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SLE · Sub-Saharan Africa

Sierra Leone

8,819,794

Latest official population · 2025

Annual change+177.77K2024 to 2025
Growth since 2000+99.4%from 4.42M
Life expectancy62.0 years2024
Fertility rate3.70births per woman · 2024
Urban population45.9%2025
RegionSub-Saharan Africa Low income

A country at every age

How Sierra Leone is shaped by age.

A younger population means schools, jobs, and future families will shape the decades ahead.

Latest shared source year: 2025
Ages 0–1437.7%Children and early teens
Ages 15–6459.1%Working-age population
Ages 65+3.3%Older population

The population pulse

How the population changes.

Births and deaths show natural change. Migration shows how movement across borders also changes the population.

Birth rate30.1births per 1,000 · 2024
Death rate8.2deaths per 1,000 · 2024
Natural balance+21.9births minus deaths per 1,000
Net migration-11.31Knet people estimate · 2025

UN medium projection

What could Sierra Leone look like in 2050?

If current demographic patterns evolve along the UN's medium scenario, the population could be 12.95M in 2050—49.8% larger than the 2024 UN estimate.

A projection is a scenario, not a prediction or live count.
  1. 20248.64M
  2. 205012.95M
  3. 210015.93M
Median age in 205026.3years
Births in 2050260.82Kduring the year
Deaths in 2050103.73Kduring the year
Life expectancy66.0years in 2050

Long view

Population through time

Official World Bank annual observations, shown at decade intervals with the latest published year.

  1. 19602.27M
  2. 19702.71M
  3. 19803.27M
  4. 19904.2M
  5. 20004.42M
  6. 20106.22M
  7. 20207.91M
  8. 20258.82M
SourceWorld Bank Open DataPopulation total · SP.POP.TOTL
Latest population year2025Official annual observation
Future sourceUN WPP 2024Medium projection · 2024–2100
DeliveryReliable snapshotChecked 9/22/2026

Keep exploring

Put Sierra Leone into context.

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