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

Health

be 66.6% less likely to be obese

In Pakistan, 24.5% 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 7.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Pakistan, 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.

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live 5.8 years less

In Pakistan, the average life expectancy is 68 years (65 years for men, 70 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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have 88.4% fewer doctors per person

Pakistan has 11.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.

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Economy

be 41.9% less likely to be unemployed

In Pakistan, 5.4% 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 47.0% less money

Pakistan has a GDP per capita of $1,596 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.

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Life

be 2.3 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Pakistan, approximately 155.0 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 17.4% less likely to be literate

In Pakistan, the literacy rate is 58.9% as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.

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be 13.3% more likely to die during infancy

In Pakistan, approximately 48.2 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 62.9% less likely to have access to electricity

In Pakistan, approximately 96% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 93% 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 56.2% less likely to have internet access

In Pakistan, approximately 57.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.

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be 24.9% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Pakistan, approximately 91% of people have access to drinking water (93% in urban areas, and 89% 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 34.4% more on education

Pakistan spends 1.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 87.3% more on healthcare

Pakistan spends 2.5% 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 61.6% less coastline

Pakistan has a total of 1,046 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.

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Safety

be 48.7% less likely to be murdered

Pakistan has a homicide rate of 4.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.

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be 16.0% more likely to die in a road accident

In Pakistan, road accidents kill 11.9 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 99.5% less strain on fresh water

Pakistan withdraws 110% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.

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Environment

emit 79.0% less CO2

Pakistan emits 0.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). 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 Pakistan? See an in-depth size comparison.

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