Population:
6,624,933
(July 2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
108
[see also: Population country ranks ]
Nationality:
noun:
Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective:
Sierra Leonean
Ethnic groups:
Temne 35.5%, Mende 33.2%, Limba 6.4%, Kono 4.4%, Fullah 3.4%, Loko 2.9%, Koranko 2.8%, Sherbro 2.6%, Mandingo 2.4%, Creole 1.2% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century; also known as Krio), other Sierra Leone 4.7%, other foreign 0.3% (includes refugees from Liberia's civil war, and small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians), unspecified 0.2%
(2013 est.)
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 who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
Religions:
Muslim 78.6%, Christian 20.8%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.2%
(2013 est.)
Demographic profile:
Sierra Leone’s youthful and growing population is driven by its high total fertility rate (TFR) of almost 5 children per woman, which has declined little over the last two decades. Its elevated TFR is sustained by the continued desire for large families, the low level of contraceptive use, and the early start of childbearing. Despite its high TFR, Sierra Leone’s population growth is somewhat tempered by high infant, child, and maternal mortality rates that are among the world’s highest and are a result of poverty, a lack of potable water and sanitation, poor nutrition, limited access to quality health care services, and the prevalence of female genital cutting.
Sierra Leone’s large youth cohort – about 60% of the population is under the age of 25 – continues to struggle with high levels of unemployment, which was one of the major causes of the country’s 1991-2002 civil war and remains a threat to stability today. Its estimated 60% youth unemployment rate is attributed to high levels of illiteracy and unskilled labor, a lack of private sector jobs, and low pay.
Sierra Leone has been a source of and destination for refugees. Sierra Leone’s civil war internally displaced as many as 2 million people, or almost half the population, and forced almost another half million to seek refuge in neighboring countries (370,000 Sierra Leoneans fled to Guinea and 120,000 to Liberia). The UNHCR has helped almost 180,000 Sierra Leoneans to return home, while more than 90,000 others have repatriated on their own. Of the more than 65,000 Liberians who took refuge in Sierra Leone during their country’s civil war (1989-2003), about 50,000 have been voluntarily repatriated by the UNHCR and others have returned home independently. As of 2015, less than 1,000 Liberians still reside in Sierra Leone.
Age structure:
0-14 years: 41.38%
(male 1,369,942/female 1,371,537)
[see also: Age structure - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 18.83%
(male 610,396/female 636,880)
[see also: Age structure - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 32.21%
(male 1,020,741/female 1,112,946)
[see also: Age structure - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 3.89%
(male 121,733/female 135,664)
[see also: Age structure - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 3.7%
(male 100,712/female 144,382)
(2020 est.)
[see also: Age structure - 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for Sierra Leone. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 82.6
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 78
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 4.6
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 21.9
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]
Median age:
total: 19.1 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 18.5 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 19.7 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
207
Population growth rate:
2.43%
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
26
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
Birth rate:
35.4 births/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
19
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
Death rate:
9.8 deaths/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
41
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
Net migration rate:
-1.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
147
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
Population distribution:
population clusters are found in the lower elevations of the south and west; the northern third of the country is less populated
Urbanization:
urban population: 42.5% of total population
(2019)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 3.12% annual rate of change
(2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]
Major urban areas - population:
1.168 million FREETOWN (capital)
(2019)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 94.8 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio country ranks ]
Mother's mean age at first birth:
19.2 years
(2013 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]
Maternal mortality rate:
1,120 deaths/100,000 live births
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
3
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
Infant mortality rate:
total: 63.6 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 71.6 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 55.4 deaths/1,000 live births
(2020 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
10
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 59.8 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 57.1 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 62.6 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
218
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]
Total fertility rate:
4.62 children born/woman
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
21
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
22.5%
(2017)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 84.9% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 47.8% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 62.6% of population
unimproved:
urban: 15.1% of population
rural: 52.2% of population
total: 37.4% of population
(2015 est.)
Current Health Expenditure:
16.5%
(2016)
[see also: Current Health Expenditure country ranks ]
Physicians density:
0.03 physicians/1,000 population
(2011)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 22.8% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 6.9% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 13.3% of population
(2015 est.)
unimproved:
urban: 77.2% of population
(2015 est.)
rural: 93.1% of population
(2015 est.)
total: 86.7% of population
(2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.5%
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
33
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
70,000
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
55
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
2,100
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
45
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk:
very high
(2016)
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
(2016)
vectorborne diseases:
malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever
(2016)
water contact diseases:
schistosomiasis
(2016)
animal contact diseases:
rabies
(2016)
aerosolized dust or soil contact diseases:
Lassa fever
(2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
8.7%
(2016)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
147
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
18.2%
(2013)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
32
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]
Education expenditures:
4.6% of GDP
(2017)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
85
[see also: Education expenditures country ranks ]
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 48.1%
[see also: Literacy - total population country ranks ]
male: 58.7%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 37.7%
(2015)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 9.4%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 14.8%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 6.1%
(2014 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
132
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Sierra Leone on this page is re-published from the 2020 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sierra Leone People 2020 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sierra Leone People 2020 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may have the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assigns counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order.
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This page was last modified 27-Jan-20