Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 76.0% less likely to be obese

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

live 21.8 years less

In United States, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 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 12.7% less likely to be unemployed

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

pay a 24.2% lower top tax rate

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

make 97.7% less money

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

be 3.8 times more likely to live below the poverty line

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

Life

have 2.5 times more children

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

be 21.1 times more likely to die during childbirth

In United States, approximately 21.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, 443.0 women do as of 2020.

be 14.2 times more likely to die during infancy

In United States, approximately 5.2 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 United States, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, 29% of the population do as of 2022.

be 86.2% less likely to have internet access

In United States, approximately 92.0% 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 United States, 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 53.2% less on healthcare

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

spend 49.2% more on education

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

Geography

see 98.0% less coastline

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

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Internal Revenue Service, 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 United States? See an in-depth size comparison.

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