Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Iowa, you would:

Health

live 18.7 years less

In Iowa, the average life expectancy is 78 years (76 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, that number is 59 years (57 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2022.

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Economy

make 97.3% less money

Iowa has a GDP per capita of $63,747 as of 2024, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $1,700 as of 2023.

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Basic Needs

be 85.6% less likely to have internet access

In Iowa, approximately 87.9% of the population has internet access as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, about 12.7% do as of 2022.

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The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: OECD Regional Demography, Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey), The World Factbook.

Compare further: Iowa vs. Sierra Leone

Cost of Living Comparison · 6 categories - 2026 data
Sierra Leone is 27.6% cheaper than Iowa
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Size Comparison · See true size
Iowa is about 2 times bigger than Sierra Leone.
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Sierra Leone: At a glance

Sierra Leone is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 71,620 sq km. Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about a third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 and 2012 national elections, and over the past year have deployed over 850 peacekeepers in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). As of January 2014, Sierra Leone also fielded 122 staff for five UN peacekeeping missions. In March 2014, the closure of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) marked the end of more than 15 years of peacekeeping and political operations in Sierra Leone. The government's priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption.
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How big is Sierra Leone compared to Iowa? See an in-depth size comparison.

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