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Sierra Leone vs Switzerland

Flag of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

8,819,794#100 · +2.04%/yr
vs
Flag of Switzerland

Switzerland

9,092,436#98 · +0.96%/yr

Switzerland has 3% more people than Sierra Leone: 9,092,436 vs 8,819,794, a gap of 272,642. Sierra Leone is growing faster (+2.04% vs +0.96% a year), adding about 179,588 people a year against +87,271. Using continuous exponential growth from the stated base year, if these rates held, Sierra Leone would overtake Switzerland in about 3 years (from the 2025 population bases, around 2028) — a projection, not a forecast. Switzerland is the older society: 20.4% aged 65+ against 3.3% in Sierra Leone, while Sierra Leone has more children (37.7% under 15 vs 14.9%). Switzerland is 1.9× as densely populated (225.0 vs 117.2 people per km²). People in Switzerland live 22.4 years longer on average (84.4 vs 62.0). GDP per capita is 135.6× higher in Switzerland ($114,769 vs $846).

Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (Sierra Leone) and 2025 (Switzerland); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.

Sierra Leone vs Switzerland — side by side

Flag of Sierra Leone Sierra LeoneFlag of Switzerland Switzerland
Population8,819,79420259,092,4362025
Growth rate / yr+2.04%2025+0.96%2025
Births per 1,00030.120248.72024
Deaths per 1,0008.220248.02024
Children per woman3.7020241.292024
Life expectancy62.0 yrs202484.4 yrs2024
Aged 0–1437.7%202514.9%2025
Aged 65+3.3%202520.4%2025
Density117.2 /km²2023225.0 /km²2023
Area72,300 km²202341,291 km²2023
Urban population45.9%202585.7%2025
Net migration / yr-11,3092025+37,2532025
GDP per capita$8462025$114,7692025
Country population rank (available records)#100#98
Base / world population (World Bank 2025)0.11%0.11%

Highlighted cell = the higher value (not "better"). Small print under each value is its own data year. Source: World Bank; country/territory population bases may have different years. These are not live counts.

Population since 1960

World Bank population history (not the separate UN WPP timeline). Sierra Leone: 3.9× from 1960 to 2025; Switzerland: 1.7× from 1960 to 2025. Left: absolute population. Right: each series indexed to its own first available year = 100; baseline years may differ.

02.4M4.8M7.2M9.6M1960197019801990200020102020Sierra LeoneSwitzerland01032063094121960197019801990200020102020Sierra LeoneSwitzerland

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Regions: Sub-Saharan Africa · Europe & Central Asia · rankings

Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone vs Austria, Sierra Leone vs Switzerland, Sierra Leone vs Belarus, Sierra Leone vs Togo, Sierra Leone vs Laos, Sierra Leone vs Turkmenistan.

Switzerland: Switzerland vs Israel, Switzerland vs Hungary, Switzerland vs Austria, Switzerland vs Belarus, Switzerland vs Sierra Leone, Switzerland vs Togo.

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This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.

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Interpretation reviewed 12 October 2026. Underlying reference years are stated on the page; this is not a fresh census or dataset refresh.