Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Bulgaria, you would:
Health
be 59.7% less likely to be obese
In Bulgaria, 20.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 35.4% less likely to die by suicide
Bulgaria has a suicide rate of 9.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 14.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Bulgaria, 0.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
live 13.8 years less
In Bulgaria, the average life expectancy is 76 years (72 years for men, 80 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 94.6% less spent on your healthcare
Bulgaria spends $2,970 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 96.9% fewer doctors per person
Bulgaria has 43.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 43.8% less access to essential health services
Bulgaria scores 73 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
be 11.0% less likely to be unemployed
In Bulgaria, 3.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
make 95.8% less money
Bulgaria has a GDP per capita of $20,328 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 3.6 times more children
In Bulgaria, there are approximately 8.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 59.0 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Bulgaria, approximately 6.0 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 50.6% less likely to be literate
In Bulgaria, the literacy rate is 98.4% as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 11.9 times more likely to die during infancy
In Bulgaria, approximately 4.6 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 Bulgaria, 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 69.6% less likely to have internet access
In Bulgaria, approximately 82.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 31.4% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Bulgaria, approximately 99% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 98% 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 41.8% less on education
Bulgaria spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 40.4% less on healthcare
Bulgaria spends 7.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 13.6% more coastline
Bulgaria has a total of 354 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 2.0 times more likely to be murdered
Bulgaria has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 64.3% more likely to die in a road accident
In Bulgaria, road accidents kill 8.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 98.8% less strain on fresh water
Bulgaria withdraws 40% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 96.8% less CO2
Bulgaria emits 5.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 54.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Bulgaria, air pollution causes 63.0 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), The World Factbook (2021–2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Bulgaria vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Bulgaria? See an in-depth size comparison.