Sierra Leone Economy - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Economic overview

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.

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$13.15 billion (2020 est.)

$13.44 billion (2019 est.)

$12.72 billion (2018 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real GDP growth rate

3.7% (2017 est.)

6.3% (2016 est.)

-20.5% (2015 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$1,600 (2020 est.)

$1,700 (2019 est.)

$1,700 (2018 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$4.132 billion (2020 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

14.8% (2019 est.)

16% (2018 est.)

18.2% (2017 est.)

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 60.7% (2017 est.)

industry: 6.5% (2017 est.)

services: 32.9% (2017 est.)

GDP - composition, by end use

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.)

Agricultural products

cassava, rice, vegetables, oil palm fruit, sweet potatoes, milk, citrus fruit, groundnuts, fruit, pulses nes

Industries

diamond mining; iron ore, rutile and bauxite mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, footwear)

Industrial production growth rate

15.5% (2017 est.)

Labor force

132,000 (2013 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 61.1%

industry: 5.5%

services: 33.4% (2014 est.)

Unemployment rate

15% (2017 est.)

17.2% (2016 est.)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 3.6%

male: 4.9%

female: 2.6% (2018 est.)

Population below poverty line

56.8% (2018 est.)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

35.7 (2018 est.)

62.9 (1989)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.6%

highest 10%: 33.6% (2003)

Budget

revenues: 562 million (2017 est.)

expenditures: 846.4 million (2017 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-7.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt

63.9% of GDP (2017 est.)

54.9% of GDP (2016 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

15.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Current account balance

-$407 million (2017 est.)

-$88 million (2016 est.)

Exports

$740 million (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$720 million (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Exports - partners

Belgium 26%, China 25%, Romania 9%, United Arab Emirates 6%, Germany 5%, Netherlands 5% (2019)

Exports - commodities

titanium, lumber, diamonds, aluminum, cocoa beans (2019)

Imports

$1.82 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$2.072 billion (2018 est.)

$1.59 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Imports - partners

China 27%, India 11%, United States 6%, Ghana 5%, Turkey 5% (2019)

Imports - commodities

rice, plastics, packaged medicines, sauces/seasonings, cars (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$478 million (31 December 2017 est.)

$497.2 million (31 December 2016 est.)

Debt - external

$1.615 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$1.503 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

Exchange rates

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 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sierra Leone 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sierra Leone 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.