Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Syria, you would:
Health
be 75.2% less likely to be obese
In Syria, 33.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
see 29.8% more spent on your healthcare
Syria spends $122 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
be 14.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Syria, 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 10.6 years less
In Syria, the average life expectancy is 73 years (70 years for men, 75 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.
have 91.2% fewer doctors per person
Syria has 15.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 35.9% less access to essential health services
Syria scores 64 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
be 10.4 times more likely to die by suicide
Syria has a suicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 76.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Syria, 13.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
make 19.9% less money
Syria has a GDP per capita of $1,057 as of 2022, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 30.0% more children
In Syria, there are approximately 23.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 17.7 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Syria, approximately 20.0 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 48.5% less likely to be literate
In Syria, the literacy rate is 94.4% as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 3.1 times more likely to die during infancy
In Syria, approximately 17.7 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 59.8% less likely to have access to electricity
In Syria, approximately 88% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 73% 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 46.1% less likely to have internet access
In Syria, approximately 46.6% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 27.7% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Syria, approximately 94% of people have access to drinking water (96% in urban areas, and 92% 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 74.2% more on healthcare
Syria spends 2.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.1 times more coastline
Syria has a total of 193 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 53.8% less likely to die in a road accident
In Syria, road accidents kill 29.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 99.6% less strain on fresh water
Syria withdraws 124% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 86.6% less CO2
Syria emits 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 16.9% more likely to die from air pollution
In Syria, air pollution causes 83.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it causes 97.0 as of 2019.
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: Syria vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Syria? See an in-depth size comparison.