Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Lesotho, you would:
Health
be 91.8% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Lesotho, 17.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
live 4.2 years longer
In Lesotho, the average life expectancy is 58 years (55 years for men, 60 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.
be 63.1% less likely to be obese
In Lesotho, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 78.6% less likely to die by suicide
Lesotho has a suicide rate of 28.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
see 58.8% less spent on your healthcare
Lesotho spends $386 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 43.0% fewer doctors per person
Lesotho has 2.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 22.6% less access to essential health services
Lesotho scores 53 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
be 80.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Lesotho, 16.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
be 14.3% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Lesotho, 49.7% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.
make 22.3% less money
Lesotho has a GDP per capita of $1,089 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
be 25.9% less likely to die during childbirth
In Lesotho, approximately 478.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, 354.0 women do as of 2023.
have 26.7% more children
In Lesotho, there are approximately 23.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 46.3% less likely to be literate
In Lesotho, the literacy rate is 90.5% as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 38.0% less likely to have access to electricity
In Lesotho, approximately 57% of people have electricity access (85% in urban areas, and 45% 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 51.5% less likely to have internet access
In Lesotho, approximately 51.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 12.8% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Lesotho, approximately 78% of people have access to drinking water (95% in urban areas, and 71% 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 60.4% less on education
Lesotho spends 6.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 62.6% less on healthcare
Lesotho spends 12.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 36.1% less likely to die in a road accident
In Lesotho, road accidents kill 21.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 80.5% less strain on fresh water
Lesotho withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 60.5% less CO2
Lesotho emits 0.4 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2017–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Lesotho vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Lesotho? See an in-depth size comparison.