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Sierra Leone · data for latest available · data as of 26 October 2026 · printed 27 Oct 2026
NationsTree / Countries / Sierra Leone
2025
Flag of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sub-Saharan Africa Capital Freetown Low income Nation age 55 years (since 1971) i SLE · SL
NationsTree Index 2025 i27.3166th of 196 Tree height 2025 i3.0 msee ranking Military strength i12percentile
Population i8.8 m100th of 217 Area i72,300 km²120th of 216 GDP i$7.46 bn163rd of 210 GDP (PPP) i$32.78 bn intl.146th of 199 GDP per person (PPP) i$3,717 intl.178th of 199 Life expectancy i62.0 years206th of 217
Index pillars
Foundations · roots i18
Strength · trunk i31
Quality of life · crown i7
Problems (higher = fewer) · dry branches i39
Direction (5-year change) · new shoots i69
CSV

In short

Sierra Leone is 166th of 196 countries in the NationsTree Index, with a score of 27.3 out of 100; its tree is 3.0 m tall.

It has 8.8 million people and an economy of $32.78 bn at purchasing power parity, 146th of 199 in the world.

Its strongest positions: CO₂ emissions per person (22nd of 203), Renewable energy (25th of 212) and Renewable freshwater per person (30th of 183).

Its weakest positions: Fixed broadband (206th of 208), Safely managed drinking water (147th of 150) and Trade & transport infrastructure quality (LPI) (160th of 164).

Over five years it climbed from 175th to 166th in the index.

All data

Data as of 26 October 2026

Latest available value for each indicator, with its year. World rank is among countries with recent data (last 5 years of the series).

Land & people

51
Surface area ikm² 72,300 120th/216
Land area ikm² 72,180 117th/216
Population ipeople 8.8 m 100th/217
Population growth i% 2.04% 47th/217
Population density ipeople/km² 119.7 90th/216
Urban population i% 45.9% 158th/217
Population aged 0–14 i% 37.7% 36th/217
Population aged 65+ i% 3.3% 185th/217

Economy

31
GDP iUSD $7.46 bn 163rd/210
GDP (PPP) iintl. USD $32.78 bn 146th/199
Real GDP (PPP, constant 2021 prices) iintl. USD 2021 $28.01 bn 146th/199
GDP per person iUSD $846 201st/210
GDP per person (PPP) iintl. USD $3,717 178th/199
GNI per person (Atlas) iUSD $830 190th/201
GDP growth i% 4.6% 59th/210
Inflation i% 7.5% 148th/180
Unemployment i% 3.2% 45th/187
General government gross debt i% of GDP 51.4% 86th/189
Government budget balance i% of GDP -4.2% 137th/192

Main industries

49
Agriculture, forestry, fishing i% of GDP 29.5% 14th/197
Industry incl. construction i% of GDP 25.7% 76th/200
Manufacturing i% of GDP 7.0% 134th/192
Services i% of GDP 41.6% 182nd/200

Trade

25
Exports of goods & services iUSD $1.56 bn 155th/182
Imports of goods & services iUSD $2.11 bn 158th/182
Exports i% of GDP 20.9% 145th/183
Imports i% of GDP 28.2% 141st/183
Trade openness i% of GDP 49.1% 146th/183
Fuel exports i% of merchandise exports 0.1%2018
Manufactures exports i% of merchandise exports 25.1%2018
Food exports i% of merchandise exports 45.6%2018
Ores & metals exports i% of merchandise exports 19.7%2018
High-tech exports i% of manufactured exports 0.7%2018
Current account balance i% of GDP -5.2% 141st/191
Foreign direct investment, inflows i% of GDP 2.4% 90th/196

Natural resources

73
Natural resource rents i% of GDP 9.0% 50th/209
Oil rents i% of GDP 0.00% 120th/197
Coal rents i% of GDP 0.00% 68th/195
Mineral rents i% of GDP 0.21% 63rd/209
Forest rents i% of GDP 8.82% 8th/209
Arable land i% of land area 21.9% 48th/206
Renewable freshwater per person im³ 19,331 30th/183

