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

Health

be 73.3% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Sierra Leone, 1.5% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Malaysia, that number is 0.4% of people as of 2020.

live 17.4 years longer

In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 59 years (57 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2022. In Malaysia, that number is 76 years (74 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2022.

be 79.3% more likely to be obese

In Sierra Leone, 8.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Malaysia, that number is 15.6% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 16.5 times more money

Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $1,600 as of 2020, while in Malaysia, the GDP per capita is $26,400 as of 2020.

be 78.0% less likely to be unemployed

In Sierra Leone, 15.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Malaysia, that number is 3.3% as of 2019.

be 90.1% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Sierra Leone, 56.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Malaysia, however, that number is 5.6% as of 2018.

Life

be 97.4% less likely to die during childbirth

In Sierra Leone, approximately 1120.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Malaysia, 29.0 women do as of 2017.

be 2.2 times more likely to be literate

In Sierra Leone, the literacy rate is 43.2% as of 2018. In Malaysia, it is 95.0% as of 2019.

be 91.0% 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 Malaysia, on the other hand, 6.6 children do as of 2022.

have 54.8% fewer children

In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 32.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Malaysia, there are 14.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 3.8 times more likely to have access to electricity

In Sierra Leone, approximately 26% of the population has electricity access as of 2019. In Malaysia, 100% of the population do as of 2020.

be 5.0 times more likely to have internet access

In Sierra Leone, approximately 18.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Malaysia, about 90.0% do as of 2020.

be 33.9% 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 Malaysia, that number is 98% of people on average (99% in urban areas, and 91% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 54.8% less on education

Sierra Leone spends 9.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Malaysia spends 4.2% of total GDP on education as of 2019.

spend 56.8% less on healthcare

Sierra Leone spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Malaysia, that number is 3.8% of GDP as of 2019.

Geography

see 11.6 times more coastline

Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Malaysia, that number is 4,675 km.


The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Malaysia: At a glance

Malaysia is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 328,657 sq km. During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia; these were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula except Singapore formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore, as well as Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo, joined the Federation. The first several years of the country's independence were marred by a communist insurgency, Indonesian confrontation with Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's withdrawal in 1965. During the 22-year term of Prime Minister MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (1981-2003), Malaysia was successful in diversifying its economy from dependence on exports of raw materials to the development of manufacturing, services, and tourism. Prime Minister Mohamed NAJIB bin Abdul Razak (in office since April 2009) has continued these pro-business policies and has introduced some civil reforms.
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How big is Malaysia compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.

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