The Poorest Countries in the World
All these extremely fragile and underdeveloped economies have either recently been through a civil war or are suffering from ongoing sectarian or ethnic conflicts.
Sierra Leone GDP and Economic Data
Country Report 2017 - Includes Sierra Leone real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.
Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Sierra Leone economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Sierra Leone best banks and safest banks are also available.
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International Reserves
USD 0.6 billion (2015)
International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved January 2017
Gross Domestic Product - GDP
USD 4.4 billion (2017, estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
Intl$ 11.4 billion (2017, estimate)
Real GDP growth
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| 4.2% | 8.1% | 5.4% | 3.2% | 5.4% | 6.3% | 15.2% |
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015* | 2016* | 2017* | ||
| 20.7% | 4.6% | -21.1% | 4.3% | 5% |
*Estimate
GDP (PPP) - share of world total
| 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2017* |
| 0.02% | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.009% |
*Estimate
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GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 71.1%
- industry: 7.9%
- services: 21%
(2016 estimate)
Inflation
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016* | 2017* |
| 9.8% | 8.3% | 9.0% | 9.7% | 9.0% |
*Estimate
Unemployment rate
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
*Estimate
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015* | 2016* | 2017* |
| 30.5% | 35% | 43.8% | 48.1% | 47.2% |
*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015* | 2016* | 2017* |
| -2.4% | -3.6% | -4.4% | -5% | -3.7% |
*Estimate
Government bond ratings
Standard & Poor's: N/A
Moody's: N/A
Standard & Poor's / Moody's (Updated January 2017)
Source
Market value of publicly traded shares
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source
Current account balance by percentage of GDP
-16.3% (2017 estimate)
Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)
19.4% (2015)
Shares in world total merchandising export
0.004% (2015)
Shares in world total commercial services export
0.004% (2014)
Export commodities
Iron ore, diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish
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Import commodities
Foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals
Exports - major partners
China 31.3%, Belgium 27.8%, Romania 11.3%, US 7.3%, India 4% (2015)
Imports - major partners
China 23%, India 7.9%, US 6.4%, Netherlands 5.1% (2015)
FDI inflows
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| USD 430 million | USD 404 million | USD 519 million |
FDI outflows
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014
N/A
(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015
N/A
(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
Overall ranking: 148 out of 190 countries (2017)
Subcategories:
Starting a business: 87 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 100 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 163 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 157 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 87 out of 190 countries
Trading Across Borders: 169 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 87 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 132 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 176 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 148 out of 190 countries
Source
Global competitiveness ranking
132 out of 138 countries
(2016-2017)
Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking: 142 / Score: 52.31 (Mostly unfree) (2016)
(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)
Source
Source
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%)
Total population
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2016* | 2021* |
| 4.043 million | 4.14 million | 5.752 million | 6.439 million | 7.008 million |
*Estimate
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Urban population as % of total population
| 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2015 |
| 17% | 30% | 36% | 40% |
Literacy
Total population: 48.1%
Male: 58.7%
Female: 37.7% (2015 est.)
(age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic)
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day
36.7% (2011)
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
34.0 (2011)
(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Source
Freedom House rating
Political Rights: 3
Civil Liberties: 3 (2017)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Source
Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed 0.27% Mobile 89.53% (2015)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)