| Source | UN (World Population Prospects 2024) |
| Date | 08 Jan 2025 |
As of 2024, the population of Sierra Leone is projected at 8.64 million, compared to 8.46 million in 2023. It ranks 102nd in the world by population and 34th in Africa. The population growth rate in 2024 is projected at 2.06 percent, the 49th highest among 237 countries and dependent territories.
There are 4.31 million males and 4.33 million females in Sierra Leone. The percentage of the male population is 49.87%, compared to 50.13% of the female population. Sierra Leone has 22k more females than males. The sex ratio in Sierra Leone in 2024 will be 99.490 males per 100 females. Sierra Leone is in the 150th position in terms of the female-to-male ratio.
| Year | Population | Growth (%) | M per 100 F | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Total | |||
| 1950 | 979,372 | 1,020,251 | 1,999,623 | 1.17 | 95.993 |
| 1955 | 1,038,343 | 1,082,545 | 2,120,889 | 1.25 | 95.917 |
| 1960 | 1,110,584 | 1,157,772 | 2,268,356 | 1.53 | 95.924 |
| 1965 | 1,209,314 | 1,259,352 | 2,468,666 | 1.84 | 96.027 |
| 1970 | 1,331,199 | 1,381,086 | 2,712,286 | 1.90 | 96.388 |
| 1975 | 1,461,572 | 1,513,085 | 2,974,657 | 1.83 | 96.595 |
| 1980 | 1,608,752 | 1,663,337 | 3,272,089 | 2.03 | 96.718 |
| 1985 | 1,790,686 | 1,847,752 | 3,638,438 | 2.23 | 96.912 |
| 1990 | 2,068,752 | 2,128,077 | 4,196,828 | 5.54 | 97.212 |
| 1995 | 2,062,491 | 2,116,688 | 4,179,179 | -0.29 | 97.440 |
| 2000 | 2,182,453 | 2,241,159 | 4,423,611 | 4.38 | 97.381 |
| 2005 | 2,723,034 | 2,778,679 | 5,501,712 | 2.46 | 97.997 |
| 2010 | 3,088,827 | 3,133,887 | 6,222,714 | 2.62 | 98.562 |
| 2015 | 3,501,912 | 3,535,743 | 7,037,655 | 2.30 | 99.043 |
| 2020 | 3,944,195 | 3,968,363 | 7,912,558 | 2.30 | 99.391 |
| 2021 | 4,035,669 | 4,058,932 | 8,094,602 | 2.25 | 99.427 |
| 2022 | 4,127,081 | 4,149,726 | 8,276,807 | 2.21 | 99.454 |
| 2023 | 4,219,052 | 4,241,460 | 8,460,512 | 2.18 | 99.472 |
| 2024 | 4,309,971 | 4,332,052 | 8,642,022 | 2.06 | 99.490 |
| 2025 | 4,399,019 | 4,420,775 | 8,819,794 | 2.01 | 99.508 |
| Year | Life expectancy | Median age | Fertility rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 28.935 | 19.398 | 6.090 |
| 1955 | 30.929 | 19.915 | 6.073 |
| 1960 | 33.090 | 20.056 | 6.175 |
| 1965 | 35.930 | 19.891 | 6.311 |
| 1970 | 38.619 | 19.370 | 6.411 |
| 1975 | 40.990 | 18.603 | 6.546 |
| 1980 | 42.839 | 18.071 | 6.562 |
| 1985 | 43.556 | 17.726 | 6.592 |
| 1990 | 43.720 | 17.428 | 6.567 |
| 1995 | 42.579 | 17.152 | 6.555 |
| 2000 | 44.834 | 16.878 | 6.355 |
| 2005 | 48.306 | 16.868 | 5.807 |
| 2010 | 51.927 | 17.112 | 5.327 |
