Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Canada instead of Sierra Leone, you would:
Health
live 25.0 years longer
In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 59 years (57 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2022. In Canada, that number is 84 years (82 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022.
be 3.4 times more likely to be obese
In Sierra Leone, 8.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Canada, that number is 29.4% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 32.8 times more money
Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $1,700 as of 2023, while in Canada, the GDP per capita is $55,800 as of 2023.
be 83.5% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Sierra Leone, 56.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Canada, however, that number is 9.4% as of 2008.
be 69.4% more likely to be unemployed
In Sierra Leone, 3.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Canada, that number is 5.4% as of 2023.
pay a 10.0% higher top tax rate
Sierra Leone has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2014. In Canada, the top tax rate is 33.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 97.5% less likely to die during childbirth
In Sierra Leone, approximately 443.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Canada, 11.0 women do as of 2020.
be 94.0% less likely to die during infancy
In Sierra Leone, approximately 73.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Canada, on the other hand, 4.4 children do as of 2022.
have 67.0% fewer children
In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Canada, there are 10.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 3.4 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Sierra Leone, approximately 29% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In Canada, 100% of the population do as of 2022.
be 7.3 times more likely to have internet access
In Sierra Leone, approximately 12.7% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Canada, about 93.0% do as of 2021.
be 36.3% more likely to have access to improved drinking water
In Sierra Leone, approximately 73% of people have improved drinking water access (92% in urban areas, and 58% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Canada, that number is 99% of people on average (99% in urban areas, and 99% in rural areas) as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 42.9% less on education
Sierra Leone spends 9.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Canada spends 5.2% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 46.6% more on healthcare
Sierra Leone spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Canada, that number is 12.9% of GDP as of 2020.
Geography
see 502.7 times more coastline
Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Canada, that number is 202,080 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Canada Revenue Agency, National Revenue Authority.
Canada: At a glance
How big is Canada compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.