Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of South Korea, you would:

Health

live 24.2 years less

In South Korea, the average life expectancy is 83 years (80 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, that number is 59 years (57 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2022.

be 85.1% more likely to be obese

In South Korea, 4.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.7% of people as of 2016.

Economy

pay a 21.1% lower top tax rate

South Korea has a top tax rate of 38.0% as of 2016. In Sierra Leone, the top tax rate is 30.0% as of 2014.

make 96.6% less money

South Korea has a GDP per capita of $50,600 as of 2023, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $1,700 as of 2023.

be 20.1% more likely to be unemployed

In South Korea, 2.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.2% as of 2023.

be 3.9 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In South Korea, 14.4% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.

Life

have 4.5 times more children

In South Korea, there are approximately 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 55.4 times more likely to die during childbirth

In South Korea, approximately 8.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, 443.0 women do as of 2020.

be 50.4% less likely to be literate

In South Korea, the literacy rate is 98.0% as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.

be 25.6 times more likely to die during infancy

In South Korea, approximately 2.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, on the other hand, 73.4 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 70.6% less likely to have access to electricity

In South Korea, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, 29% of the population do as of 2022.

be 87.0% less likely to have internet access

In South Korea, approximately 98.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, about 12.7% do as of 2022.

be 27.1% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In South Korea, approximately 100% of people have improved drinking water access as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, 73% of people do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 93.6% more on education

South Korea spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Sierra Leone spends 9.1% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

Geography

see 83.3% less coastline

South Korea has a total of 2,413 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.

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

Sierra Leone: At a glance

Sierra Leone is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 71,620 sq km. Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about a third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 and 2012 national elections, and over the past year have deployed over 850 peacekeepers in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). As of January 2014, Sierra Leone also fielded 122 staff for five UN peacekeeping missions. In March 2014, the closure of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) marked the end of more than 15 years of peacekeeping and political operations in Sierra Leone. The government's priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption.
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How big is Sierra Leone compared to South Korea? See an in-depth size comparison.

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