Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Belize, you would:
Health
be 81.1% less likely to be obese
In Belize, 43.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 16.7% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Belize, 1.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
live 11.8 years less
In Belize, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 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 72.3% less spent on your healthcare
Belize spends $573 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 39.7% less access to essential health services
Belize scores 68 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
be 46.9% more likely to die by suicide
Belize has a suicide rate of 4.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 64.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Belize, 8.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
make 89.2% less money
Belize has a GDP per capita of $7,865 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 66.8% more children
In Belize, there are approximately 18.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 5.3 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Belize, approximately 67.0 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 44.7% less likely to be literate
In Belize, the literacy rate is 87.9% as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 5.1 times more likely to die during infancy
In Belize, approximately 10.8 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 64.4% less likely to have access to electricity
In Belize, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 99% 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 68.6% less likely to have internet access
In Belize, approximately 80.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 28.2% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Belize, approximately 95% of people have access to drinking water (99% in urban areas, and 91% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 68% of people on average (82% in urban areas, and 57% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 43.3% less on education
Belize spends 4.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 13.7% more on healthcare
Belize spends 4.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 92.1% less likely to be murdered
Belize has a homicide rate of 28.1 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 21.1% less likely to die in a road accident
In Belize, road accidents kill 17.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 60.3% less strain on fresh water
Belize withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 81.7% less CO2
Belize emits 0.9 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 4.6 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Belize, air pollution causes 21.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it causes 97.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Belize vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Belize? See an in-depth size comparison.