Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Republic of the Congo, you would:
Health
be 56.2% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Republic of the Congo, 3.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
be 32.9% less likely to be obese
In Republic of the Congo, 12.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
live 4.0 years less
In Republic of the Congo, the average life expectancy is 66 years (64 years for men, 68 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 23.9% less spent on your healthcare
Republic of the Congo spends $209 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 22.5% fewer doctors per person
Republic of the Congo has 1.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
Economy
be 84.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Republic of the Congo, 19.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
make 66.3% less money
Republic of the Congo has a GDP per capita of $2,515 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
be 46.9% more likely to die during childbirth
In Republic of the Congo, approximately 241.0 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 39.7% less likely to be literate
In Republic of the Congo, the literacy rate is 80.6% as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 2.0 times more likely to die during infancy
In Republic of the Congo, approximately 27.0 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 30.8% less likely to have access to electricity
In Republic of the Congo, approximately 51% of people have electricity access (69% in urban areas, and 11% 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 46.9% less likely to have internet access
In Republic of the Congo, approximately 47.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 21.6% less on education
Republic of the Congo spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 43.0% more on healthcare
Republic of the Congo spends 3.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.4 times more coastline
Republic of the Congo has a total of 169 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 64.3% more likely to die in a road accident
In Republic of the Congo, road accidents kill 8.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 16.7 times more strain on fresh water
Republic of the Congo withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 87.3% less CO2
Republic of the Congo emits 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 47.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Republic of the Congo, air pollution causes 66.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it causes 97.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), The World Factbook (2021–2022), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Republic of the Congo vs. Sierra Leone
MORE COMPARISONS
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Republic of the Congo? See an in-depth size comparison.