Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 61.7% less likely to be obese

In Panama, 22.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.7% of people as of 2016.

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

In Panama, 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 18.9 years less

In Panama, the average life expectancy is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 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 52.7% less likely to be unemployed

In Panama, 6.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.2% as of 2023.

make 95.3% less money

Panama has a GDP per capita of $35,800 as of 2023, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $1,700 as of 2023.

be 2.6 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Panama, 21.5% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.

pay a 20.0% higher top tax rate

Panama has a top tax rate of 25.0% as of 2016. In Sierra Leone, the top tax rate is 30.0% as of 2014.

Life

have 77.0% more children

In Panama, there are approximately 17.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 8.9 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Panama, approximately 50.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, 443.0 women do as of 2020.

be 49.2% less likely to be literate

In Panama, the literacy rate is 95.7% as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.

be 4.5 times more likely to die during infancy

In Panama, approximately 16.4 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 69.1% less likely to have access to electricity

In Panama, approximately 95% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 86% 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 81.3% less likely to have internet access

In Panama, approximately 68.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, about 12.7% do as of 2022.

be 24.3% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Panama, approximately 96% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 88% 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 2.3 times more on education

Panama spends 3.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sierra Leone spends 9.1% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

Geography

see 83.9% less coastline

Panama has a total of 2,490 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, General Directorate of Revenues, Panama, 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.
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How big is Sierra Leone compared to Panama? See an in-depth size comparison.

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