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

Health

be 61.1% less likely to be obese

In Mauritius, 21.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.

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be 41.6% less likely to die by suicide

Mauritius has a suicide rate of 10.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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live 11.8 years less

In Mauritius, the average life expectancy is 74 years (70 years for men, 77 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.

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see 89.9% less spent on your healthcare

Mauritius spends $1,566 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.

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have 90.7% fewer doctors per person

Mauritius has 14.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.

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have 37.9% less access to essential health services

Mauritius scores 66 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 44.0% less likely to be unemployed

In Mauritius, 5.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.

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make 93.5% less money

Mauritius has a GDP per capita of $12,991 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.

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Life

have 2.9 times more children

In Mauritius, there are approximately 10.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 5.4 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Mauritius, approximately 66.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, 354.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 48.5% less likely to be literate

In Mauritius, the literacy rate is 94.3% as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.

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be 4.0 times more likely to die during infancy

In Mauritius, approximately 13.8 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.

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Basic Needs

be 64.5% less likely to have access to electricity

In Mauritius, 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.

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be 65.8% less likely to have internet access

In Mauritius, approximately 73.3% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.

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be 31.9% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Mauritius, 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.

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Expenditures

spend 38.4% less on education

Mauritius spends 4.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 15.3% less on healthcare

Mauritius spends 5.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 2.3 times more coastline

Mauritius has a total of 177 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.

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Safety

be 42.3% more likely to die in a road accident

In Mauritius, road accidents kill 9.7 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 97.8% less strain on fresh water

Mauritius withdraws 23% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.

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Environment

emit 95.2% less CO2

Mauritius emits 3.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 3.5 times more likely to die from air pollution

In Mauritius, air pollution causes 28.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it causes 97.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

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 Mauritius? See an in-depth size comparison.

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