Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Namibia, you would:
Health
be 84.4% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Namibia, 9.0% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
be 55.1% less likely to be obese
In Namibia, 18.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 28.5% less likely to die by suicide
Namibia has a suicide rate of 8.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 5.6 years less
In Namibia, the average life expectancy is 68 years (63 years for men, 71 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 85.1% less spent on your healthcare
Namibia spends $1,068 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 75.8% fewer doctors per person
Namibia has 5.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 34.9% less access to essential health services
Namibia scores 63 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
be 83.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Namibia, 19.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
be 3.3 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Namibia, 17.4% live below the poverty line as of 2015. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.
make 82.6% less money
Namibia has a GDP per capita of $4,876 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 16.3% more children
In Namibia, there are approximately 25.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 2.5 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Namibia, approximately 139.0 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 44.5% less likely to be literate
In Namibia, the literacy rate is 87.6% as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 50.0% more likely to die during infancy
In Namibia, approximately 36.4 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 37.4% less likely to have access to electricity
In Namibia, approximately 57% of people have electricity access (75% in urban areas, and 34% 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 61.3% less likely to have internet access
In Namibia, approximately 64.9% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 21.3% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Namibia, approximately 87% of people have access to drinking water (96% in urban areas, and 74% 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 71.1% less on education
Namibia spends 9.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 50.2% less on healthcare
Namibia spends 9.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 74.4% less coastline
Namibia has a total of 1,572 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 80.2% less likely to be murdered
Namibia has a homicide rate of 11.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 37.3% less likely to die in a road accident
In Namibia, road accidents kill 22.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 61.3% more strain on fresh water
Namibia withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 85.8% less CO2
Namibia emits 1.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 2.3 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Namibia, air pollution causes 43.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it causes 97.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2015–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Namibia vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Namibia? See an in-depth size comparison.