Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of France, you would:
Health
be 26.8% less likely to be obese
In France, 11.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 63.0% less likely to die by suicide
France has a suicide rate of 16.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 4.7 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In France, 0.3% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
live 21.0 years less
In France, the average life expectancy is 83 years (80 years for men, 86 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 97.7% less spent on your healthcare
France spends $6,868 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 95.9% fewer doctors per person
France has 32.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 51.8% less access to essential health services
France scores 85 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
be 58.2% less likely to be unemployed
In France, 7.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
be 3.6 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In France, 15.6% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.
make 98.3% less money
France has a GDP per capita of $48,986 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 3.1 times more children
In France, there are approximately 9.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 50.6 times more likely to die during childbirth
In France, approximately 7.0 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 16.1 times more likely to die during infancy
In France, approximately 3.4 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 France, 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 71.7% less likely to have internet access
In France, approximately 88.7% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 31.9% less likely to have access to drinking water
In France, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 100% 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 50.8% less on education
France spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 59.1% less on healthcare
France spends 11.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 91.7% less coastline
France has a total of 4,853 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 65.7% more likely to be murdered
France has a homicide rate of 1.3 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 France, 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 97.7% less strain on fresh water
France withdraws 21% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 95.8% less CO2
France emits 4.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 9.7 times more likely to die from air pollution
In France, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it causes 97.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: France vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to France? See an in-depth size comparison.