Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Zimbabwe, you would:
Health
be 85.7% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Zimbabwe, 9.8% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
be 44.3% less likely to be obese
In Zimbabwe, 14.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
see 54.1% more spent on your healthcare
Zimbabwe spends $103 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
be 64.6% less likely to die by suicide
Zimbabwe has a suicide rate of 17.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 1.1 years less
In Zimbabwe, the average life expectancy is 63 years (60 years for men, 65 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 25.5% less access to essential health services
Zimbabwe scores 55 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sierra Leone scores 41 as of 2021.
Economy
be 66.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Zimbabwe, 9.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
be 48.3% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Zimbabwe, 38.3% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.
make 72.0% less money
Zimbabwe has a GDP per capita of $3,021 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
be 12.5% less likely to die during infancy
In Zimbabwe, approximately 62.4 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.
be 45.8% less likely to be literate
In Zimbabwe, the literacy rate is 89.7% as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 42.7% less likely to have access to electricity
In Zimbabwe, approximately 62% of people have electricity access (84% in urban areas, and 51% 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 39.7% less likely to have internet access
In Zimbabwe, approximately 41.6% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 6.9 times more on education
Zimbabwe spends 0.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 61.1% more on healthcare
Zimbabwe spends 2.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 4.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 67.2% less likely to be murdered
Zimbabwe has a homicide rate of 6.8 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 53.8% less likely to die in a road accident
In Zimbabwe, 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 98.9% less strain on fresh water
Zimbabwe withdraws 46% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 77.9% less CO2
Zimbabwe emits 0.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 73.2% more likely to die from air pollution
In Zimbabwe, air pollution causes 56.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it causes 97.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook (2021–2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Zimbabwe vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Zimbabwe? See an in-depth size comparison.