Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Panama, you would:
Health
be 78.3% less likely to be obese
In Panama, 37.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 27.3% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Panama, 1.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
live 17.8 years less
In Panama, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 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 95.2% less spent on your healthcare
Panama spends $3,318 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 91.8% fewer doctors per person
Panama has 16.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 47.4% less access to essential health services
Panama scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
be 86.6% more likely to die by suicide
Panama has a suicide rate of 3.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 62.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Panama, 8.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
make 95.7% less money
Panama has a GDP per capita of $19,790 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 89.7% more children
In Panama, there are approximately 15.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 9.6 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Panama, approximately 37.0 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 49.5% less likely to be literate
In Panama, the literacy rate is 96.2% as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 4.5 times more likely to die during infancy
In Panama, approximately 12.0 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 63.4% less likely to have access to electricity
In Panama, approximately 97% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 91% 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 65.5% less likely to have internet access
In Panama, approximately 72.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 28.5% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Panama, approximately 95% of people have access to drinking water (98% in urban areas, and 88% 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 43.3% less on healthcare
Panama spends 8.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 83.9% less coastline
Panama has a total of 2,490 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 81.0% less likely to be murdered
Panama has a homicide rate of 11.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 89.0% more likely to die in a road accident
In Panama, road accidents kill 7.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 44.4% less strain on fresh water
Panama withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 93.8% less CO2
Panama emits 2.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 5.7 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Panama, air pollution causes 17.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it causes 97.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Panama vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Panama? See an in-depth size comparison.