Sierra Leone vs United States
United States is 137 times larger than Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone would fit into United States about 137 times.
Sierra LeoneUnited StatesSierra Leone moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
0.01×
Sierra Leone is 0.01× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 137× the size of Sierra Leone.
 Sierra Leone |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaUnited States: 137× the area | 71,740 km²#117 of 194 | 9,826,675 km²#3 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 2 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationUnited States: 38.8× the population | 8,819,794#101 of 194 · 2025 | 341,784,857#3 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySierra Leone: 3.53× the density | 123 / km²#72 of 194 | 35 / km²#145 of 194 |
| Urban populationUnited States: 1.75× the urban share | 46%#135 of 192 · 2025 | 80%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSierra Leone: 2.27× the births per woman | 3.70 per woman#35 of 192 · 2024 | 1.63 per woman#121 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSierra Leone: 1.52 points higher | +2.04%#46 of 192 · 2025 | +0.52%#125 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSierra Leone: 2.84× the birth rate | 30.1 per 1,000#29 of 192 · 2024 | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateUnited States: 1.1× the death rate | 8.2 per 1,000#68 of 192 · 2024 | 9.0 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Sierra Leone: 20.6 points higher | 37.7%#35 of 192 · 2025 | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65United States: 15.1 points higher | 3.3%#158 of 192 · 2025 | 18.4%#38 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationUnited States: 4.9 per 1,000 higher | −1.3 per 1,000#124 of 192 · 2025 | +3.6 per 1,000#26 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadSierra Leone: 101× the refugees for its size | 1.01 per 1,000#59 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyUnited States: 16.9 years longer | 62.0 years#181 of 192 · 2024 | 78.9 years#46 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySierra Leone: 9.93× the infant mortality | 54.6 per 1,000 births#12 of 191 · 2024 | 5.5 per 1,000 births#139 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsUnited States: 28.3× the doctors per person | 0.13 per 1,000#164 of 178 · 2022 | 3.68 per 1,000#39 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 79.4%#27 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexUnited States: 0.471 higher | 0.467#182 of 190 · 2023 | 0.938#16 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaUnited States: 107× the income per person | $830#174 of 185 · 2025 | $88,810#5 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPUnited States: 4,122× the economy | $7.46B2025 | $30.77T2025 |
| Income group | Low income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)United States: 24.2× the output per person | $3,717#163 of 184 · 2025 | $90,027#9 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthSierra Leone: 2.4 points higher | +4.6%#51 of 187 · 2025 | +2.2%#126 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationSierra Leone: 4.6 points higher | +7.5%#32 of 176 · 2025 | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentUnited States: 1.31× the unemployment | 3.2%#133 of 178 · 2025 | 4.2%#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertySierra Leone: 37.7× the share in extreme poverty | 41.5%#18 of 149 · 2018 | 1.1%#82 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini)United States: 6.1 higher | 35.7#66 of 149 · 2018 | 41.8#30 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureSierra Leone: 43.0 points higher | 44.5% of jobs#31 of 178 · 2025 | 1.5% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryUnited States: 7.4 points higher | 11.5% of jobs#151 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesUnited States: 35.6 points higher | 44.0% of jobs#140 of 178 · 2025 | 79.6% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentSierra Leone: 1.4 points higher | 2.4% of GDP#78 of 184 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSierra Leone: 9.9 points higher | 20.9% of GDP#133 of 168 · 2025 | 11.0% of GDP#159 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingUnited States: 8.43× the military spending | 0.4% of GDP#148 of 155 · 2025 | 3.1% of GDP#27 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersUnited States: 3.77× the share online | 25%#170 of 184 · 2024 | 95%#27 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsUnited States: 1.05× the mobile subscriptions | 108 per 100#114 of 191 · 2022 | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaAbout the same forest share | 34% of land#90 of 192 · 2024 | 34% of land#92 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personUnited States: 80.1× the CO₂ per person | 0.17 t a year#170 of 185 · 2024 | 13.6 t a year#13 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energySierra Leone: 60.7 points higher | 71.6%#25 of 190 · 2022 | 10.9%#139 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityUnited States: 60.8 points higher | 39.2%#182 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Sierra Leone: 3.21× the air pollution | 22.5 µg/m³#69 of 191 · 2023 | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landUnited States: 0.3 points higher | 12.6% of land#134 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSierra Leone: 5.3 points higher | 21.9% of land#48 of 190 · 2024 | 16.6% of land#64 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressUnited States: 56.4× the water stress | 0.5%#165 of 176 · 2022 | 28.2%#57 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSierra Leone: 3.53× the rain and snow | 2,526 mm#13 of 180 · 2022 | 715 mm#111 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityUnited States: 0.09 higher | −0.39#131 of 193 · 2025 | −0.30#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionUnited States: 1.65 higher | −0.78#140 of 193 · 2025 | +0.87#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateUnited States: 2.64× the homicide rate | 2.2 per 100,000#74 of 146 · 2020 | 5.8 per 100,000#46 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Presidential republicconstitutional federal republic |
| Member of | — | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Freetown | Washington D.C. |
| Currency | Leone (SLE) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | English, Krio | English |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−10 to UTC−5, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +232 | +1 |
| Region | Western Africa, Africa | Northern America, North America |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Sierra Leone sits at about 9° N and is stretched to 1.02× its true area; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. That difference is why United States looks so much bigger than it is next to Sierra Leone. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Sierra Leone bigger than United States?
- No. Sierra Leone is 137 times smaller than United States. Sierra Leone covers 71,740 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
- How many times does Sierra Leone fit into United States?
- About 137 times: United States has 137× the area of Sierra Leone.
- Why do Sierra Leone and United States look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Sierra Leone is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and United States about 1.98×. That is why United States looks so much bigger than it really is next to Sierra Leone. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Sierra Leone or United States?
- United States: 341,784,857 people against 8,819,794. Density: Sierra Leone 123 per km², United States 35 per km².
- Which is richer, Sierra Leone or United States?
- By gross national income per person, United States: $88,810 against $830 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 107× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Sierra Leone or United States?
- In United States: life expectancy at birth is 78.9 years, against 62.0 — 16.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Sierra Leone and United States have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: presidential republic (CIA World Factbook).