Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of El Salvador, you would:
Health
be 74.5% less likely to be obese
In El Salvador, 32.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 19.5% less likely to die by suicide
El Salvador has a suicide rate of 7.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 3.5 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In El Salvador, 0.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
live 10.3 years less
In El Salvador, the average life expectancy is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 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 86.5% less spent on your healthcare
El Salvador spends $1,176 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 91.7% fewer doctors per person
El Salvador has 16.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 47.4% less access to essential health services
El Salvador scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
make 85.3% less money
El Salvador has a GDP per capita of $5,767 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 93.0% more children
In El Salvador, there are approximately 15.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 9.1 times more likely to die during childbirth
In El Salvador, approximately 39.0 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 45.9% less likely to be literate
In El Salvador, the literacy rate is 89.8% as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 6.2 times more likely to die during infancy
In El Salvador, approximately 8.8 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 63.9% less likely to have access to electricity
In El Salvador, approximately 98% of people have electricity access (99% 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 62.2% less likely to have internet access
In El Salvador, approximately 66.5% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 25.7% less likely to have access to drinking water
In El Salvador, approximately 92% of people have access to drinking water (95% in urban areas, and 80% 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 21.1% less on education
El Salvador spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 49.2% less on healthcare
El Salvador spends 9.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 30.9% more coastline
El Salvador has a total of 307 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 71.9% less likely to be murdered
El Salvador has a homicide rate of 7.9 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 35.8% less likely to die in a road accident
In El Salvador, road accidents kill 21.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 95.9% less strain on fresh water
El Salvador withdraws 12% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 88.7% less CO2
El Salvador emits 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 3.1 times more likely to die from air pollution
In El Salvador, air pollution causes 31.0 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: El Salvador vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to El Salvador? See an in-depth size comparison.