Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Mali instead of Sierra Leone, you would:
Health
be 42.9% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Sierra Leone, 1.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Mali, that number is 0.8% of people as of 2024.
have 40.3% more doctors per person
Sierra Leone has 1.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Mali has 1.9 as of 2023.
be 32.2% less likely to die by suicide
Sierra Leone has a suicide rate of 6.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Mali, it is 4.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 1.3 years less
In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024. In Mali, that number is 61 years (59 years for men, 62 years for women) as of 2024.
be 62.3% more likely to be obese
In Sierra Leone, 8.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Mali, that number is 13.3% of people as of 2024.
see 34.6% less spent on your healthcare
Sierra Leone spends $159 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Mali spends $104 as of 2023.
Economy
be 10.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Sierra Leone, 3.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Mali, that number is 2.8% as of 2025.
be 19.9% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Sierra Leone, 56.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Mali, however, that number is 45.5% as of 2021.
make 41.0% more money
Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $846 as of 2025, while in Mali, the GDP per capita is $1,193 as of 2025.
Life
be 13.0% 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 Mali, on the other hand, 47.5 children do as of 2024.
have 31.3% more children
In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Mali, there are 39.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 26.7% less likely to be literate
In Sierra Leone, the literacy rate is 48.6% as of 2022. In Mali, it is 35.6% as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 53.5% 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 Mali, that number is 54% of people on average (92% in urban areas, and 23% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 46.6% more likely to have internet access
In Sierra Leone, approximately 25.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Mali, about 36.8% do as of 2024.
be 26.9% 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 Mali, that number is 86% of people on average (94% in urban areas, and 80% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 19.3% less on healthcare
Sierra Leone spends 4.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Mali, that number is 3.8% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 59.5% more on education
Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Mali spends 4.2% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Safety
be 46.4% more likely to die in a road accident
In Sierra Leone, road accidents kill 13.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Mali, they kill 20.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 16.0 times more strain on fresh water
Sierra Leone withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Mali withdraws 8% as of 2022.
Environment
be 33.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Sierra Leone, air pollution causes 97.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Mali, it causes 65.0 as of 2019.
emit 76.5% more CO2
Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Mali emits 0.3 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Sierra Leone vs. Mali
Mali: At a glance
How big is Mali compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.