Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 21.8 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 States, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022.

be 4.2 times more likely to be obese

In Sierra Leone, 8.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In United States, that number is 36.2% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 43.3 times more money

Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $1,700 as of 2023, while in United States, the GDP per capita is $73,600 as of 2023.

be 73.4% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Sierra Leone, 56.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In United States, however, that number is 15.1% as of 2010.

be 14.5% more likely to be unemployed

In Sierra Leone, 3.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In United States, that number is 3.6% as of 2023.

pay a 32.0% higher top tax rate

Sierra Leone has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2014. In United States, the top tax rate is 39.6% as of 2016.

Life

be 95.3% 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 States, 21.0 women do as of 2020.

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 States, on the other hand, 5.2 children do as of 2022.

have 60.4% fewer children

In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In United States, there are 12.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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 United States, 100% of the population do as of 2022.

be 7.2 times more likely to have internet access

In Sierra Leone, approximately 12.7% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In United States, about 92.0% do as of 2021.

be 37.2% 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 United States, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 33.0% less on education

Sierra Leone spends 9.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. United States spends 6.1% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 2.1 times more on healthcare

Sierra Leone spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In United States, that number is 18.8% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 49.6 times more coastline

Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In United States, that number is 19,924 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Internal Revenue Service, National Revenue Authority.

United States: At a glance

United States (sometimes abbreviated US or USA) is a sovereign country in North America, with a total land area of approximately 9,147,593 sq km. Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), in which a northern Union of states defeated a secessionist Confederacy of 11 southern slave states, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, an economic downturn during which about a quarter of the labor force lost its jobs. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. Since the end of World War II, the economy has achieved relatively steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.
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How big is United States compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.

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