Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Barbados, you would:
Health
be 79.2% less likely to be obese
In Barbados, 39.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 40.0% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Barbados, 1.0% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
live 14.4 years less
In Barbados, the average life expectancy is 76 years (74 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024.
see 86.2% less spent on your healthcare
Barbados spends $1,153 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 95.5% fewer doctors per person
Barbados has 29.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 46.8% less access to essential health services
Barbados scores 77 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
be 75.4% more likely to die by suicide
Barbados has a suicide rate of 3.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 51.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Barbados, 6.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
be 2.2 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Barbados, 25.7% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.
make 97.0% less money
Barbados has a GDP per capita of $28,365 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 2.7 times more children
In Barbados, there are approximately 11.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 10.1 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Barbados, approximately 35.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, 354.0 women do as of 2023.
be 6.0 times more likely to die during infancy
In Barbados, approximately 9.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, on the other hand, 54.6 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 64.5% less likely to have access to electricity
In Barbados, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 36% of people on average (56% in urban areas, and 19% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 64.3% less likely to have internet access
In Barbados, approximately 70.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 31.3% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Barbados, approximately 99% of people have access to drinking water as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, 68% of people do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 26.4% less on education
Barbados spends 3.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 12.6% less on healthcare
Barbados spends 5.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 4.1 times more coastline
Barbados has a total of 97 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 70.2% less likely to be murdered
Barbados has a homicide rate of 7.4 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 38.0% more likely to die in a road accident
In Barbados, road accidents kill 10.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 99.4% less strain on fresh water
Barbados withdraws 88% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 93.3% less CO2
Barbados emits 2.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 5.1 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Barbados, air pollution causes 19.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it causes 97.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2016–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Barbados vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Barbados? See an in-depth size comparison.