If you lived in Estonia instead of Sierra Leone, you would:

Health

be 50.0% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Sierra Leone, 1.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Estonia, that number is 0.7% of people as of 2024.

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live 17.3 years longer

In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024. In Estonia, that number is 79 years (75 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 23.5 times more spent on your healthcare

Sierra Leone spends $159 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Estonia spends $3,741 as of 2024.

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have 25.9 times more doctors per person

Sierra Leone has 1.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Estonia has 34.7 as of 2022.

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have 92.7% more access to essential health services

Sierra Leone scores 41 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Estonia scores 79 as of 2021.

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be 2.5 times more likely to be obese

In Sierra Leone, 8.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Estonia, that number is 20.3% of people as of 2024.

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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 Estonia, it is 14.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

make 40.7 times more money

Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $846 as of 2025, while in Estonia, the GDP per capita is $34,418 as of 2025.

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be 2.6 times more likely to be unemployed

In Sierra Leone, 3.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Estonia, that number is 8.3% as of 2025.

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Life

be 98.6% 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 Estonia, 5.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 2.1 times more likely to be literate

In Sierra Leone, the literacy rate is 48.6% as of 2022. In Estonia, it is 99.9% as of 2021.

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be 97.3% 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 Estonia, on the other hand, 1.5 children do as of 2024.

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have 76.4% fewer children

In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Estonia, there are 7.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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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 Estonia, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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be 3.7 times more likely to have internet access

In Sierra Leone, approximately 25.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Estonia, about 92.2% do as of 2024.

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be 46.9% 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 Estonia, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 98.9% more on education

Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Estonia spends 5.2% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

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spend 66.1% more on healthcare

Sierra Leone spends 4.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Estonia, that number is 7.8% of GDP as of 2024.

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Geography

see 9.4 times more coastline

Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Estonia, that number is 3,794 km.

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Safety

be 30.6% less likely to be murdered

Sierra Leone has a homicide rate of 2.2 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Estonia, that number is 1.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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be 68.1% less likely to die in a road accident

In Sierra Leone, road accidents kill 13.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Estonia, they kill 4.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 26.1 times more strain on fresh water

Sierra Leone withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Estonia withdraws 13% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 86.6% less likely to die from air pollution

In Sierra Leone, air pollution causes 97.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Estonia, it causes 13.0 as of 2019.

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emit 45.6 times more CO2

Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Estonia emits 7.8 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021–2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Estonia: At a glance

Estonia is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 42,388 sq km. After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US - it regained its freedom in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with the West. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004, formally joined the OECD in late 2010, and adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2011.
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