If you lived in Thailand instead of Sierra Leone, you would:

Health

be 28.6% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Sierra Leone, 1.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Thailand, that number is 1.0% of people as of 2024.

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live 14.6 years longer

In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024. In Thailand, that number is 77 years (72 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 6.7 times more spent on your healthcare

Sierra Leone spends $159 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Thailand spends $1,067 as of 2023.

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have 4.0 times more doctors per person

Sierra Leone has 1.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Thailand has 5.4 as of 2021.

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have 100.0% more access to essential health services

Sierra Leone scores 41 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Thailand scores 82 as of 2021.

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be 99.8% more likely to be obese

In Sierra Leone, 8.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Thailand, that number is 16.4% of people as of 2024.

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be 2.7 times more likely to die by suicide

Sierra Leone has a suicide rate of 6.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Thailand, it is 16.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 75.2% less likely to be unemployed

In Sierra Leone, 3.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Thailand, that number is 0.8% as of 2025.

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make 9.5 times more money

Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $846 as of 2025, while in Thailand, the GDP per capita is $8,057 as of 2025.

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Life

be 90.4% 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 Thailand, 34.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 87.4% more likely to be literate

In Sierra Leone, the literacy rate is 48.6% as of 2022. In Thailand, it is 91.1% as of 2022.

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be 85.9% 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 Thailand, on the other hand, 7.7 children do as of 2024.

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have 73.0% fewer children

In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Thailand, there are 8.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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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 Thailand, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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be 3.6 times more likely to have internet access

In Sierra Leone, approximately 25.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Thailand, about 90.9% do as of 2024.

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be 46.9% 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 Thailand, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2024.

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Geography

see 8.0 times more coastline

Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Thailand, that number is 3,219 km.

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Safety

be 84.1% more likely to die in a road accident

In Sierra Leone, road accidents kill 13.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Thailand, they kill 25.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 46.0 times more strain on fresh water

Sierra Leone withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Thailand withdraws 23% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 70.1% less likely to die from air pollution

In Sierra Leone, air pollution causes 97.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Thailand, it causes 29.0 as of 2019.

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emit 23.3 times more CO2

Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Thailand emits 4.0 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Thailand: At a glance

Thailand is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 510,890 sq km. A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. Known as Siam until 1939, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US treaty ally in 1954 after sending troops to Korea and later fighting alongside the United States in Vietnam. Thailand since 2005 has experienced several rounds of political turmoil including a military coup in 2006 that ousted then Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat, followed by large-scale street protests by competing political factions in 2008, 2009, and 2010. THAKSIN's youngest sister, YINGLAK Chinnawat, in 2011 led the Puea Thai Party to an electoral win and assumed control of the government. A blanket amnesty bill for individuals involved in street protests, altered at the last minute to include all political crimes - including all convictions against THAKSIN - triggered months of large-scale anti-government protests in Bangkok beginning in November 2013. In early May 2014 YINGLAK was removed from office and in late May 2014 the Royal Thai Army staged a coup against the caretaker government. Thailand has also experienced violence associated with the ethno-nationalist insurgency in Thailand's southern Malay-Muslim majority provinces. Since January 2004, thousands have been killed and wounded in the insurgency.
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