Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of United Arab Emirates, you would:
Health
be 74.1% less likely to be obese
In United Arab Emirates, 31.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 14.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In United Arab Emirates, 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 21.1 years less
In United Arab Emirates, the average life expectancy is 83 years (82 years for men, 84 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 95.7% less spent on your healthcare
United Arab Emirates spends $3,727 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 95.5% fewer doctors per person
United Arab Emirates has 29.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 50.0% less access to essential health services
United Arab Emirates scores 82 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
be 3.6 times more likely to die by suicide
United Arab Emirates has a suicide rate of 1.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 45.2% more likely to be unemployed
In United Arab Emirates, 2.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
make 98.3% less money
United Arab Emirates has a GDP per capita of $50,274 as of 2024, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 3.1 times more children
In United Arab Emirates, there are approximately 9.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 118.0 times more likely to die during childbirth
In United Arab Emirates, approximately 3.0 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 50.8% less likely to be literate
In United Arab Emirates, the literacy rate is 98.8% as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 14.4 times more likely to die during infancy
In United Arab Emirates, approximately 3.8 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 United Arab Emirates, 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 74.9% less likely to have internet access
In United Arab Emirates, approximately 100.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 31.9% less likely to have access to drinking water
In United Arab Emirates, 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.
Expenditures
spend 32.6% less on education
United Arab Emirates spends 3.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 69.5% less coastline
United Arab Emirates has a total of 1,318 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 3.2 times more likely to be murdered
United Arab Emirates has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 2.3 times more likely to die in a road accident
In United Arab Emirates, road accidents kill 5.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 100.0% less strain on fresh water
United Arab Emirates withdraws 1510% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 99.1% less CO2
United Arab Emirates emits 18.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 38.6% more likely to die from air pollution
In United Arab Emirates, air pollution causes 70.0 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 (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: United Arab Emirates vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to United Arab Emirates? See an in-depth size comparison.