Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Timor-Leste, you would:
Health
be 7.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Timor-Leste, 0.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
live 5.9 years less
In Timor-Leste, the average life expectancy is 68 years (66 years for men, 70 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.
be 2.3 times more likely to be obese
In Timor-Leste, 3.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
see 65.5% less spent on your healthcare
Timor-Leste spends $461 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 82.2% fewer doctors per person
Timor-Leste has 7.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2020. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 21.2% less access to essential health services
Timor-Leste scores 52 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
be 72.5% more likely to die by suicide
Timor-Leste has a suicide rate of 3.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 98.1% more likely to be unemployed
In Timor-Leste, 1.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
make 36.9% less money
Timor-Leste has a GDP per capita of $1,341 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 38.3% more children
In Timor-Leste, there are approximately 21.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 84.4% more likely to die during childbirth
In Timor-Leste, approximately 192.0 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 30.0% less likely to be literate
In Timor-Leste, the literacy rate is 69.4% as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 57.8% more likely to die during infancy
In Timor-Leste, approximately 34.6 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 Timor-Leste, 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 38.4% less likely to have internet access
In Timor-Leste, approximately 40.8% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 22.0% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Timor-Leste, approximately 87% of people have access to drinking water (98% in urban areas, and 82% 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 50.0% less on education
Timor-Leste spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 50.8% less on healthcare
Timor-Leste spends 9.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 43.1% less coastline
Timor-Leste has a total of 706 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 15.0% more likely to die in a road accident
In Timor-Leste, road accidents kill 12.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 98.2% less strain on fresh water
Timor-Leste withdraws 28% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 66.0% less CO2
Timor-Leste emits 0.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 59.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Timor-Leste, air pollution causes 61.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it causes 97.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Timor-Leste vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Timor-Leste? See an in-depth size comparison.