Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of United Kingdom, you would:
Health
be 68.7% less likely to be obese
In United Kingdom, 27.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.7% of people as of 2016.
live 23.2 years less
In United Kingdom, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 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.
Economy
be 12.3% less likely to be unemployed
In United Kingdom, 3.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.3% as of 2022.
pay a 33.3% lower top tax rate
United Kingdom has a top tax rate of 45.0% as of 2016. In Sierra Leone, the top tax rate is 30.0% as of 2014.
make 96.6% less money
United Kingdom has a GDP per capita of $47,600 as of 2022, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $1,600 as of 2022.
be 3.1 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In United Kingdom, 18.6% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.
Life
have 2.9 times more children
In United Kingdom, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 44.3 times more likely to die during childbirth
In United Kingdom, approximately 10.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, 443.0 women do as of 2020.
be 19.2 times more likely to die during infancy
In United Kingdom, approximately 3.8 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 72.6% less likely to have access to electricity
In United Kingdom, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, 27% of the population do as of 2021.
be 86.9% less likely to have internet access
In United Kingdom, approximately 97.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, about 12.7% do as of 2022.
be 27.2% less likely to have access to improved drinking water
In United Kingdom, approximately 100% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, that number is 73% of people on average (92% in urban areas, and 58% in rural areas) as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 26.7% less on healthcare
United Kingdom spends 12.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.8% of GDP as of 2020.
spend 65.5% more on education
United Kingdom spends 5.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sierra Leone spends 9.1% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
Geography
see 96.8% less coastline
United Kingdom has a total of 12,429 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 Revenue Authority, HM Revenue & Customs.
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to United Kingdom? See an in-depth size comparison.