Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Cabo Verde, you would:
Health
be 51.0% less likely to be obese
In Cabo Verde, 16.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 58.8% less likely to die by suicide
Cabo Verde has a suicide rate of 14.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 55.6% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Cabo Verde, 0.9% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
live 14.3 years less
In Cabo Verde, the average life expectancy is 76 years (73 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 74.2% less spent on your healthcare
Cabo Verde spends $617 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 81.6% fewer doctors per person
Cabo Verde has 7.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 42.3% less access to essential health services
Cabo Verde scores 71 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
be 73.6% less likely to be unemployed
In Cabo Verde, 11.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
make 85.4% less money
Cabo Verde has a GDP per capita of $5,796 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 2.5 times more children
In Cabo Verde, there are approximately 12.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 8.8 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Cabo Verde, approximately 40.0 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 45.1% less likely to be literate
In Cabo Verde, the literacy rate is 88.5% as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 5.2 times more likely to die during infancy
In Cabo Verde, approximately 10.6 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 64.0% less likely to have access to electricity
In Cabo Verde, approximately 99% of people have electricity access (96% in urban areas, and 97% 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 66.4% less likely to have internet access
In Cabo Verde, approximately 74.7% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 26.2% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Cabo Verde, approximately 92% of people have access to drinking water (95% in urban areas, and 86% 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 39.8% less on education
Cabo Verde spends 4.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 19.3% less on healthcare
Cabo Verde spends 5.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 58.3% less coastline
Cabo Verde has a total of 965 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 68.2% less likely to be murdered
Cabo Verde has a homicide rate of 7.0 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 16.4% less likely to die in a road accident
In Cabo Verde, road accidents kill 16.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 99.2% less strain on fresh water
Cabo Verde withdraws 60% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 86.8% less CO2
Cabo Verde emits 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 64.4% more likely to die from air pollution
In Cabo Verde, air pollution causes 59.0 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 (2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Cabo Verde vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Cabo Verde? See an in-depth size comparison.