Tourism

20
International tourist arrivals iarrivals 71,000 174th/194
Tourism receipts iUSD $39.0 m 159th/175
Tourism receipts i% of exports 5.5% 82nd/168
Outbound trips idepartures 122,000 97th/107

Society & health

19
Life expectancy iyears 62.0 206th/217
Under-5 mortality iper 1,000 births 90.5 190th/196
Physicians iper 1,000 people 0.13 160th/174
Hospital beds iper 1,000 people 0.42006
DPT immunization i% of children 12–23 months 91% 93rd/193
Completed lower secondary, 25+ i% of adults 23.1%2019
Secondary enrolment i% gross 86.9% 112th/173
Social protection coverage (incl. pensions) i% of population 18.1%2018
Old-age dependency ratio i% of working-age population 5.6% 189th/217
Health spending i% of GDP 4.7% 131st/193
Adult literacy i% 43.6%2019
Tertiary enrolment i% gross 2.0%2002
Human Development Index iindex 0–1 0.467 185th/193
Income inequality (Gini) iindex 35.72018
Extreme poverty i% of population 41.5%2018

Infrastructure & digital

10
Access to electricity i% of population 39.2% 205th/215
Safely managed drinking water i% of population 10.9% 147th/150
Safely managed sanitation i% of population 16.8% 130th/144
Internet users i% of population 25.1% 173rd/186
Mobile subscriptions iper 100 people 108 127th/210
Fixed broadband iper 100 people 0.0 206th/208
Trade & transport infrastructure quality (LPI) iscore 1–5 1.82 160th/164
Air passengers carried ipassengers 50,1932012

Environment & energy

66
CO₂ emissions per person it CO₂e 0.17 22nd/203
Renewable energy i% of final energy use 71.6% 25th/212
Air pollution (PM2.5) iµg/m³ 22.5 132nd/200
Forest area i% of land area 34.0% 101st/214

Institutions & safety

28
Government effectiveness iscore 0–100 33.3 179th/205
Control of corruption iscore 0–100 32.2 157th/207
Rule of law iscore 0–100 44.7 154th/207
Political stability iscore 0–100 58.8 144th/207
Regulatory quality iscore 0–100 36.5 179th/205
Voice & accountability iscore 0–100 49.2 128th/205
Homicide rate iper 100,000 2.2 72nd/145

Military

13
Military expenditure iUSD $32.2 m 148th/156
Military expenditure i% of GDP 0.4% 149th/156
Military expenditure i% of government spending 2.5% 130th/154
Armed forces personnel ipeople 9,000 136th/170
Armed forces personnel i% of labour force 0.35% 138th/168
Arms imports (SIPRI TIV) iTIV 2.0 m2016

Science & innovation

27
Scientific articles iarticles 86 144th/197

Compare Sierra Leone with

Equatorial GuineaNamibiaSomalia, Fed. Rep.Togo

Sources

Figures on this page come from: World Bank — World Development Indicators, International Monetary Fund — World Economic Outlook (DataMapper), Global Change Data Lab (Our World in Data) — Our World in Data, World Bank — Worldwide Governance Indicators . Nation age: Wikidata P571 (inception) (source). Every value is stored with its year and source series; see Sources & licences and Methodology.

Cite as: NationsTree (2026). Sierra Leone — country profile. https://nationstree.org/countries/sierra-leone. Data as of 26 October 2026.

All figures come from official statistics published by public institutions (World Bank WDI and WGI, compiling UN agencies, IMF, WHO and national statistical offices). Each value carries its year; ranks are positions among countries with data.
Cite as: NationsTree (2026). Sierra Leone — country profile. https://nationstree.org/countries/sierra-leone. Data as of 26 October 2026.
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