Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Zambia, you would:

Health

be 86.5% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Zambia, 11.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.5% of people as of 2020.

live 7.5 years less

In Zambia, the average life expectancy is 66 years (65 years for men, 68 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 46.4% less likely to be unemployed

In Zambia, 5.9% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.2% as of 2023.

pay a 14.3% lower top tax rate

Zambia has a top tax rate of 35.0% as of 2016. In Sierra Leone, the top tax rate is 30.0% as of 2014.

make 54.1% less money

Zambia has a GDP per capita of $3,700 as of 2023, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $1,700 as of 2023.

Life

be 3.3 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Zambia, approximately 135.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, 443.0 women do as of 2020.

be 43.9% less likely to be literate

In Zambia, the literacy rate is 86.7% as of 2018. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.

be 97.8% more likely to die during infancy

In Zambia, approximately 37.1 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 38.5% less likely to have access to electricity

In Zambia, approximately 48% of people have electricity access (86% in urban areas, and 14% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, that number is 29% of people on average (57% in urban areas, and 5% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 39.5% less likely to have internet access

In Zambia, approximately 21.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, about 12.7% do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 2.5 times more on education

Zambia spends 3.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sierra Leone spends 9.1% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

spend 57.1% more on healthcare

Zambia spends 5.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.8% of GDP as of 2020.

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

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