Quality of life comparison
If you lived in United States instead of Sierra Leone, you would:
Health
live 21.8 years longer
In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 59 years (57 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2022. In United States, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022.
be 4.2 times more likely to be obese
In Sierra Leone, 8.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In United States, that number is 36.2% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 37.6 times more money
Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $1,600 as of 2020, while in United States, the GDP per capita is $60,200 as of 2020.
be 74.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Sierra Leone, 15.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In United States, that number is 3.9% as of 2018.
be 73.4% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Sierra Leone, 56.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In United States, however, that number is 15.1% as of 2010.
pay a 32.0% higher top tax rate
Sierra Leone has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2014. In United States, the top tax rate is 39.6% as of 2016.
Life
be 98.3% less likely to die during childbirth
In Sierra Leone, approximately 1120.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In United States, 19.0 women do as of 2017.
be 93.0% 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 United States, on the other hand, 5.2 children do as of 2022.
have 61.9% fewer children
In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 32.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In United States, there are 12.3 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 United States, 100% of the population do as of 2020.
be 5.1 times more likely to have internet access
In Sierra Leone, approximately 18.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In United States, about 91.0% do as of 2020.
be 37.2% 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 United States, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 46.2% less on education
Sierra Leone spends 9.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. United States spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2014.
spend 90.9% more on healthcare
Sierra Leone spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In United States, that number is 16.8% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 49.6 times more coastline
Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In United States, that number is 19,924 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Internal Revenue Service, National Revenue Authority.
United States: At a glance
How big is United States compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.