Demographics of Sierra Leone

The demographics of Sierra Leone are made up of an indigenous population from 18 ethnic groups. The Temne in the north and the Mende in the south are the largest. About 60,000 are Krio, the descendants of freed slaves who returned to Sierra Leone from Great Britain, North America and slave ships captured on the high seas. In addition, about 5,000 Lebanese, 1,000 Indians, and 5,000 Europeans reside in the country.

Demographics of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone population pyramid in 2020
Population8,420,641
Density80.06 inhabitants per sq km.
Growth rate15.40% (2004–2014 est.)
Birth rate37.40 births/1,000 inhabitants
Death rate11.03 deaths/1,000 inhabitants
Life expectancy57.39 years
 • male54.85 years
 • female60.00 years
Fertility rate4.2 children born/women
Infant mortality rate73.29 deaths/1,000 births
Age structure
0–14 years41.9%
15–64 years54.4%
65 and over3.7%
Sex ratio
Total0.94 male(s)/female
At birth1.03 male(s)/female
Under 150.99 male(s)/female
15–64 years0.94 male(s)/female
65 and over0.78 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalitySierra Leonean(s)
Major ethnicTemne 25.2%, Mende 30.5%
Minor ethnicFula 5.4%, Limba 6.4%, Kono 10.4%, Loko 2.9%, Koranko 2.8%, Sherbro 2.6%, Mandingo 2.4%, Creole 5.2%, Other 5.2%
Language
OfficialEnglish
SpokenKrio, Temne, Mende

In the past, some Sierra Leoneans were noted for their educational achievements, trading activity, entrepreneurial skills, and arts and crafts work, particularly woodcarving. Many are part of larger ethnic networks extending into several countries, which link West African states in the area. Their level of education and infrastructure have declined sharply over the last 30 years.[1]

Population
Historical populations of Sierra Leone
YearPop.±% p.a.
1963 2,180,355—    
1974 2,735,159+2.08%
1985 3,515,812+2.31%
2004 4,976,871+1.85%
2014 5,743,725+1.44%
Source: [2]
Sierra Leone's total population, from 1961 to 2013.

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[3][4] the total population was 8,420,641 in 2021, compared to only 1 895 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 43%, 55.1% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 1.9% was 65 years or older .[5]

Total population Population aged 0–14 (%) Population aged 15–64 (%) Population aged 65+ (%)
1950 1 895 00039.457.63.0
1955 2 029 00039.657.52.9
1960 2 187 00039.657.52.9
1965 2 373 00039.857.32.9
1970 2 593 00040.556.92.9
1975 2 845 00040.556.63.0
1980 3 162 00041.156.02.9
1985 3 541 00042.055.32.7
1990 3 982 00042.455.12.6
1995 3 898 00042.355.32.4
2000 4 143 00042.455.52.1
2005 5 153 00042.955.21.9
2010 5 868 00043.055.11.9

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Estimates or projections based on the 2015 population census.): [6]

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 3 987 250 4 113 068 8 100 318 100
0–4 620 177 639 745 1 259 922 15.55
5–9 546 368 563 608 1 109 976 13.70
10–14 492 216 507 749 999 965 12.34
15–19 415 263 428 368 843 631 10.30
20–24 373 462 385 247 758 709 9.37
25–29 324 639 334 883 659 522 8.14
30–34 272 318 280 911 553 229 6.83
35–39 226 560 233 708 460 268 5.68
40–44 181 985 187 730 369 715 4.56
45–49 144 473 149 031 293 504 3.62
50–54 110 450 113 934 224 384 2.77
55–59 84 146 86 801 170 947 2.11
60–64 64 608 66 647 131 255 1.62
65-69 47 370 48 865 96 235 1.19
70-74 33 569 34 630 68 199 0.84
75-79 22 307 23 010 45 317 0.56
80+ 27 339 28 201 55 540 0.69
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 1 658 761 1 711 102 3 369 863 41.60
15–64 2 197 904 2 267 260 4 465 164 55.12
65+ 130 585 134 706 265 291 3.28

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Sierra Leone not complete. The website Our World in Data prepared the following estimates based on statistics from the Population Department of the United Nations.[7]

