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

Health

be 57.1% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Sierra Leone, 1.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Venezuela, that number is 0.6% of people as of 2024.

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live 10.7 years longer

In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024. In Venezuela, that number is 73 years (69 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 17.0% more spent on your healthcare

Sierra Leone spends $159 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Venezuela spends $186 as of 2023.

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have 82.9% more access to essential health services

Sierra Leone scores 41 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Venezuela scores 75 as of 2021.

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be 2.8 times more likely to be obese

In Sierra Leone, 8.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Venezuela, that number is 23.0% of people as of 2024.

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be 40.6% more likely to die by suicide

Sierra Leone has a suicide rate of 6.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Venezuela, it is 8.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 41.7% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Sierra Leone, 56.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Venezuela, however, that number is 33.1% as of 2015.

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make 4.1 times more money

Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $846 as of 2025, while in Venezuela, the GDP per capita is $3,495 as of 2025.

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be 68.6% more likely to be unemployed

In Sierra Leone, 3.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Venezuela, that number is 5.3% as of 2025.

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Life

be 35.9% 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 Venezuela, 227.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 2.0 times more likely to be literate

In Sierra Leone, the literacy rate is 48.6% as of 2022. In Venezuela, it is 97.5% as of 2021.

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be 61.2% 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 Venezuela, on the other hand, 21.2 children do as of 2024.

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have 49.4% fewer children

In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Venezuela, there are 15.2 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 Venezuela, 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 3.1 times more likely to have internet access

In Sierra Leone, approximately 25.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Venezuela, about 76.7% do as of 2024.

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be 37.1% more likely to have access to drinking water

In Sierra Leone, approximately 68% of people have access to drinking water as of 2024. In Venezuela, 93% of people do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 19.9% less on healthcare

Sierra Leone spends 4.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Venezuela, that number is 3.8% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 7.0 times more coastline

Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Venezuela, that number is 2,800 km.

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Safety

be 5.7 times more likely to be murdered

Sierra Leone has a homicide rate of 2.2 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Venezuela, that number is 12.7 per 100,000 as of 2022.

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Infrastructure

live with 15.1 times more strain on fresh water

Sierra Leone withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Venezuela withdraws 8% as of 2022.

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Environment

be 67.0% less likely to die from air pollution

In Sierra Leone, air pollution causes 97.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Venezuela, it causes 32.0 as of 2019.

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emit 19.9 times more CO2

Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Venezuela emits 3.4 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2015–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021–2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Venezuela: At a glance

Venezuela is a sovereign country in South America, with a total land area of approximately 882,050 sq km. Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Hugo CHAVEZ, president from 1999 to 2013, sought to implement his "21st Century Socialism," which purported to alleviate social ills while at the same time attacking capitalist globalization and existing democratic institutions. His hand-picked successor, President Nicolas MADURO, continues CHAVEZ's socialist programs. Current concerns include: a weakening of democratic institutions, political polarization, a politicized military, rampant violent crime, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, foreign exchange controls that discourage private-sector investment, high inflation, a decline in the quality of fundamental houman rights, and widespread scarcity of consumer goods.
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