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

Health

be 37.3% less likely to be obese

In Bhutan, 13.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 7.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Bhutan, 0.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

live 11.3 years less

In Bhutan, the average life expectancy is 73 years (72 years for men, 75 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.

View global rankings →

see 76.5% less spent on your healthcare

Bhutan spends $677 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 75.8% fewer doctors per person

Bhutan has 5.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.

View global rankings →

have 31.7% less access to essential health services

Bhutan scores 60 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

be 25.3% more likely to die by suicide

Bhutan has a suicide rate of 4.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

make 81.2% less money

Bhutan has a GDP per capita of $4,493 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

have 2.4 times more children

In Bhutan, there are approximately 12.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 7.5 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Bhutan, approximately 47.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, 354.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 25.1% less likely to be literate

In Bhutan, the literacy rate is 64.9% as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

be 4.0 times more likely to die during infancy

In Bhutan, approximately 13.7 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.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 64.5% less likely to have access to electricity

In Bhutan, 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.

View global rankings →

be 72.5% less likely to have internet access

In Bhutan, approximately 91.3% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 31.6% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Bhutan, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 99% 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.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 55.2% less on education

Bhutan spends 5.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 10.1% less likely to be murdered

Bhutan has a homicide rate of 2.5 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.

View global rankings →

be 13.1% more likely to die in a road accident

In Bhutan, road accidents kill 12.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

live with 64.5% less strain on fresh water

Bhutan withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

Environment

emit 91.5% less CO2

Bhutan emits 2.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 70.2% more likely to die from air pollution

In Bhutan, air pollution causes 57.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it causes 97.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →


Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2022). How we calculate this

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.
Read more

How big is Sierra Leone compared to Bhutan? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Sierra Leone or Bhutan. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.