Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Guinea-Bissau instead of Sierra Leone, you would:
Health
live 2.3 years longer
In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 64 years (62 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2024.
see 55.5% more spent on your healthcare
Sierra Leone spends $159 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Guinea-Bissau spends $247 as of 2023.
have 88.1% more doctors per person
Sierra Leone has 1.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Guinea-Bissau has 2.5 as of 2022.
be 57.1% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Sierra Leone, 1.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 2.2% of people as of 2024.
be 55.2% more likely to be obese
In Sierra Leone, 8.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 12.7% of people as of 2024.
be 24.9% more likely to die by suicide
Sierra Leone has a suicide rate of 6.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Guinea-Bissau, it is 7.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 15.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Sierra Leone, 3.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 2.7% as of 2025.
be 11.1% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Sierra Leone, 56.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Guinea-Bissau, however, that number is 50.5% as of 2021.
make 32.8% more money
Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $846 as of 2025, while in Guinea-Bissau, the GDP per capita is $1,124 as of 2025.
Life
be 31.5% more likely to be literate
In Sierra Leone, the literacy rate is 48.6% as of 2022. In Guinea-Bissau, it is 63.9% as of 2022.
be 22.9% 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 Guinea-Bissau, on the other hand, 42.1 children do as of 2024.
be 42.7% more 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 Guinea-Bissau, 505.0 women do as of 2023.
Basic Needs
be 14.1% 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 Guinea-Bissau, that number is 40% of people on average (64% in urban areas, and 21% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 18.6% more likely to have internet access
In Sierra Leone, approximately 25.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Guinea-Bissau, about 29.8% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 86.9% more on healthcare
Sierra Leone spends 4.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 8.8% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 12.9% less coastline
Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 350 km.
Safety
be 49.5% less likely to be murdered
Sierra Leone has a homicide rate of 2.2 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Guinea-Bissau, that number is 1.1 per 100,000 as of 2017.
be 2.2 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Sierra Leone, road accidents kill 13.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Guinea-Bissau, they kill 30.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 3.0 times more strain on fresh water
Sierra Leone withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Guinea-Bissau withdraws 2% as of 2022.
Sources: World Bank (2017–2025), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Sierra Leone vs. Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau: At a glance
How big is Guinea-Bissau compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.