Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Guyana, you would:
Health
be 12.5% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Guyana, 1.6% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
be 72.8% less likely to be obese
In Guyana, 30.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 75.2% less likely to die by suicide
Guyana has a suicide rate of 24.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 8.4 years less
In Guyana, the average life expectancy is 70 years (67 years for men, 74 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 88.1% less spent on your healthcare
Guyana spends $1,331 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 90.3% fewer doctors per person
Guyana has 13.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2020. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 46.1% less access to essential health services
Guyana scores 76 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
be 73.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Guyana, 12.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
make 97.4% less money
Guyana has a GDP per capita of $32,414 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 51.5% more children
In Guyana, there are approximately 19.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 4.7 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Guyana, approximately 75.0 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 45.3% less likely to be literate
In Guyana, the literacy rate is 88.8% as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 2.4 times more likely to die during infancy
In Guyana, approximately 23.2 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 64.1% less likely to have access to electricity
In Guyana, approximately 99% of people have electricity access (99% in urban areas, and 92% 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 69.8% less likely to have internet access
In Guyana, approximately 83.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 28.8% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Guyana, approximately 96% of people have access to drinking water (95% in urban areas, and 96% 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 91.1% more on healthcare
Guyana spends 2.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 12.4% less coastline
Guyana has a total of 459 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 88.4% less likely to be murdered
Guyana has a homicide rate of 19.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
Infrastructure
live with 84.8% less strain on fresh water
Guyana withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 96.3% less CO2
Guyana emits 4.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 86.5% more likely to die from air pollution
In Guyana, air pollution causes 52.0 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: Guyana vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Guyana? See an in-depth size comparison.