Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Cabo Verde instead of Sierra Leone, you would:
Health
be 35.7% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Sierra Leone, 1.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Cabo Verde, that number is 0.9% of people as of 2024.
live 14.3 years longer
In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024. In Cabo Verde, that number is 76 years (73 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024.
see 3.9 times more spent on your healthcare
Sierra Leone spends $159 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Cabo Verde spends $617 as of 2023.
have 5.4 times more doctors per person
Sierra Leone has 1.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Cabo Verde has 7.3 as of 2023.
have 73.2% more access to essential health services
Sierra Leone scores 41 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Cabo Verde scores 71 as of 2021.
be 2.0 times more likely to be obese
In Sierra Leone, 8.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Cabo Verde, that number is 16.7% of people as of 2024.
be 2.4 times more likely to die by suicide
Sierra Leone has a suicide rate of 6.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Cabo Verde, it is 14.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 6.8 times more money
Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $846 as of 2025, while in Cabo Verde, the GDP per capita is $5,796 as of 2025.
be 3.8 times more likely to be unemployed
In Sierra Leone, 3.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Cabo Verde, that number is 11.9% as of 2025.
Life
be 88.7% less likely to die during childbirth
In Sierra Leone, approximately 354.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Cabo Verde, 40.0 women do as of 2023.
be 82.0% more likely to be literate
In Sierra Leone, the literacy rate is 48.6% as of 2022. In Cabo Verde, it is 88.5% as of 2024.
be 80.6% 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 Cabo Verde, on the other hand, 10.6 children do as of 2024.
have 59.4% fewer children
In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Cabo Verde, there are 12.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 2.8 times more 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 Cabo Verde, that number is 99% of people on average (96% in urban areas, and 97% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 3.0 times more likely to have internet access
In Sierra Leone, approximately 25.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Cabo Verde, about 74.7% do as of 2024.
be 35.5% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Sierra Leone, approximately 68% of people have access to drinking water (82% in urban areas, and 57% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Cabo Verde, that number is 92% of people on average (95% in urban areas, and 86% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 66.0% more on education
Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Cabo Verde spends 4.3% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 23.9% more on healthcare
Sierra Leone spends 4.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Cabo Verde, that number is 5.8% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.4 times more coastline
Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Cabo Verde, that number is 965 km.
Safety
be 3.1 times more likely to be murdered
Sierra Leone has a homicide rate of 2.2 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Cabo Verde, that number is 7.0 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 19.6% more likely to die in a road accident
In Sierra Leone, road accidents kill 13.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Cabo Verde, they kill 16.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 119.4 times more strain on fresh water
Sierra Leone withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Cabo Verde withdraws 60% as of 2022.
Environment
be 39.2% less likely to die from air pollution
In Sierra Leone, air pollution causes 97.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Cabo Verde, it causes 59.0 as of 2019.
emit 7.6 times more CO2
Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Cabo Verde emits 1.3 tonnes as of 2024.
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: Sierra Leone vs. Cabo Verde
Cabo Verde: At a glance
How big is Cabo Verde compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.