Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Malaysia, you would:
Health
be 64.9% less likely to be obese
In Malaysia, 23.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 4.7 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Malaysia, 0.3% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
live 14.9 years less
In Malaysia, the average life expectancy is 77 years (74 years for men, 80 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 89.0% less spent on your healthcare
Malaysia spends $1,441 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 94.3% fewer doctors per person
Malaysia has 23.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 46.1% less access to essential health services
Malaysia scores 76 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
be 16.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Malaysia, 3.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
make 93.6% less money
Malaysia has a GDP per capita of $13,125 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 2.4 times more children
In Malaysia, there are approximately 12.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 13.6 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Malaysia, approximately 26.0 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 49.3% less likely to be literate
In Malaysia, the literacy rate is 95.8% as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 7.8 times more likely to die during infancy
In Malaysia, approximately 7.0 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 Malaysia, 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 74.4% less likely to have internet access
In Malaysia, approximately 98.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 30.5% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Malaysia, approximately 98% of people have access to drinking water (99% in urban areas, and 95% 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 25.4% less on education
Malaysia spends 3.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 19.2% more on healthcare
Malaysia spends 4.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 91.4% less coastline
Malaysia has a total of 4,675 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 3.0 times more likely to be murdered
Malaysia has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
Infrastructure
live with 85.5% less strain on fresh water
Malaysia withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 98.0% less CO2
Malaysia emits 8.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 54.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Malaysia, air pollution causes 63.0 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 (2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Malaysia vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Malaysia? See an in-depth size comparison.