Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Uruguay, you would:
Health
be 76.6% less likely to be obese
In Uruguay, 35.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 75.2% less likely to die by suicide
Uruguay has a suicide rate of 24.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 16.3 years less
In Uruguay, the average life expectancy is 78 years (74 years for men, 82 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 94.9% less spent on your healthcare
Uruguay spends $3,135 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 97.1% fewer doctors per person
Uruguay has 46.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
have 50.0% less access to essential health services
Uruguay scores 82 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
be 58.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Uruguay, 7.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
make 96.6% less money
Uruguay has a GDP per capita of $25,216 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
have 3.1 times more children
In Uruguay, 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 23.6 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Uruguay, approximately 15.0 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 50.9% less likely to be literate
In Uruguay, the literacy rate is 98.9% as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 8.8 times more likely to die during infancy
In Uruguay, approximately 6.2 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 Uruguay, 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 72.7% less likely to have internet access
In Uruguay, approximately 92.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 31.7% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Uruguay, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 95% 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 45.0% less on education
Uruguay spends 4.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 47.7% less on healthcare
Uruguay spends 9.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 39.1% less coastline
Uruguay has a total of 660 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 80.3% less likely to be murdered
Uruguay has a homicide rate of 11.2 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
Infrastructure
live with 95.9% less strain on fresh water
Uruguay withdraws 12% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 93.4% less CO2
Uruguay emits 2.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 6.1 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Uruguay, air pollution causes 16.0 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: Uruguay vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Uruguay? See an in-depth size comparison.