Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Saudi Arabia instead of Sierra Leone, you would:
Health
be 92.9% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Sierra Leone, 1.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
live 17.0 years longer
In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 79 years (77 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
see 21.9 times more spent on your healthcare
Sierra Leone spends $159 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Saudi Arabia spends $3,475 as of 2023.
have 25.4 times more doctors per person
Sierra Leone has 1.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Saudi Arabia has 34.1 as of 2023.
have 80.5% more access to essential health services
Sierra Leone scores 41 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Saudi Arabia scores 74 as of 2021.
be 84.5% less likely to die by suicide
Sierra Leone has a suicide rate of 6.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Saudi Arabia, it is 0.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 4.9 times more likely to be obese
In Sierra Leone, 8.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 40.1% of people as of 2024.
Economy
make 40.8 times more money
Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $846 as of 2025, while in Saudi Arabia, the GDP per capita is $34,537 as of 2025.
Life
be 98.0% 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 Saudi Arabia, 7.0 women do as of 2023.
be 2.0 times more likely to be literate
In Sierra Leone, the literacy rate is 48.6% as of 2022. In Saudi Arabia, it is 97.9% as of 2024.
be 91.4% 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 Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, 4.7 children do as of 2024.
have 45.2% fewer children
In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Saudi Arabia, there are 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 2.8 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 Saudi Arabia, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 4.0 times more likely to have internet access
In Sierra Leone, approximately 25.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Saudi Arabia, about 100.0% do as of 2024.
be 45.5% 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 Saudi Arabia, that number is 99% of people on average (99% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 71.0% more on education
Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Saudi Arabia spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 20.6% more on healthcare
Sierra Leone spends 4.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 5.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 6.6 times more coastline
Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 2,640 km.
Safety
be 57.7% less likely to be murdered
Sierra Leone has a homicide rate of 2.2 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 0.9 per 100,000 as of 2019.
be 34.1% more likely to die in a road accident
In Sierra Leone, road accidents kill 13.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Saudi Arabia, they kill 18.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 1948.3 times more strain on fresh water
Sierra Leone withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Saudi Arabia withdraws 974% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 108.7 times more CO2
Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Saudi Arabia emits 18.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Sierra Leone vs. Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: At a glance
How big is Saudi Arabia compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.