Sierra Leone is extremely poor and nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. The country possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, but it is still recovering from a civil war that destroyed most institutions before ending in the early 2000s.
In recent years, economic growth has been driven by mining - particularly iron ore. The country’s principal exports are iron ore, diamonds, and rutile, and the economy is vulnerable to fluctuations in international prices. Until 2014, the government had relied on external assistance to support its budget, but it was gradually becoming more independent. The Ebola outbreak of 2014 and 2015, combined with falling global commodities prices, caused a significant contraction of economic activity in all areas. While the World Health Organization declared an end to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone in November 2015, low commodity prices in 2015-2016 contributed to the country’s biggest fiscal shortfall since 2001. In 2017, increased iron ore exports, together with the end of the Ebola epidemic, supported a resumption of economic growth.
Continued economic growth will depend on rising commodities prices and increased efforts to diversify the sources of growth. Non-mining activities will remain constrained by inadequate infrastructure, such as power and roads, even though power sector projects may provide some additional electricity capacity in the near term. Pervasive corruption and undeveloped human capital will continue to deter foreign investors. Sustained international donor support in the near future will partially offset these fiscal constraints.
3.7% (2017 est.)
6.3% (2016 est.)
-20.5% (2015 est.)
14.8% (2019 est.)
16% (2018 est.)
18.2% (2017 est.)
$13.425 billion (2019 est.)
$12.724 billion (2018 est.)
$12.3 billion (2017 est.)
note: data are in 2010 dollars
$4.132 billion (2020 est.)
$1,718 (2019 est.)
$1,663 (2018 est.)
$1,643 (2017 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
-7.3% of GDP (2018 est.)
4.3% of GDP (2017 est.)
-5.9% of GDP (2015 est.)
agriculture: 60.7% (2017 est.)
industry: 6.5% (2017 est.)
services: 32.9% (2017 est.)
household consumption: 97.9% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 12.1% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 18.1% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 0.4% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 26.8% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -55.3% (2017 est.)
Overall score: 47.5 (2020)
Starting a Business score: 91.3 (2020)
Trading score: 51.9 (2020)
Enforcement score: 55.9 (2020)
cassava, rice, vegetables, oil palm fruit, sweet potatoes, milk, citrus fruit, groundnuts, fruit, pulses nes
diamond mining; iron ore, rutile and bauxite mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, footwear)
15.5% (2017 est.)
132,000 (2013 est.)
agriculture: 61.1%
industry: 5.5%
services: 33.4% (2014 est.)
15% (2017 est.)
17.2% (2016 est.)
56.8% (2018 est.)
35.7 (2018 est.)
62.9 (1989)
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 33.6% (2003)
revenues: 562 million (2017 est.)
expenditures: 846.4 million (2017 est.)
15.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
-7.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
63.9% of GDP (2017 est.)
54.9% of GDP (2016 est.)
calendar year
-$407 million (2017 est.)
-$88 million (2016 est.)
$1.085 billion (2018 est.)
$1.632 billion (2017 est.)
Belgium 26%, China 25%, Romania 9%, United Arab Emirates 6%, Germany 5%, Netherlands 5% (2019)
titanium, lumber, diamonds, aluminum, cocoa beans (2019)
$2.619 billion (2020 est.)
$2.414 billion (2019 est.)
$2.072 billion (2018 est.)
China 27%, India 11%, United States 6%, Ghana 5%, Turkey 5% (2019)
rice, plastics, packaged medicines, sauces/seasonings, cars (2019)
$478 million (31 December 2017 est.)
$497.2 million (31 December 2016 est.)
$1.615 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$1.503 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
leones (SLL) per US dollar -
7,396.3 (2017 est.)
6,289.9 (2016 est.)
6,289.9 (2015 est.)
5,080.8 (2014 est.)
4,524.2 (2013 est.)
NOTE: The information regarding Sierra Leone on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sierra Leone 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sierra Leone 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 16 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.