Mid-year population (thousands) Live births (thousands) Deaths (thousands) Natural change (thousands) Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate (TFR) Infant mortality (per 1000 live births) Life expectancy (in years)
1950 2 001   97   68   29 48.6 34.1 14.5 6.09 251.2 29.6
1951   2 027   98   69   30 48.5 33.8 14.7 6.07 249.5 29.8
1952   2 053   99   68   31 48.2 33.3 15.0 6.03 246.1 30.3
1953   2 079   100   68   32 48.0 32.7 15.2 6.00 242.9 30.9
1954   2 107   102   68   33 48.3 32.4 15.9 6.05 239.9 31.3
1955   2 136   104   69   35 48.4 32.1 16.4 6.07 237.0 31.8
1956   2 166   105   69   36 48.6 31.8 16.8 6.10 234.3 32.2
1957   2 198   107   69   38 48.6 31.6 17.1 6.12 231.4 32.6
1958   2 230   109   70   39 48.7 31.3 17.4 6.13 228.5 33.0
1959   2 264   110   70   40 48.7 30.9 17.8 6.15 225.6 33.5
1960   2 301   113   71   42 48.9 30.6 18.3 6.18 222.7 34.0
1961   2 341   115   71   44 49.0 30.3 18.7 6.21 219.8 34.4
1962   2 383   117   71   45 49.0 30.0 19.1 6.22 217.0 34.9
1963   2 427   119   72   47 49.1 29.6 19.5 6.26 214.1 35.3
1964   2 473   121   72   49 49.1 29.2 19.9 6.29 211.1 35.9
1965   2 521   123   72   51 48.8 28.7 20.1 6.31 208.2 36.4
1966   2 570   125   73   52 48.7 28.3 20.4 6.35 205.2 36.9
1967   2 620   127   73   55 48.6 27.8 20.8 6.38 202.3 37.4
1968   2 672   129   73   56 48.3 27.4 20.9 6.39 199.5 37.8
1969   2 725   131   74   57 48.0 27.0 21.0 6.39 196.7 38.2
1970   2 779   133   74   59 47.8 26.5 21.3 6.41 194.0 38.8
1971   2 832   135   74   61 47.7 26.0 21.7 6.43 191.4 39.3
1972   2 887   137   74   63 47.5 25.6 22.0 6.45 188.8 39.8
1973   2 942   140   74   65 47.4 25.2 22.2 6.47 186.4 40.2
1974   2 999   143   74   68 47.5 24.8 22.7 6.53 184.0 40.7
1975   3 056   145   75   70 47.3 24.4 23.0 6.55 181.5 41.2
1976   3 113   147   75   72 47.1 24.0 23.2 6.55 179.2 41.6
1977   3 172   149   75   74 47.0 23.6 23.4 6.57 177.0 42.1
1978   3 235   152   75   77 47.0 23.2 23.7 6.59 174.9 42.5
1979   3 300   155   76   79 46.7 22.9 23.9 6.58 172.9 42.9
1980   3 367   157   76   81 46.5 22.6 23.9 6.56 171.1 43.1
1981   3 437   160   77   83 46.4 22.4 24.1 6.55 169.3 43.4
1982   3 509   163   78   85 46.5 22.2 24.3 6.56 167.5 43.6
1983   3 586   167   79   88 46.5 22.0 24.5 6.57 165.9 43.8
1984   3 666   171   80   91 46.5 21.9 24.7 6.59 164.4 43.9
1985   3 749   174   82   92 46.4 21.8 24.6 6.59 163.1 43.9
1986   3 843   178   84   94 46.4 21.8 24.6 6.60 161.9 43.8
1987   3 948   183   85   98 46.4 21.6 24.8 6.61 160.3 44.0
1988   4 056   187   87   100 46.2 21.5 24.6 6.59 159.0 44.0
1989   4 159   191   89   102 45.9 21.4 24.4 6.57 157.9 44.0
1990   4 325   195   91   104 45.8 21.3 24.5 6.57 156.9 44.1
1991   4 378   206   97   109 45.8 21.7 24.2 6.55 156.4 43.5
1992   4 302   201   94   107 45.9 21.5 24.4 6.56 154.8 43.6
1993   4 296   200   93   107 46.0 21.5 24.5 6.57 153.6 43.6
1994   4 315   200   95   105 46.0 21.9 24.1 6.56 153.4 42.9
1995   4 324   200   96   104 45.7 22.0 23.7 6.56 152.0 42.7
1996   4 347   200   93   108 45.8 21.2 24.6 6.55 149.2 43.7
1997   4 405   202   93   108 45.5 21.1 24.5 6.53 147.1 43.7
1998   4 450   204   97   107 45.4 21.6 23.8 6.50 145.8 42.8
1999   4 475   204   99   105 45.2 21.9 23.3 6.42 141.6 42.1
2000   4 584   204   90   114 45.0 19.8 25.2 6.36 139.2 45.1
2001   4 857   212   91   121 44.7 19.2 25.5 6.31 136.0 45.7
2002   5 140   226   95   131 44.3 18.7 25.7 6.23 133.1 46.4
2003   5 351   231   96   135 43.5 18.1 25.4 6.09 130.0 47.0
2004   5 533   233   97   137 42.3 17.5 24.8 5.92 126.8 47.6
2005   5 683   237   96   141 41.7 16.9 24.8 5.81 123.4 48.2
2006   5 810   241   94   148 41.4 16.1 25.3 5.74 119.9 49.3
2007   5 939   242   91   151 40.8 15.3 25.5 5.64 116.1 50.4
2008   6 091   246   89   157 40.3 14.5 25.8 5.56 112.2 51.5
2009   6 260   248   86   162 39.7 13.8 25.9 5.45 108.5 52.6
2010   6 437   250   84   166 38.9 13.1 25.8 5.33 104.4 53.7
2011   6 612   253   82   171 38.3 12.5 25.8 5.21 100.6 54.6
2012   6 789   255   81   174 37.6 11.9 25.6 5.06 97.1 55.5
2013   6 965   254   79   175 36.5 11.4 25.1 4.87 93.6 56.3
2014   7 141   254   80   174 35.5 11.2 24.3 4.70 91.2 56.4
2015   7 315   253   78   174 34.6 10.7 23.8 4.55 88.1 57.2
2016   7 494   255   75   180 34.0 10.0 24.0 4.47 84.6 58.4
2017   7 678   258   76   182 33.6 9.9 23.7 4.39 82.1 58.7
2018   7 861   260   73   187 33.1 9.3 23.8 4.29 79.2 59.8
2019   8 047   262   73   189 32.5 9.1 23.5 4.19 76.7 60.3
2020   8 234   263   77   186 31.9 9.3 22.6 4.08 74.3 59.8
2021   8 421   264   77   187 31.4 9.1 22.2 3.98 72.0 60.1

