Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Maldives, you would:
Health
be 54.1% less likely to be obese
In Maldives, 17.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 14.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Maldives, 0.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
live 19.3 years less
In Maldives, the average life expectancy is 81 years (80 years for men, 83 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 93.1% less spent on your healthcare
Maldives spends $2,288 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 94.0% fewer doctors per person
Maldives has 22.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2019. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 32.8% less access to essential health services
Maldives scores 61 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
be 4.2 times more likely to die by suicide
Maldives has a suicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 30.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Maldives, 4.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
be 10.5 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Maldives, 5.4% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.
make 94.2% less money
Maldives has a GDP per capita of $14,615 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 2.8 times more children
In Maldives, there are approximately 10.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 11.1 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Maldives, approximately 32.0 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 50.4% less likely to be literate
In Maldives, the literacy rate is 97.9% as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 11.6 times more likely to die during infancy
In Maldives, approximately 4.7 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 Maldives, 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 70.6% less likely to have internet access
In Maldives, approximately 85.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 31.8% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Maldives, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 100% 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 49.3% less on education
Maldives spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 49.0% less on healthcare
Maldives spends 9.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 37.6% less coastline
Maldives has a total of 644 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 3.6 times more likely to be murdered
Maldives has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 10.6 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Maldives, road accidents kill 1.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 96.8% less strain on fresh water
Maldives withdraws 16% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 95.2% less CO2
Maldives emits 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 3.3 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Maldives, air pollution causes 29.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it causes 97.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021–2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Maldives vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Maldives? See an in-depth size comparison.