Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Burundi instead of Sierra Leone, you would:
Health
be 42.9% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Sierra Leone, 1.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Burundi, that number is 0.8% of people as of 2024.
live 1.9 years longer
In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024. In Burundi, that number is 64 years (62 years for men, 66 years for women) as of 2024.
be 36.8% less likely to be obese
In Sierra Leone, 8.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Burundi, that number is 5.2% of people as of 2024.
see 37.0% less spent on your healthcare
Sierra Leone spends $159 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Burundi spends $100 as of 2023.
have 41.8% fewer doctors per person
Sierra Leone has 1.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Burundi has 0.8 as of 2022.
be 24.6% more likely to die by suicide
Sierra Leone has a suicide rate of 6.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Burundi, it is 7.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 70.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Sierra Leone, 3.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Burundi, that number is 0.9% as of 2025.
be 10.2% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Sierra Leone, 56.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Burundi, however, that number is 51.0% as of 2020.
make 72.4% less money
Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $846 as of 2025, while in Burundi, the GDP per capita is $234 as of 2025.
Life
be 53.7% more likely to be literate
In Sierra Leone, the literacy rate is 48.6% as of 2022. In Burundi, it is 74.7% as of 2021.
be 44.1% less likely to die during infancy
In Sierra Leone, approximately 54.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Burundi, on the other hand, 30.5 children do as of 2024.
have 10.3% more children
In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Burundi, there are 33.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 67.3% less likely to have access to electricity
In Sierra Leone, approximately 36% of people have electricity access (56% in urban areas, and 19% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Burundi, that number is 12% of people on average (65% in urban areas, and 2% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 65.7% less likely to have internet access
In Sierra Leone, approximately 25.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Burundi, about 8.6% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 71.8% more on education
Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Burundi spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2025.
spend 92.6% more on healthcare
Sierra Leone spends 4.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Burundi, that number is 9.1% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 10.9% less likely to die in a road accident
In Sierra Leone, road accidents kill 13.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Burundi, they kill 12.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 20.4 times more strain on fresh water
Sierra Leone withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Burundi withdraws 10% as of 2022.
Environment
be 26.8% less likely to die from air pollution
In Sierra Leone, air pollution causes 97.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Burundi, it causes 71.0 as of 2019.
emit 58.8% less CO2
Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Burundi emits 0.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2021–2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Sierra Leone vs. Burundi
Burundi: At a glance
How big is Burundi compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.