Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Sierra Leone, you would:
Health
be 57.1% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Sierra Leone, 1.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 0.6% of people as of 2024.
live 19.0 years longer
In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024.
see 12.1 times more spent on your healthcare
Sierra Leone spends $159 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Costa Rica spends $1,928 as of 2023.
have 20.1 times more doctors per person
Sierra Leone has 1.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Costa Rica has 26.9 as of 2022.
have 97.6% more access to essential health services
Sierra Leone scores 41 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Costa Rica scores 81 as of 2021.
be 4.0 times more likely to be obese
In Sierra Leone, 8.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 32.7% of people as of 2024.
be 31.3% more likely to die by suicide
Sierra Leone has a suicide rate of 6.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Costa Rica, it is 8.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 23.6 times more money
Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $846 as of 2025, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,970 as of 2025.
be 2.2 times more likely to be unemployed
In Sierra Leone, 3.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.8% as of 2025.
Life
be 93.2% 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 Costa Rica, 24.0 women do as of 2023.
be 2.0 times more likely to be literate
In Sierra Leone, the literacy rate is 48.6% as of 2022. In Costa Rica, it is 98.0% as of 2021.
be 83.3% 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 Costa Rica, on the other hand, 9.1 children do as of 2024.
have 66.8% fewer children
In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Costa Rica, there are 10.0 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 Costa Rica, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 3.5 times more likely to have internet access
In Sierra Leone, approximately 25.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Costa Rica, about 87.2% do as of 2024.
be 46.6% 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 Costa Rica, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 2.0 times more on education
Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Costa Rica spends 5.3% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 45.6% more on healthcare
Sierra Leone spends 4.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 3.2 times more coastline
Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
Safety
be 8.0 times more likely to be murdered
Sierra Leone has a homicide rate of 2.2 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Costa Rica, that number is 17.8 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 12.3% more likely to die in a road accident
In Sierra Leone, road accidents kill 13.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Costa Rica, they kill 15.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 11.8 times more strain on fresh water
Sierra Leone withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Costa Rica withdraws 6% as of 2022.
Environment
be 84.5% less likely to die from air pollution
In Sierra Leone, air pollution causes 97.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Costa Rica, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
emit 9.6 times more CO2
Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021–2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Sierra Leone vs. Costa Rica
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.