Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 93.3% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Sierra Leone, 1.5% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Finland, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2018.

live 23.0 years longer

In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 59 years (57 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2022. In Finland, that number is 82 years (79 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022.

be 2.6 times more likely to be obese

In Sierra Leone, 8.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Finland, that number is 22.2% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 29.6 times more money

Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $1,600 as of 2020, while in Finland, the GDP per capita is $47,300 as of 2020.

be 55.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Sierra Leone, 15.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Finland, that number is 6.6% as of 2019.

be 78.5% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Sierra Leone, 56.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Finland, however, that number is 12.2% as of 2019.

pay a 72.0% higher top tax rate

Sierra Leone has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2014. In Finland, the top tax rate is 51.6% as of 2016.

Life

be 99.7% less likely to die during childbirth

In Sierra Leone, approximately 1120.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Finland, 3.0 women do as of 2017.

be 97.1% less likely to die during infancy

In Sierra Leone, approximately 73.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Finland, on the other hand, 2.1 children do as of 2022.

have 67.6% fewer children

In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 32.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Finland, there are 10.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 3.8 times more likely to have access to electricity

In Sierra Leone, approximately 26% of the population has electricity access as of 2019. In Finland, 100% of the population do as of 2020.

be 5.1 times more likely to have internet access

In Sierra Leone, approximately 18.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Finland, about 92.0% do as of 2020.

be 37.4% more likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Sierra Leone, approximately 73% of people have improved drinking water access (92% in urban areas, and 58% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Finland, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 32.3% less on education

Sierra Leone spends 9.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Finland spends 6.3% of total GDP on education as of 2018.

Geography

see 3.1 times more coastline

Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Finland, that number is 1,250 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Finnish Tax Administration, The World Factbook, National Revenue Authority.

Finland: At a glance

Finland is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 303,815 sq km. Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries, and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It gained complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it successfully defended its independence through cooperation with Germany and resisted subsequent invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, Finland transformed from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is among the highest in Western Europe. A member of the European Union since 1995, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro single currency at its initiation in January 1999. In the 21st century, the key features of Finland's modern welfare state are high quality education, promotion of equality, and a national social welfare system - currently challenged by an aging population and the fluctuations of an export-driven economy.
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How big is Finland compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.

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