Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Latvia, you would:
Health
be 63.3% less likely to be obese
In Latvia, 22.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 59.6% less likely to die by suicide
Latvia has a suicide rate of 15.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 2.8 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Latvia, 0.5% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
live 14.5 years less
In Latvia, the average life expectancy is 76 years (72 years for men, 82 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 94.8% less spent on your healthcare
Latvia spends $3,034 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 96.1% fewer doctors per person
Latvia has 34.0 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 45.3% less access to essential health services
Latvia scores 75 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
be 52.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Latvia, 6.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
make 96.8% less money
Latvia has a GDP per capita of $26,312 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 4.4 times more children
In Latvia, there are approximately 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 18.6 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Latvia, approximately 19.0 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 51.4% less likely to be literate
In Latvia, the literacy rate is 99.9% as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 24.8 times more likely to die during infancy
In Latvia, approximately 2.2 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 64.5% less likely to have access to electricity
In Latvia, 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 72.9% less likely to have internet access
In Latvia, approximately 92.7% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 31.1% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Latvia, approximately 99% of people have access to drinking water (99% in urban areas, and 99% 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 39.4% less on education
Latvia spends 4.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 35.2% less on healthcare
Latvia spends 7.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 19.3% less coastline
Latvia has a total of 498 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 11.2% less likely to be murdered
Latvia has a homicide rate of 2.5 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 40.8% more likely to die in a road accident
In Latvia, road accidents kill 9.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 51.0% less strain on fresh water
Latvia withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 95.3% less CO2
Latvia emits 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 2.4 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Latvia, air pollution causes 40.0 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: Latvia vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Latvia? See an in-depth size comparison.