Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Sri Lanka, you would:
Health
be 27.0% less likely to be obese
In Sri Lanka, 11.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 58.3% less likely to die by suicide
Sri Lanka has a suicide rate of 14.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 14.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Sri Lanka, 0.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
live 15.7 years less
In Sri Lanka, the average life expectancy is 78 years (74 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024.
see 68.7% less spent on your healthcare
Sri Lanka spends $507 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 88.2% fewer doctors per person
Sri Lanka has 11.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 38.8% less access to essential health services
Sri Lanka scores 67 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
be 21.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Sri Lanka, 4.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
be 4.0 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Sri Lanka, 14.3% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.
make 83.1% less money
Sri Lanka has a GDP per capita of $5,002 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 3.0 times more children
In Sri Lanka, there are approximately 10.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 19.7 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Sri Lanka, approximately 18.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, 354.0 women do as of 2023.
be 47.6% less likely to be literate
In Sri Lanka, the literacy rate is 92.7% as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 10.5 times more likely to die during infancy
In Sri Lanka, approximately 5.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, on the other hand, 54.6 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 64.5% less likely to have access to electricity
In Sri Lanka, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 36% of people on average (56% in urban areas, and 19% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 54.0% less likely to have internet access
In Sri Lanka, approximately 54.6% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 24.5% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Sri Lanka, approximately 90% of people have access to drinking water (98% in urban areas, and 88% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 68% of people on average (82% in urban areas, and 57% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 43.2% more on education
Sri Lanka spends 1.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 28.3% more on healthcare
Sri Lanka spends 3.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 70.0% less coastline
Sri Lanka has a total of 1,340 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 32.9% less likely to be murdered
Sri Lanka has a homicide rate of 3.3 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 20.0% more likely to die in a road accident
In Sri Lanka, road accidents kill 11.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 99.4% less strain on fresh water
Sri Lanka withdraws 91% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 84.0% less CO2
Sri Lanka emits 1.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 2.6 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Sri Lanka, air pollution causes 37.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it causes 97.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Sri Lanka vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Sri Lanka? See an in-depth size comparison.