Sierra Leone’s economy has been growing at a slow pace. The economy is primarily dependent on agriculture. Alluvial diamond mining is a major source of income for Sierra Leone.

Gross domestic product (GDP)

According to preliminary estimates, GDP at constant price amounted at SLL 4,711.26 billion in 2010 compared to SLL 4,479.93 billion in 2009.

P- Projected

(Source: statistics.sl)

The GDP at current prices in 2010 was SLL 8,052,361 million compared to SLL 7,170,141 billion. 

(Source: statistics.sl)

GDP growth rate

The GDP growth rate in 2010 was 5.2% compared to 4.4% in the previous year. The GDP growth rate declined between 2001 and 2010.

(Source: statistics.sl)

Gross national income per capita at PPP

In 2010, Sierra Leone’s GNI per capita at PPP was USD 809 compared to USD 671 in 2005.

(Source: UNDP)

Income tax rate

Individual income in Sierra Leone is taxed at varying rates ranging from 20% to 30%.

(Source: taxrates.cc)

Corporate tax

Standard corporate tax in Sierra Leone is 30%.

(Source: taxrates.cc)  

Inflation rate

The monthly inflation rate in Sierra Leone in December 2010 was 1.91%  compared to 0.3% the previous month.

(Source: bsl.gov.sl)

FDI Inflow

In 2009, FDI inflows to Sierra Leone amounted to USD 74,294,000 compared to USD 57,632,000 in 2008.

 

(Source: bsl.gov.sl)

Portfolio investment

The portfolio investment in 2009 reached USD 5,636,000 compared to USD 1,583,000 in 2008.

(Source: bsl.gov.sl)

Banking sector assets

The table below shows the assets of the Central Bank of Sierra Leone.

Currency Unit: Sierra Leonean Leone (SLL)

(Source: bsl.gov.sl)

Consumer price index

The consumer price index in Sierra Leone has been rising steadily. In December 2010, the CPI was 157.2 compared to 154.2 the previous month.

Base, 2007=100

(Source:bsl.gov.sl)

Interest rates

 

Interest rates (%)
	September 2010	September 2009
Saving deposits	6.32	6.32
Time deposits
1 - 3 months	8.99	8.87
3 - 6 months	9.53	9.45
6 - 9 months	9.25	9.25
9 - 12 months	10.84	10.82

(Source:bsl.gov.sl)

Money supply (currency in circulation)

Money in circulation in September 2010 totalled SLL 456,296 million compared to SLL 347,070 million in the corresponding period the previous year.

 

Money supply (SLL million)
	September 2010	September 2009
Reserve Money (RM)	612,800	468,204
Broad Money (M2)	1,941,308	1,498,651
Currency in Circulation	456,296	347,070
Demand Deposits	456,558	387,992

(Source: bsl.gov.sl)

Public debt

The external public debt in 2010 amounted to USD 765.8 million, of which USD 470 million was multilateral debt.

(Source: bsl.gov.sl)

Government expenditure

Sierra Leone's government expenditure in December 2010 was SLL 144,019 compared to SLL 119,991 million in December 2009.

 

(Source:bsl.gov.sl)

Official exchange rate

SLL per USD rate in September 2010 was 3,982.44 compared to 3,558.03 for the same period the previous year.

(Source: bsl.gov.sl, bsl.gov.sl)

Government finances

Fiscal balance

The fiscal deficit in December 2010 amounted to SLL 2,297 million compared to a deficit of SLL 38,570 million in December 2009.

(Source: bsl.gov.sl)

Total revenue

Sierra Leone's revenue in December 2010 was SLL 141,722 million compared to SLL 81,421 million in December 2009.

(Source:bsl.gov.sl)

Tax revenue

Tax revenues in Sierra Leone in December 2010 amounted to SLL 131,518 million compared to SLL 70,386 million in December 2009.

(Source:bsl.gov.sl)

Current account balance - surplus/deficit

The current account balance in 2010 was 9.33% of GDP compared to 8.36% in 2009.

(Source:bsl.gov.sl)

Balance of payments

Balance of Payments (USD '000)
	2009	2008
Current account	-192,837	-225,476
Capital & Financial account	326,694	165,710
Errors and Omissions	-73,127	-115,573

 

 

 

 

 

(Source:bsl.gov.sl)

Labour force

The labour force in Sierra Leone was 2.1 million people in 2008  compared to a labour force of 2.05 million in 2007.

(Source: WorldBank)

Labour force participation rate

The total labour force participation rate in 2008 was 67%. The participation rate for men and women was 68% and 66% respectively.

(Source: World Bank)

Unemployment rate

In Sierra Leone, approximately 800,000 young people are unemployed or underemployed. The youth unemployment rate is estimated to be 60%.

(Source: UN, africaecon)

Minimum wage

The minimum wage in Sierra Leone is SLL 25,000 (USD 8.30) per month. The minimum wage for a 19-year old worker or apprentice is approximately USD 12.7 per month.

(Source: state.gov, doingbusiness.org)

Level of unionisation

The main trade unions in Sierra Leone include:

·         Central Confederation of Trade Unions (CCOTU)

·         Sierra Leone Labour Congress (SLLC)

(Source: ICFTU)

Sierra Leone is a republic. The president is the head of state and the government. The president is supported by a vice-president and a cabinet of ministers.

