Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Sierra Leone, you would:
Health
be 73.3% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Sierra Leone, 1.5% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Costa Rica, that number is 0.4% of people as of 2020.
live 20.9 years longer
In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 59 years (57 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2022. In Costa Rica, that number is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022.
be 3.0 times more likely to be obese
In Sierra Leone, 8.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Costa Rica, that number is 25.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 13.8 times more money
Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $1,600 as of 2022, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $22,100 as of 2022.
be 55.1% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Sierra Leone, 56.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Costa Rica, however, that number is 25.5% as of 2022.
pay a 50.0% lower top tax rate
Sierra Leone has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2014. In Costa Rica, the top tax rate is 15.0% as of 2016.
be 3.5 times more likely to be unemployed
In Sierra Leone, 3.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Costa Rica, that number is 11.3% as of 2022.
Life
be 95.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Sierra Leone, approximately 443.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Costa Rica, 22.0 women do as of 2020.
be 2.0 times more likely to be literate
In Sierra Leone, the literacy rate is 48.6% as of 2022. In Costa Rica, it is 98.0% as of 2021.
be 88.6% 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 Costa Rica, on the other hand, 8.4 children do as of 2022.
have 64.9% fewer children
In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Costa Rica, there are 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 3.6 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Sierra Leone, approximately 27% of the population has electricity access as of 2021. In Costa Rica, 100% of the population do as of 2021.
be 6.5 times more likely to have internet access
In Sierra Leone, approximately 12.7% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Costa Rica, about 83.0% do as of 2021.
be 37.4% 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 Costa Rica, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 26.4% less on education
Sierra Leone spends 9.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Costa Rica spends 6.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 10.2% less on healthcare
Sierra Leone spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Costa Rica, that number is 7.9% of GDP as of 2020.
Geography
see 3.2 times more coastline
Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, National Revenue Authority, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.