AFRICA · COUNTRY REFERENCE
Sierra Leone
Written and compiled by American Business Capital Group Inc.
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ANNUAL ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
Population & economic scale
The most recent non-empty observations returned by the World Bank when this snapshot was collected. Read the year on each card: these are annual statistics, not live measurements.
World Bank reporting entity: Sierra Leone · 3 of 3 indicators available.
Population
8,819,794
people
observation
Definition, value & source
Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.
Received value: 8819794 people. The main card rounds for readability.
- Collected
- Oct 7, 2026
- Dataset update reported by API
- Jul 13, 2026; separate from the observation year
World Bank indicator ↗ · API record ↗
World Bank, World Development Indicators. CC BY 4.0. Underlying sources: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), uri: https://population.un.org/wpp/, publisher: UN Population Division; Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices, National Statistical Offices (NSOs), uri: https://unstats.un.org/home/nso_sites/, publisher: National Statistical Offices; Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, Eurostat (ESTAT), uri: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database?node_code=earn_ses_monthly, publisher: Eurostat; Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), United Nations (UN), uri: https://unstats.un.org, publisher: UN Statistics Division
GDP
$7.46 billion
current US$
observation
Definition, value & source
Gross domestic product is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period. It can be measured in three different ways: using either the expenditure approach, the income approach, or the production approach. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.
Received value: 7464157904.43509 current US$. The main card rounds for readability.
- Collected
- Oct 7, 2026
- Dataset update reported by API
- Jul 13, 2026; separate from the observation year
World Bank indicator ↗ · API record ↗
World Bank, World Development Indicators. CC BY 4.0. Underlying sources: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB)
GDP per capita
$846
current US$ per person
observation
Definition, value & source
Gross domestic product is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period. It can be measured in three different ways: using either the expenditure approach, the income approach, or the production approach. The core indicator has been divided by the general population to achieve a per capita estimate.This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.
Received value: 846.296172499617 current US$ per person. The main card rounds for readability.
- Collected
- Oct 7, 2026
- Dataset update reported by API
- Jul 13, 2026; separate from the observation year
World Bank indicator ↗ · API record ↗
World Bank, World Development Indicators. CC BY 4.0. Underlying sources: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB)
GDP and GDP per capita use current US dollars, without an inflation or purchasing-power-parity adjustment. Source years can differ. Missing data is not zero; earlier archive figures below are retained as a separate historical reference.
THE REFERENCE FILE
Sierra Leone at a glance
These are historical reference facts from the 2025 World Factbook archive. Each estimate keeps its own period; an archive edition does not make every figure a measurement from that year.
Population
total: 9,331,203 (2025 est.) male: 4,620,638 female: 4,710,565
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$26.728 billion (2024 est.) $25.7 billion (2023 est.) $24.312 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
GDP (official exchange rate)
$7.548 billion (2024 est.) note: data in current dollars at official exchange rate
Real GDP growth rate
4% (2024 est.) 5.7% (2023 est.) 5.3% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency
Real GDP per capita
$3,100 (2024 est.) $3,000 (2023 est.) $2,900 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
28.6% (2024 est.) 47.6% (2023 est.) 27.2% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Unemployment rate
3.2% (2024 est.) 3.2% (2023 est.) 3.2% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment
Labor force
2.863 million (2024 est.) note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work
Budget
revenues: $740 million (2019 est.) expenditures: $867 million (2019 est.)
Current account balance
-$606.358 million (2023 est.) -$452.094 million (2022 est.) -$522.815 million (2021 est.) note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars
Exports
$1.382 billion (2023 est.) $1.202 billion (2022 est.) $928.689 million (2021 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Imports
$2.264 billion (2023 est.) $2.074 billion (2022 est.) $1.91 billion (2021 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$495.699 million (2023 est.) $624.496 million (2022 est.) $945.908 million (2021 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Debt - external
$1.451 billion (2023 est.) note: present value of external debt in current US dollars
Electricity access
electrification - total population: 29.4% (2022 est.) electrification - urban areas: 55.3% electrification - rural areas: 5%
Internet users
percent of population: 21% (2023 est.)
THE HISTORICAL REFERENCE LIBRARY
Explore the country in detail
Browse the economy, population, resources and infrastructure. These archived descriptions keep their original wording and dates; they have not been updated to describe current conditions.
30 of 30 sections
Location
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Capital
name: Freetown geographic coordinates: 8 29 N, 13 14 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name described the original settlement in 1781, which served as a haven for free-born and freed African Americans
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Economic overview
low-income West African economy; primarily subsistent agriculture; key iron and diamond mining activities suspended; slow recovery from 1990s civil war; systemic corruption; high-risk debt; high youth unemployment; natural resource rich
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Natural resources
diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Agricultural products
cassava, rice, oil palm fruit, vegetables, sweet potatoes, milk, citrus fruits, fruits, groundnuts, sugarcane (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Industries
diamond mining; iron ore, rutile and bauxite mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, footwear)
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Exports - partners
China 67%, India 6%, Belgium 5%, Netherlands 4%, Ireland 3% (2023) note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Exports - commodities
iron ore, titanium ore, diamonds, aluminum ore, cocoa beans (2023) note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Imports - partners
China 32%, India 15%, UAE 5%, USA 5%, Turkey 5% (2023) note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Imports - commodities
rice, plastic products, packaged medicine, cement, cars (2023) note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Terrain
coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Land use
agricultural land: 54.7% (2023 est.) arable land: 21.9% (2023 est.) permanent crops: 2.3% (2023 est.) permanent pasture: 30.5% (2023 est.) forest: 34.3% (2023 est.) other: 11% (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Natural hazards
dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Languages
English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves; a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Religions
Muslim 77.1%, Christian 22.9% (2019 est.)
