Population:
6,163,195 (July 2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 109
Nationality:
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean
Ethnic groups:
Temne 35.5%, Mende 33.2%, Limba 6.4%, Kono 4.4%, Fullah 3.4%, Loko 2.9%, Koranko 2.8%, Sherbro 2.6%, Mandingo 2.4%, Creole 1.2% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century; also known as Krio), other Sierra Leone 4.7%, other foreign 0.3% (includes refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, and small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians), unspecified 0.2% (2013 est.)
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%)
Religions:
Muslim 78.6%, Christian 20.8%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.2% (2013 est.)
Demographic profile:
Sierra Leone’s youthful and growing population is driven by its high total fertility rate (TFR) of almost 5 children per woman, which has declined little over the last two decades. Its elevated TFR is sustained by the continued desire for large families, the low level of contraceptive use, and the early start of childbearing. Despite its high TFR, Sierra Leone’s population growth is somewhat tempered by high infant, child, and maternal mortality rates that are among the world’s highest and are a result of poverty, a lack of potable water and sanitation, poor nutrition, limited access to quality health care services, and the prevalence of female genital cutting.
Sierra Leone’s large youth cohort – about 60% of the population is under the age of 25 – continues to struggle with high levels of unemployment, which was one of the major causes of the country’s 1991-2002 civil war and remains a threat to stability today. Its estimated 60% youth unemployment rate is attributed to high levels of illiteracy and unskilled labor, a lack of private sector jobs, and low pay.
Sierra Leone has been a source of and destination for refugees. Sierra Leone’s civil war internally displaced as many as 2 million people, or almost half the population, and forced almost another half million to seek refuge in neighboring countries (370,000 Sierra Leoneans fled to Guinea and 120,000 to Liberia). The UNHCR has helped almost 180,000 Sierra Leoneans to return home, while more than 90,000 others have repatriated on their own. Of the more than 65,000 Liberians who took refuge in Sierra Leone during their country’s civil war (1989-2003), about 50,000 have been voluntarily repatriated by the UNHCR and others have returned home independently. As of 2015, less than 1,000 Liberians still reside in Sierra Leone.
Age structure:
0-14 years: 41.82% (male 1,286,681/female 1,290,924)
15-24 years: 18.56% (male 556,478/female 587,454)
25-54 years: 32.16% (male 949,264/female 1,032,783)
55-64 years: 3.7% (male 106,706/female 121,111)
65 years and over: 3.76% (male 96,285/female 135,509) (2017 est.)
population pyramid:
Africa ::SIERRA LEONE
Population Pyramid
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 82.6
youth dependency ratio: 78
elderly dependency ratio: 4.6
potential support ratio: 21.9 (2015 est.)
Median age:
total: 19 years
male: 18.4 years
female: 19.6 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 203
Population growth rate:
2.38% (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
Birth rate:
36.3 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
Death rate:
10.4 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 34
Net migration rate:
-2.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 164
Population distribution:
population clusters are found in the lower elevations of the south and west; the northern third of the country is less populated
Urbanization:
urban population: 40.7% of total population (2017)
rate of urbanization: 2.72% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Major urban areas - population:
FREETOWN (capital) 1.007 million (2015)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.86 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth:
19.2 years
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2013 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio:
1,360 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
Infant mortality rate:
total: 68.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 76.6 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 59.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 58.6 years
male: 56 years
female: 61.3 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 209
Total fertility rate:
4.73 children born/woman (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 20
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
16.6% (2013)
Health expenditures:
11.1% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 13
Physicians density:
0.02 physicians/1,000 population (2010)
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 84.9% of population
rural: 47.8% of population
total: 62.6% of population
unimproved:
urban: 15.1% of population
rural: 52.2% of population
total: 37.4% of population (2015 est.)
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 22.8% of population
rural: 6.9% of population
total: 13.3% of population
unimproved:
urban: 77.2% of population
rural: 93.1% of population
total: 86.7% of population (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.7% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 28
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
67,000 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 51
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
2,800 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 46
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
animal contact disease: rabies
aerosolized dust or soil contact disease: Lassa fever (2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
8.7% (2016)
country comparison to the world: 147
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
18.1% (2013)
country comparison to the world: 34
Education expenditures:
2.9% of GDP (2016)
country comparison to the world: 141
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 48.1%
male: 58.7%
female: 37.7% (2015 est.)