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

Health

be 63.1% less likely to be obese

In Turkmenistan, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.

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be 10.1% less likely to die by suicide

Turkmenistan has a suicide rate of 6.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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live 8.2 years less

In Turkmenistan, the average life expectancy is 70 years (67 years for men, 73 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.

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see 87.4% less spent on your healthcare

Turkmenistan spends $1,264 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.

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have 93.1% fewer doctors per person

Turkmenistan has 19.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.

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have 45.3% less access to essential health services

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

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Economy

be 26.2% less likely to be unemployed

In Turkmenistan, 4.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.

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make 87.1% less money

Turkmenistan has a GDP per capita of $6,540 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.

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Life

have 44.0% more children

In Turkmenistan, there are approximately 20.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 70.8 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Turkmenistan, approximately 5.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, 354.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 51.4% less likely to be literate

In Turkmenistan, the literacy rate is 99.9% as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.

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be 79.6% more likely to die during infancy

In Turkmenistan, approximately 30.4 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.

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Basic Needs

be 64.5% less likely to have access to electricity

In Turkmenistan, 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.

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be 31.9% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Turkmenistan, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 100% 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.

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Expenditures

spend 38.9% less on education

Turkmenistan spends 4.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 14.2% less on healthcare

Turkmenistan spends 5.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.

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Safety

be 72.5% more likely to die in a road accident

In Turkmenistan, road accidents kill 8.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 99.6% less strain on fresh water

Turkmenistan withdraws 135% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.

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Environment

emit 98.4% less CO2

Turkmenistan emits 10.9 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 11.5% more likely to die from air pollution

In Turkmenistan, air pollution causes 87.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it causes 97.0 as of 2019.

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

Sierra Leone: At a glance

Sierra Leone is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 71,620 sq km. Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about a third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 and 2012 national elections, and over the past year have deployed over 850 peacekeepers in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). As of January 2014, Sierra Leone also fielded 122 staff for five UN peacekeeping missions. In March 2014, the closure of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) marked the end of more than 15 years of peacekeeping and political operations in Sierra Leone. The government's priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption.
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How big is Sierra Leone compared to Turkmenistan? See an in-depth size comparison.

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