The beach in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leona Economy

Sierra Leone's economy in numbers:

Nominal GDP of USD 3.9 billion in 2023.

Nominal GDP of USD 4.2 billion in 2021.

GDP per capita of USD 521 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

GDP per capita of USD 460 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

Average real GDP growth of 3% over the last decade.

Average real GDP growth of 4.3% over the last decade.

Share of the region's population
Share of the region's GDP

In 2020, services accounted for 35% of overall GDP, manufacturing 2%, other industrial activity 4%, and agriculture 59%. Looking at GDP by expenditure, private consumption accounted for 101% of GDP in 2020, government consumption 8%, fixed investment 12%, and net exports -21%.

GDP by economic sector
GDP by type of expenditure

International trade:

In 2018, manufactured products made up 25% of total merchandise exports, mineral fuels 0%, food 46%, ores and metals 20% and agricultural raw materials 9%, with other categories accounting for 0% of the total. In the same period, manufactured products made up 64% of total merchandise imports, mineral fuels 1%, food 32%, ores and metals 1% and agricultural raw materials 2%, with other goods accounting for 0% of the total. Total exports were worth USD 1 billion in 2021, while total imports were USD 2 billion.

Key exports
Key imports
Key export partners
Key import partners

Economic growth:

The economy recorded average annual growth of 4.3% in the decade to 2021. To read more about GDP growth in Sierra Leone, go to our dedicated page.

Fiscal policy:

Sierra Leone's fiscal deficit averaged 3.9% of GDP in the decade to 2022. Find out more on our dedicated page.

Inflation:

Inflation averaged 12.4% in the decade to 2022. Go to our Sierra Leone inflation page for extra insight.

Monetary Policy:

Sierra Leone's monetary policy rate ended 2021 at 18.86%, down from 21.00% a decade earlier. See our Sierra Leone monetary policy page for additional details.

Exchange Rate:

From end-2014 to end-2022 the leone weakened by 73.7% vs the U.S. dollar. For more info on the leone, click here.
Projections out to 2034.

35 indicators covered including both annual and quarterly frequencies.

Consensus Forecasts based on a panel of 4 expert analysts.

Want to get insight on the economic outlook for Sierra Leone in the coming years? FocusEconomics collects projections out to 2034 on 35 economic indicators for Sierra Leone from a panel of 4 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts, and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. This means you avoid the risk of relying on out of date, biased or outlier forecasts. Our Consensus Forecasts can be visualized in whichever way best suits your needs, including via interactive online dashboards , direct data delivery and executive-style reports which combine analysts' projections with timely written analysis from our in-house team of economists on the latest developments in the Sierra Leone economy. To download a sample report on the Sierra Leone's economy, click here. To get in touch with our team for more information, fill in the form at the bottom of this page.

Sierra Leona Datos económicos

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Población (millones) 7.7 7.8 8.0 8.1 8.3
PIB (en millones de dólares) 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.2 -
PIB per cápita (USD) 534 522 509 522 -
PIB (en miles de millones de libras esterlinas) 32,402 36,731 39,938 44,360 -
Crecimiento económico (PIB nominal, var. anual) 18.0 13.4 8.7 11.1 -
Crecimiento económico (PIB, var. anual) 3.5 5.3 -2.0 4.1 -
Saldo fiscal (% del PIB) -2.8 -0.4 -2.7 -4.5 -
Deuda pública (% del PIB) 69.1 72.5 76.3 79.3 -
Inflación (IPC, % var. anual, eop) 67.4 76.8 84.8 100.0 137.1
Inflación (IPC, % var. anual, aop) 64.1 73.6 83.5 93.5 118.9
Tipo de política (%, eop) 15.96 17.97 17.94 18.86 -
Tipo de cambio (LCU por USD, eop) 8,396 9,717 10,133 11,256 18,835
Tipo de cambio (LCU por USD, aop) 7,935 9,014 9,830 10,442 14,056
Balanza por cuenta corriente (en millones de dólares) -1 -1 - - -
Balanza por cuenta corriente (% del PIB) -18.7 -22.5 - - -
Balanza comercial de mercancías (en millones de USD) -0.3 -0.4 -0.6 - -
Exportaciones de mercancías (en millones de dólares) 1 1 1 - -
Importaciones de mercancías (en millones de dólares) 1 1 1 - -
Exportaciones de mercancías (% var. anual) 15 11 -34 - -
Importaciones de mercancías (% var. anual) 1 15 -12 - -
Inversión extranjera directa (en millones de dólares) 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.2 -
Reservas internacionales (en millones de dólares) 1 1 1 1 -
Reservas internacionales (meses de importaciones) 5.0 4.6 7.0 - -
Deuda externa (en millones de dólares) 2 2 2 2 -
Deuda externa (% del PIB) 43 46 52 58 -

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