Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Canada, you would:
Health
be 68.5% less likely to be obese
In Canada, 26.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 35.0% less likely to die by suicide
Canada has a suicide rate of 9.4 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 Canada, 0.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
live 20.1 years less
In Canada, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 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 97.9% less spent on your healthcare
Canada spends $7,646 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 95.2% fewer doctors per person
Canada has 28.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 54.9% less access to essential health services
Canada scores 91 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
be 54.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Canada, 6.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
make 98.5% less money
Canada has a GDP per capita of $55,698 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 3.4 times more children
In Canada, there are approximately 8.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 29.5 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Canada, approximately 12.0 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 11.6 times more likely to die during infancy
In Canada, approximately 4.7 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.
Basic Needs
be 64.5% less likely to have access to electricity
In Canada, 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 73.4% less likely to have internet access
In Canada, approximately 94.3% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 30.7% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Canada, approximately 98% of people have access to drinking water (98% 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 45.9% less on education
Canada spends 4.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 58.3% less on healthcare
Canada spends 11.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 99.8% less coastline
Canada has a total of 202,080 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 12.1% more likely to be murdered
Canada has a homicide rate of 2.0 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 2.9 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Canada, road accidents kill 4.7 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 86.6% less strain on fresh water
Canada withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 98.8% less CO2
Canada emits 14.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 12.1 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Canada, air pollution causes 8.0 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. How we calculate this
Compare further: Canada vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Canada? See an in-depth size comparison.