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[8]

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
2008 31.5 5.1 (4.5) 27.3 3.8 (3.4) 33.4 5.8 (5.2)
2013 35.7 4.9 (4.2) 29.5 3.5 (3.0) 38.2 5.7 (4.9)
2019 30.0 4.2 (3.8) 26 3.1 (2.9) 33 5.1 (4.7)

Other demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.[9]

  • One birth every 2 minutes
  • One death every 6 minutes
  • One net migrant every 131 minutes
  • Net gain of one person every 3 minutes

The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook[10] unless otherwise indicated.

Population
8,692,606 (2022 est.)
6,312,212 (July 2018 est.)

Religions
Main article: Religion in Sierra Leone

Muslim 77.1%, Christian 22.9% (2019 est.)

Age structure
Population pyramid of Sierra Leone in 2020
0-14 years: 41.38% (male 1,369,942/female 1,371,537)
15-24 years: 18.83% (male 610,396/female 636,880)
25-54 years: 32.21% (male 1,020,741/female 1,112,946)
55-64 years: 3.89% (male 121,733/female 135,664)
65 years and over: 3.7% (2020 est.) (male 100,712/female 144,382)
0-14 years: 41.71% (male 1,314,905 /female 1,317,921)
15-24 years: 18.6% (male 572,274 /female 602,105)
25-54 years: 32.23% (male 973,698 /female 1,060,688)
55-64 years: 3.7% (male 110,176 /female 123,268)
65 years and over: 3.76% (male 97,922 /female 139,255) (2018 est.)

