Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Niger, you would:
Health
see 2.1 times more spent on your healthcare
Niger spends $76 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 3.5 times more doctors per person
Niger has 0.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 17.1% more access to essential health services
Niger scores 35 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
be 7.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Niger, 0.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
be 21.0% more likely to be obese
In Niger, 6.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 37.1% more likely to die by suicide
Niger has a suicide rate of 4.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 8.1 times more likely to be unemployed
In Niger, 0.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
be 37.9% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Niger, 41.2% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.
Life
be 36.5% more likely to be literate
In Niger, the literacy rate is 35.6% as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 16.8% less likely to die during infancy
In Niger, approximately 65.6 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.
have 27.3% fewer children
In Niger, there are approximately 41.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 76.6% more likely to have access to electricity
In Niger, approximately 20% of people have electricity access (67% in urban areas, and 10% 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% more likely to have internet access
In Niger, approximately 15.6% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 27.4% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Niger, approximately 53% of people have access to drinking water (87% in urban areas, and 46% 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 35.6% less on education
Niger spends 4.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 16.5% more on healthcare
Niger 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.
Safety
be 44.6% less likely to die in a road accident
In Niger, road accidents kill 24.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 95.5% less strain on fresh water
Niger withdraws 11% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 41.7% more CO2
Niger emits 0.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Niger vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Niger? See an in-depth size comparison.