Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Niger instead of Sierra Leone, you would:
Health
be 85.7% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Sierra Leone, 1.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Niger, that number is 0.2% of people as of 2024.
be 17.3% less likely to be obese
In Sierra Leone, 8.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Niger, that number is 6.8% of people as of 2024.
be 27.0% less likely to die by suicide
Sierra Leone has a suicide rate of 6.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Niger, it is 4.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
see 51.9% less spent on your healthcare
Sierra Leone spends $159 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Niger spends $76 as of 2023.
have 71.6% fewer doctors per person
Sierra Leone has 1.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Niger has 0.4 as of 2023.
have 14.6% less access to essential health services
Sierra Leone scores 41 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Niger scores 35 as of 2021.
Economy
be 87.6% less likely to be unemployed
In Sierra Leone, 3.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Niger, that number is 0.4% as of 2025.
be 27.5% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Sierra Leone, 56.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Niger, however, that number is 41.2% as of 2021.
Life
have 37.6% more children
In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Niger, there are 41.4 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 Niger, it is 35.6% as of 2022.
be 20.1% more 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 Niger, on the other hand, 65.6 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 43.4% less 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 Niger, that number is 20% of people on average (67% in urban areas, and 10% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 38.0% less likely to have internet access
In Sierra Leone, approximately 25.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Niger, about 15.6% do as of 2024.
be 21.5% less 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 Niger, that number is 53% of people on average (87% in urban areas, and 46% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 14.2% less on healthcare
Sierra Leone spends 4.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Niger, that number is 4.0% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 55.3% more on education
Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Niger spends 4.1% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Safety
be 80.4% more likely to die in a road accident
In Sierra Leone, road accidents kill 13.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Niger, they kill 24.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 22.0 times more strain on fresh water
Sierra Leone withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Niger withdraws 11% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 29.4% less CO2
Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Niger emits 0.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Sierra Leone vs. Niger
Niger: At a glance
How big is Niger compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.