is 60 years (58 years for men, 62 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 80.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Lesotho, 16.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.2% as of 2023.
make 32.0% less money
Lesotho has a GDP per capita of $2,500 as of 2023, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $1,700 as of 2023.
be 14.3% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Lesotho, 49.7% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.
Life
be 21.7% less likely to die during childbirth
In Lesotho, approximately 566.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, 443.0 women do as of 2020.
have 34.5% more children
In Lesotho, there are approximately 22.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 40.0% less likely to be literate
In Lesotho, the literacy rate is 81.0% as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 51.6% more likely to die during infancy
In Lesotho, approximately 48.4 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.
Basic Needs
be 41.2% less likely to have access to electricity
In Lesotho, approximately 50% of people have electricity access (81% in urban areas, and 38% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, that number is 29% of people on average (57% in urban areas, and 5% in rural areas) as of 2022.
be 73.5% less likely to have internet access
In Lesotho, approximately 48.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, about 12.7% do as of 2022.
be 11.9% less likely to have access to improved drinking water
In Lesotho, approximately 83% of people have improved drinking water access (96% in urban areas, and 77% 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 25.4% less on healthcare
Lesotho spends 11.8% 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.
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Lesotho? See an in-depth size comparison.