Birth rate
32.2 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 24th
36 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 18th
38.12 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Death rate
9.32 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 50th
10.2 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 33rd
11.41 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Total fertility rate
3.8 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 31st
4.69 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 21st
4.9 children born/woman (2012 est.)

Population growth rate
2.49% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 23rd
2.4% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 27th
2.33% growth rate (2014 est.)

Median age
total: 19.1 years. Country comparison to the world: 206th
male: 18.5 years
female: 19.7 years (2020 est.)
total: 19.1 years. Country comparison to the world: 201st
male: 18.4 years
female: 19.7 years (2018 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth
19.6 years (2019 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 20-49

Contraceptive prevalence rate
21.2% (2019)
16.6% (2013)

Net migration rate
2.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 50th
-1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 160th
-3.86 migrants/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 82.6 (2015 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 78 (2015 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 4.6 (2015 est.)
potential support ratio: 21.9 (2015 est.)

Sex ratio
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Maternal Mortality Ratio
890 deaths/100 000 births (2010)

Sierra Leone's MMR is the worst of any country in the world, according to the 2000 WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA report.

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 58.76 years. Country comparison to the world: 223rd
male: 57.16 years
female: 60.41 years (2022 est.)
total population: 59 years
male: 56.4 years
female: 61.7 years (2018 est.)
total population: 56.55 years
male: 54.08 years
female: 59.11 years (2012 est.)
total population: 45.25 years
male: 42.37 years
female: 48.21 years (2000 est.)

Urbanization
urban population: 43.8% of total population (2022)
rate of urbanization: 3.02% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 42.1% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 3.12% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Education expenditures
4.6% of GDP (2017)

Health expenditures
11.1% of GDP (2014)

Physicians density
0.02 physicians/1,000 population (2010)

Hospital bed density
0.4 beds/1,000 population (2008)

HIV/AIDS
adult prevalence rate: 1.4% (2017 est.)
people living with HIV/AIDS: 61,000 (2017 est.)
deaths: 2,600 (2017 est.)

Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: very high (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
animal contact diseases: rabies
aerosolized dust or soil contact diseases: Lassa fever

note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Sierra Leone is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an "infected" person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Nationality
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean

Ethnic groups
Further information: Ethnic groups in Sierra Leone
18 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30.5%, Mende 29.2%, Fula 12.4% Limba 6.4%, Kono 4.4%, Mandingo 2.4, Creole 1.2%, other 13.5%)
Creole (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century)
Refugees from Liberia's recent civil war
Small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians

Languages
Further information: Languages of Sierra Leone
English (official, regular use limited to literate minority)
Mende (principal vernacular in the south)
Temne (principal vernacular in the north)
Fula (principal language in Sierra Leone, it is also strongly and widely spoken across West Africa and beyond...)
Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed American and West Indian slaves and Liberated Africans who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)

Education expenditure
9.3% of GDP (2020) Country comparison to the world: 7th

Literacy

Definition: Age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic

total population: 43.2%
male: 51.6%
female: 39.8% (2018)
total population: 48.1%
male: 58.7%
female: 37.7% (2015 est.)
Total population: 35.1%
Male: 46.9%
Female: 24.4% (2004 est.)
Total population: 31.4%
Male: 45.4%
Female: 18.2% (1995 est.)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 9.4%
male: 14.8%
female: 6.1% (2014 est.)

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Demographics of Sierra Leone.
  1. "Sierra Leone (02/08)". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  2. "FINAL RESULTS 2004 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS" (PDF). Sierra-leone.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  3. "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  4. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX). population.un.org ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  5. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived May 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
  7. "Population & Demography Data Explorer". Our World in Data. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  8. "Sierra Leone - Demographic and Health Survey 2008". microdata.worldbank.org.
  9. [worldpopulationreview.com/countries/sierra-leone-population/ "Sierra Leone Population 2022"], World Population Review {{citation}}: Check |url= value (help)
  10. "The World FactBook - Sierra Leone", The World Factbook, July 12, 2018Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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