Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Somalia 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 Somalia, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
live 3.0 years less
In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 59 years (56 years for men, 62 years for women) as of 2024.
be 82.1% more likely to be obese
In Sierra Leone, 8.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Somalia, that number is 14.9% of people as of 2024.
see 67.2% less spent on your healthcare
Sierra Leone spends $159 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Somalia spends $52 as of 2023.
have 34.1% less access to essential health services
Sierra Leone scores 41 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Somalia scores 27 as of 2021.
be 29.6% more likely to die by suicide
Sierra Leone has a suicide rate of 6.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Somalia, it is 8.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 6.0 times more likely to be unemployed
In Sierra Leone, 3.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Somalia, that number is 18.9% as of 2025.
make 21.9% less money
Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $846 as of 2025, while in Somalia, the GDP per capita is $661 as of 2025.
Life
be 11.4% more likely to be literate
In Sierra Leone, the literacy rate is 48.6% as of 2022. In Somalia, it is 54.1% as of 2022.
have 40.7% more children
In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Somalia, there are 42.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 59.0% 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 Somalia, 563.0 women do as of 2023.
be 19.8% 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 Somalia, on the other hand, 65.4 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 41.7% 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 Somalia, that number is 50% of people on average (79% in urban areas, and 24% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 11.3% more likely to have internet access
In Sierra Leone, approximately 25.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Somalia, about 27.9% do as of 2024.
be 10.6% 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 Somalia, that number is 75% of people on average (84% in urban areas, and 68% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 20.8% less on healthcare
Sierra Leone spends 4.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Somalia, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 7.5 times more coastline
Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Somalia, that number is 3,025 km.
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 Somalia, they kill 20.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 49.1 times more strain on fresh water
Sierra Leone withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Somalia withdraws 25% as of 2022.
Environment
be 34.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Sierra Leone, air pollution causes 97.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Somalia, it causes 64.0 as of 2019.
emit 70.6% less CO2
Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Somalia emits 0.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Sierra Leone vs. Somalia
Somalia: At a glance
How big is Somalia compared to Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.