Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Hong Kong, you would:
Health
live 23.4 years less
In Hong Kong, the average life expectancy is 85 years (83 years for men, 88 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.
Economy
be 12.5% more likely to be unemployed
In Hong Kong, 2.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
be 2.9 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Hong Kong, 19.9% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.
make 98.5% less money
Hong Kong has a GDP per capita of $56,983 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 6.1 times more children
In Hong Kong, there are approximately 4.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 21.4 times more likely to die during infancy
In Hong Kong, approximately 2.5 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. 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 Hong Kong, 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 73.8% less likely to have internet access
In Hong Kong, approximately 95.8% 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 Hong Kong, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, 68% of people do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 31.2% less on education
Hong Kong spends 3.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 45.2% less coastline
Hong Kong has a total of 733 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 5.8 times more likely to be murdered
Hong Kong has a homicide rate of 0.4 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
Environment
emit 96.3% less CO2
Hong Kong emits 4.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), The World Factbook (2016–2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Hong Kong vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Hong Kong? See an in-depth size comparison.