Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Sierra Leone, you would:

Health

be 93.3% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Sierra Leone, 1.5% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2020.

live 20.8 years longer

In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 59 years (57 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2022. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 80 years (78 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2022.

be 3.6 times more likely to be obese

In Sierra Leone, 8.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 31.7% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 46.8 times more money

Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $1,600 as of 2022, while in United Arab Emirates, the GDP per capita is $74,900 as of 2022.

be 65.7% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Sierra Leone, 56.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In United Arab Emirates, however, that number is 19.5% as of 2003.

Life

be 98.0% less likely to die during childbirth

In Sierra Leone, approximately 443.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In United Arab Emirates, 9.0 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 United Arab Emirates, it is 98.1% as of 2021.

be 93.0% 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 United Arab Emirates, on the other hand, 5.1 children do as of 2022.

have 65.3% fewer children

In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In United Arab Emirates, there are 10.7 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 United Arab Emirates, 100% of the population do as of 2021.

be 7.9 times more likely to have internet access

In Sierra Leone, approximately 12.7% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In United Arab Emirates, about 100.0% 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 as of 2020. In United Arab Emirates, 100% of people do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 57.1% less on education

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

spend 37.5% less on healthcare

Sierra Leone spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 5.5% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 3.3 times more coastline

Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 1,318 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

United Arab Emirates: At a glance

United Arab Emirates is a sovereign country in Middle East, with a total land area of approximately 83,600 sq km. The Trucial States of the Persian Gulf coast granted the UK control of their defense and foreign affairs in 19th century treaties. In 1971, six of these states - Abu Dhabi, 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah, Dubayy, and Umm al Qaywayn - merged to form the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They were joined in 1972 by Ra's al Khaymah. The UAE's per capita GDP is on par with those of leading West European nations. Its high oil revenues and its moderate foreign policy stance have allowed the UAE to play a vital role in the affairs of the region. For more than three decades, oil and global finance drove the UAE's economy. However, in 2008-09, the confluence of falling oil prices, collapsing real estate prices, and the international banking crisis hit the UAE especially hard. The UAE has essentially avoided the "Arab Spring" unrest seen elsewhere in the Middle East, though in March 2011, political activists and intellectuals signed a petition calling for greater public participation in governance that was widely circulated on the Internet. In an effort to stem potential further unrest, the government announced a multi-year, $1.6-billion infrastructure investment plan for the poorer northern emirates and aggressively pursued advocates of political reform.
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How big is United Arab Emirates compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.

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