2019 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Age structure
0-14 years: 40.1% (male 1,843,606/female 1,812,304) 15-64 years: 57.4% (male 2,557,715/female 2,675,418) 65 years and over: 2.5% (2024 est.) (male 114,405/female 117,601)
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Urbanization
urban population: 44.3% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 3.02% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
2023, 2020 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 59.4 years (2024 est.) male: 57.8 years female: 61 years
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Literacy
total population: 43.6% (2019 est.) male: 54.6% (2019 est.) female: 33.9% (2019 est.)
2019 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Electricity
installed generating capacity: 149,000 kW (2023 est.) consumption: 131.321 million kWh (2023 est.) transmission/distribution losses: 81.921 million kWh (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Electricity generation sources
fossil fuels: 3.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) solar: 9.8% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) hydroelectricity: 84.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) biomass and waste: 2.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Petroleum
refined petroleum consumption: 9,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Carbon dioxide emissions
1.342 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.) from petroleum and other liquids: 1.342 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Telephones - mobile cellular
total subscriptions: 8.93 million (2022 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 108 (2022 est.)
2022 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Broadband - fixed subscriptions
total: 0 (2021 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2021 est.) less than 1
2021 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Airports
8 (2025)
2025 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Ports
total ports: 3 (2024) large: 0 medium: 0 small: 1 very small: 2 ports with oil terminals: 2 key ports: Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
GDP - composition, by sector of origin
agriculture: 25.4% (2024 est.) industry: 27.3% (2024 est.) services: 44.8% (2024 est.) note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Remittances
4.6% of GDP (2023 est.) 4.1% of GDP (2022 est.) 2.6% of GDP (2021 est.) note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities
2023, 2022, 2021 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
CURRENCY OBSERVATIONS
Money & exchange rates
The latest verified daily references are separate from the historical country profile. Values are currency units per US$1.
Leone
SLE per US$1
Published reference snapshot; its original observation date is preserved.
1 SLE = US$0.0420964
23.551–24.162 SLE per US$1 across the displayed observations. The vertical scale follows this range.
View dated observations
| Observation date | SLE per US$1 |
|---|---|
| Oct 6, 2026 | 23.755 |
| Oct 5, 2026 | 23.821 |
| Oct 2, 2026 | 24.084 |
| Oct 1, 2026 | 24.014 |
| Sep 30, 2026 | 24.055 |
| Sep 29, 2026 | 23.798 |
| Sep 28, 2026 | 23.728 |
| Sep 25, 2026 | 23.974 |
| Sep 24, 2026 | 24.053 |
| Sep 23, 2026 | 23.976 |
| Sep 22, 2026 | 23.788 |
| Sep 21, 2026 | 23.735 |
| Sep 18, 2026 | 24.096 |
| Sep 17, 2026 | 24.162 |
| Sep 16, 2026 | 24.032 |
| Sep 15, 2026 | 23.825 |
| Sep 14, 2026 | 23.879 |
| Sep 11, 2026 | 24.065 |
| Sep 10, 2026 | 23.992 |
| Sep 9, 2026 | 24.004 |
| Sep 8, 2026 | 23.763 |
| Sep 7, 2026 | 23.551 |
Daily references are not live execution prices. A check time does not change a source observation date.
CAPITAL MARKETS
Stock exchanges
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Official data & country reports
Research directories have their own coverage. A link is not a claim that every entity has an IMF report or a separate national statistical office.
SOURCES & DATES
Where the facts come from.
Editorial presentation by American Business Capital Group Inc. The organizations and archive links below are the underlying sources.
- Country reference
- CIA World Factbook · 2025 archive
- Archive retrieved
- Oct 6, 2026 · retrieval date, not an observation period
- Currency associations
- SIX / ISO 4217 currency registry ↗
- Rate observations
- Frankfurter / official reference providers ↗ · each observation is dated separately
- State classification
- UN member states ↗ · UN observer states ↗
- UN membership is shown separately from territory and currency coverage; inclusion is not a position on sovereignty or boundaries.
- CIA World Factbook text preserved by World Factbook Archive. Archive edition 2025; individual estimates retain their own dates. These are historical reference facts, not current observations.
About the editions. The CIA announced the end of its online World Factbook on February 4, 2026. Our historical profiles retain the archive editions shown above.
Skyhorse lists The CIA World Factbook 2026–2027, published April 7, 2026 (ISBN 9781510786042). That book’s full text has not been incorporated here; its edition title does not redate the imported archive. Archive distribution license.
Geography is a simplified reference. Displayed boundaries and entity inclusion do not express a position on sovereignty or disputed borders.