Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Malawi, you would:
Health
be 81.5% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Malawi, 8.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.5% of people as of 2020.
live 13.7 years less
In Malawi, the average life expectancy is 72 years (69 years for men, 76 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 50.0% more likely to be obese
In Malawi, 5.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
be 37.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Malawi, 5.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.2% as of 2023.
be 12.0% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Malawi, 50.7% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.
Life
have 15.8% more children
In Malawi, there are approximately 26.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 16.3% more likely to die during childbirth
In Malawi, approximately 381.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, 443.0 women do as of 2020.
be 27.8% less likely to be literate
In Malawi, the literacy rate is 67.3% as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 2.2 times more likely to die during infancy
In Malawi, approximately 33.4 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 2.1 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Malawi, approximately 14% of people have electricity access (54% in urban areas, and 6% 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 47.1% less likely to have internet access
In Malawi, approximately 24.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, about 12.7% do as of 2022.
be 20.9% less likely to have access to improved drinking water
In Malawi, approximately 92% of people have improved drinking water access (97% in urban areas, and 91% 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 3.1 times more on education
Malawi spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sierra Leone spends 9.1% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 63.0% more on healthcare
Malawi spends 5.4% 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 Malawi? See an in-depth size comparison.