Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Nicaragua instead of Sierra Leone, you would:
Health
live 13.1 years longer
In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024. In Nicaragua, that number is 75 years (72 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024.
see 4.3 times more spent on your healthcare
Sierra Leone spends $159 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Nicaragua spends $689 as of 2023.
have 70.7% more access to essential health services
Sierra Leone scores 41 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Nicaragua scores 70 as of 2021.
be 30.9% less likely to die by suicide
Sierra Leone has a suicide rate of 6.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Nicaragua, it is 4.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 4.3 times more likely to be obese
In Sierra Leone, 8.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Nicaragua, that number is 34.9% of people as of 2024.
Economy
be 56.2% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Sierra Leone, 56.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Nicaragua, however, that number is 24.9% as of 2016.
make 3.7 times more money
Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $846 as of 2025, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $3,173 as of 2025.
be 60.0% more likely to be unemployed
In Sierra Leone, 3.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Nicaragua, that number is 5.0% as of 2025.
Life
be 83.1% 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 Nicaragua, 60.0 women do as of 2023.
be 82.8% 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 Nicaragua, on the other hand, 9.4 children do as of 2024.
have 36.4% fewer children
In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Nicaragua, there are 19.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 2.5 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 Nicaragua, that number is 88% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 71% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 2.4 times more likely to have internet access
In Sierra Leone, approximately 25.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Nicaragua, about 61.4% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 75.8% more on healthcare
Sierra Leone spends 4.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Nicaragua, that number is 8.3% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.3 times more coastline
Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Nicaragua, that number is 910 km.
Safety
be 5.1 times more likely to be murdered
Sierra Leone has a homicide rate of 2.2 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Nicaragua, that number is 11.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 4.4 times more strain on fresh water
Sierra Leone withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Nicaragua withdraws 2% as of 2022.
Environment
be 60.8% less likely to die from air pollution
In Sierra Leone, air pollution causes 97.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Nicaragua, it causes 38.0 as of 2019.
emit 4.9 times more CO2
Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Nicaragua emits 0.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2016–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Sierra Leone vs. Nicaragua
Nicaragua: At a glance
How big is Nicaragua compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.