Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Gambia instead of Sierra Leone, you would:
Health
live 8.8 years longer
In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 59 years (57 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2022. In Gambia, that number is 68 years (66 years for men, 69 years for women) as of 2022.
be 20.0% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Sierra Leone, 1.5% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Gambia, that number is 1.8% of people as of 2020.
be 18.4% more likely to be obese
In Sierra Leone, 8.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Gambia, that number is 10.3% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 31.2% more money
Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $1,600 as of 2022, while in Gambia, the GDP per capita is $2,100 as of 2022.
be 30.6% more likely to be unemployed
In Sierra Leone, 3.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Gambia, that number is 4.3% as of 2022.
Life
be 19.5% more likely to be literate
In Sierra Leone, the literacy rate is 48.6% as of 2022. In Gambia, it is 58.1% as of 2021.
be 49.3% 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 Gambia, on the other hand, 37.2 children do as of 2022.
have 11.4% fewer children
In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Gambia, there are 27.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 2.3 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Sierra Leone, approximately 27% of people have electricity access (57% in urban areas, and 5% in rural areas) as of 2021. In Gambia, that number is 64% of people on average (82% in urban areas, and 31% in rural areas) as of 2021.
be 2.6 times more likely to have internet access
In Sierra Leone, approximately 12.7% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Gambia, about 33.0% do as of 2021.
be 22.9% 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 Gambia, that number is 90% of people on average (92% in urban areas, and 86% in rural areas) as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 69.2% less on education
Sierra Leone spends 9.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Gambia spends 2.8% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 70.5% less on healthcare
Sierra Leone spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Gambia, that number is 2.6% of GDP as of 2020.
Geography
see 80.1% less coastline
Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Gambia, that number is 80 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
Gambia: At a glance
How big is Gambia compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.