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Sierra Leone
Republic of Sierra Leone · Western Africa
At a glance
CapitalFreetown
Official languageEnglish
Currencyleone
Drives on theright
Highest pointMount Bintumani1,945 m
Biggest category of goods exportedfood46% of goods exports, 2018
Services share of exports3.1%of everything sold abroad, 2024
Internet domain.sl
Sierra Leone by the numbers
Rank is out of the countries with data for that measure. Every figure is the latest year the source publishes.
| Measure | Value | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| PopulationEveryone living in the country, all ages, counted mid-year. | 8.82m (2025) | 100th of 209 |
| GDPThe total value of everything the country produces in a year, at current prices. | $7.46bn (2025) | 161st of 203 |
| Land areaTotal land area, excluding inland water and offshore territory. | 72.2k km² (2023) | 117th of 209 |
| Military spending, totalWhat the government spends on its armed forces in a year — pay, equipment and operations. | $36.4m (2024) | 142nd of 151 |
| Exports of goods & servicesThe value of everything the country sells abroad in a year, goods and services combined. | $1.56bn (2025) | 153rd of 180 |
| Mobile subscriptionsActive mobile phone subscriptions — NOT the same as people. Many people hold two, so a country can have more subscriptions than residents. | 8.93m (2022) | 95th of 205 |
| Forest areaLand under natural or planted trees, whether or not it is productive. | 24.8k km² (2023) | 98th of 203 |
| Agricultural landCropland, land under permanent crops, and permanent pasture. | 39.5k km² (2023) | 96th of 206 |
| COâ‚‚ emissionsCarbon dioxide released in a year, in millions of tonnes. | 1 Mt (2024) | 157th of 198 |
| Urban populationThe number of people living in urban areas, as each country defines them. | 4.05m (2025) | 113th of 209 |
| Life expectancyHow long a baby born today would live if death rates never changed. | 62.0 years (2024) | 198th of 209 |
| GDP per personEverything the country produces in a year, divided by its population. | $846 (2025) | 195th of 205 |
| Internet useThe share of people who have used the internet in the last three months. | 25.1% (2024) | 175th of 191 |
| InflationHow much prices rose over the year, measured on a basket of consumer goods. | 7.5% (2025) | 35th of 182 |
| UnemploymentThe share of people who want a job and are looking for one but do not have one. | 3.1% (2025) | 141st of 185 |
| Urban shareThe share of the population living in urban areas. | 45.9% (2025) | 151st of 209 |
| Births per womanHow many children a woman would have across her life at current birth rates. | 3.70 (2024) | 35th of 209 |
| Military spending, share of GDPWhat the country spends on its armed forces, as a share of everything it produces. | 0.46% of GDP (2024) | 146th of 155 |
| Trade opennessImports plus exports as a share of GDP. Above 100% is normal for small trading economies. | 49.1% of GDP (2025) | 146th of 183 |
| COâ‚‚ per personCarbon dioxide from fuel and industry, divided by the population. | 0.17 t (2024) | 180th of 198 |
| Human Development IndexThe UN’s combined measure of health, education and income, on a scale from 0 to 1. | 0.467 (2023) | 185th of 193 |
Land borders
Sierra Leone shares these with other countries
Drives on the right 149Has a coast and land neighbours 115Has english as an official language 63Is a member of the commonwealth 55Is a member of the african union 54Mainly exports food 47Sells almost only goods 34Is in western africa 16
Keep going
Country data from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and the UNDP Human Development Report (CC BY 3.0 IGO)
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