Sioerra Leone's legislature or parliament is unicameral and consists of 124 members. 112 of the 124 members are directly elected and the remaining 12 are elected as representatives of the 12 provincial districts. The members of parliament are elected for a term of five years.

Some of the political parties in Sierra Leone include:

·         APC - All Peoples Congress

·         PMDC - People’s movement for Democratic Change

·         SLPP - Sierra Leone Peoples Party

The political situation in Sierra Leone is stable and is recovering from civil wars which ended in 2002.

(Source: BBC, fco.gov.uk, IPU)

Regulatory environment in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone's economic freedom score is 49.6, making its economy the 149^th freest in the 2011 Index of Economic freedom. Sierra Leone ranks 32^nd out of 46 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region and its overall scores are lower than the global average.

(Source:Heritage.org)

Corruption perception

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is a survey to measure the perceived level of corruption across countries worldwide. Sierra Leone is ranked 134^th indicating the corruption levels in the public departments is fairly high.

Sierra Leone has slipped in the CPI rankings since 2009 – it was ranked 146^th with a score of 2.2, indicating that the perceived levels of corruption have increased in Sierra Leone.

(Source:transparency.org)

Freedom of information

The media or press freedom in Sierra Leone is limited. Journalists are often targeted for covering topics such as corruption.

(Source: BBC)

The World Press Freedom Index 2010 ranked Sierra Leone in  91^st position with a score of 24.25 which indicates that media in Sierra Leone is restricted. (Source: rsf.org)

Newspapers:

·         Awoko

·         Concord Times

·         Standard Times

·         Independent Observer

·         For di People

(Source: BBC)

Judicial system

The judiciary in Sierra Leone includes

·         Supreme Court of Justice

·         Court of Appeals

·         High Court of Justice

·         Magistrate courts

The Supreme Court is the highest court of justice. However, the judicial presence outside the capital district in Sierra Leone is limited. Sierra Leone also has a special court system, which includes the chambers (appeals chamber, trial chamber I and trial chamber II), the registry (including the Defence Office) and the office of the prosecutor.

(Source:sc-sl.org, state.gov)

The total population of Sierra Leone in 2009 was 5.7 million people and increased at a rate of approximately 2.5% over the previous year.

(Source: afdb.org)

The gender ratio in Sierra Leone is not balanced i.e. there are approximately 94.9 men for every 100 women in the country

(Source: UN)

The mortality rate of infants (per 1,000 live births) was 104.3 in 2009. In, the mortality rate (per thousand) was 15.4.

The birth rate (per thousand people) was 39.9 in 2009 and the death rate was 15.4 (per thousand people).

The total life expectancy at birth for the total population in 2009 was 47.9 years. The average life expectancy in Sierra Leone for men and women was 46.1 years and 48.7 years respectively.

(Source: UN, afdb.org)

The majority of the population i.e. approximately 54.77% fall in the 15-64 age group category. Approximately 43.39% of the population belong in the 0-14 year’s age group. The 65 and above age group constitutes 1.84% of the total population.

(Source: afdb.org)

The inernational migrant stock in mid-2010 recorded 106,800 people. This was approximately 1.8% of the total population.

(Source: UN)

Approximately 38% of the population in Sierra Leone live in urban areas.

(Source: afdb.org)

Ethnic groups in Sierra Leone include Temne, Mende, Limba, Kono, Creole, Mandingo, Loko, and others.

(Source: state.gov)

Sierra Leone ranked 158^th out of 182 countries on the Human Development index 2010 conducted by the United Nations. The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income). 

(Source: UNDP)

Literacy rate

Sierra Leone's literacy rate in 2003 – 2008 was estimated at 40%. (Source: UNICEF)

In Sierra Leone, basic education lasts up to nine years. Sierra Leone plans to make education free and compulsory by 2015. It also has plans to improve the literacy rate to approximately 50% by 2015.

The expenditure on education is 3.8 % of GDP. The combined gross enrolment ratio in education of males and females was 44.6%.

(Source:col.org)

Health care

The leading causes of death in Sierra Leone include lower respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, perinatal conditions, malaria, HIV/AIDS and measles. The public health expenditure is approximately 1.4% of the GDP.

(Source: WHO, UNDP)     

The main mode of public transport in Sierra Leone is travel by road and waterways.

Roadways

In Sierra Leone, there is a total of 11,300 km of roads, of which approximately 8% are paved.

(Source:estandardsforum)

Ports:  The major ports in Sierra Leone are - Port of Freetown, Port of Pepel and Port of Sherbro Island.

(Source:world port source)

Airports

(Source: Air charter world)

Telecommunications networks

In 2010, 14,900 people or 0.3% of the total population used internet services.

(Source:internetworldstats.com)

The number of fixed telephone lines in Sierra Leone has increased from 26,500 in 2004 to 32,800 in 2009 registering a CAGR of 4.4%. The use of fixed telephone lines has increased from 0.54 per 100 people in 2004 to 0.58 per 100 people in 2009.

(Source: ITU)

The number of mobile phone subscriptions was 1,160,000 in 2009. The ratio of mobile phone subscriptions to fixed telephone lines was 35.4:1, indicating that the use of mobile phones in Sierra Leone is higher than the use of fixed telephone lines.

(Source: ITU)