| 2015 | 55.454 | 17.662 | 4.548 |
| 2020 | 59.694 | 18.605 | 4.080 |
| 2021 | 60.260 | 18.817 | 3.978 |
| 2022 | 61.275 | 19.040 | 3.876 |
| 2023 | 61.786 | 19.270 | 3.791 |
| 2024 | 61.964 | 19.496 | 3.703 |
| 2025 | 62.150 | 19.717 | 3.609 |
| Year | Total | Crude(per 1000) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Death | Birth | Crude death | Crude birth | |
| 1950 | 68,972 | 95,629 | 34.493 | 47.823 |
| 1955 | 69,282 | 100,970 | 32.666 | 47.608 |
| 1960 | 70,692 | 108,883 | 31.164 | 48.001 |
| 1965 | 71,320 | 118,544 | 28.890 | 48.019 |
| 1970 | 71,963 | 128,475 | 26.532 | 47.368 |
| 1975 | 73,173 | 140,735 | 24.599 | 47.311 |
| 1980 | 75,327 | 153,258 | 23.021 | 46.838 |
| 1985 | 81,059 | 169,929 | 22.279 | 46.704 |
| 1990 | 90,098 | 190,874 | 21.468 | 45.481 |
| 1995 | 94,559 | 195,444 | 22.626 | 46.766 |
| 2000 | 88,507 | 199,261 | 20.008 | 45.045 |
| 2005 | 93,670 | 230,908 | 17.026 | 41.970 |
| 2010 | 88,061 | 243,404 | 14.152 | 39.115 |
| 2015 | 81,635 | 243,911 | 11.600 | 34.658 |
| 2020 | 73,738 | 254,755 | 9.319 | 32.196 |
| 2021 | 72,819 | 256,143 | 8.996 | 31.644 |
| 2022 | 70,547 | 257,167 | 8.523 | 31.071 |
| 2023 | 70,116 | 258,903 | 8.287 | 30.601 |
| 2024 | 70,955 | 260,194 | 8.211 | 30.108 |
| 2025 | 71,671 | 260,288 | 8.126 | 29.512 |
| Year | Population | Urban (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | Rural | ||
| 1950 | 256,369 | 1,784,834 | 12.560 |
| 1955 | 319,261 | 1,838,492 | 14.796 |
| 1960 | 398,599 | 1,898,511 | 17.352 |
| 1965 | 504,032 | 1,969,262 | 20.379 |
| 1970 | 645,306 | 2,046,953 | 23.969 |
| 1975 | 830,173 | 2,163,703 | 27.729 |
| 1980 | 1,003,558 | 2,361,883 | 29.819 |
| 1985 | 1,215,725 | 2,583,825 | 31.997 |
| 1990 | 1,433,891 | 2,878,355 | 33.252 |
| 1995 | 1,471,764 | 2,803,055 | 34.429 |
| 2000 | 1,626,055 | 2,938,242 | 35.626 |
| 2005 | 2,089,028 | 3,569,351 | 36.919 |
| 2010 | 2,509,605 | 3,949,115 | 38.856 |
| 2015 | 2,954,791 | 4,282,234 | 40.829 |
| 2020 | 3,453,971 | 4,592,960 | 42.923 |
| 2021 | 3,561,312 | 4,649,757 | 43.372 |
| 2022 | 3,671,170 | 4,704,509 | 43.831 |
| 2023 | 3,783,663 | 4,757,257 | 44.300 |
| 2024 | 3,898,920 | 4,808,052 | 44.779 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | M per 100 F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons | Share (%) | ||||
| 00-04 | 592,032 | 580,865 | 1,172,897 | 13.57 | 101.922 |
| 05-09 | 546,538 | 539,104 | 1,085,642 | 12.56 | 101.379 |
| 10-14 | 519,433 | 513,664 | 1,033,098 | 11.95 | 101.123 |
| 15-19 | 473,889 | 467,957 | 941,846 | 10.90 | 101.268 |
| 20-24 | 423,673 | 418,325 | 841,999 | 9.74 | 101.278 |
| 25-29 | 360,568 | 360,539 | 721,107 | 8.34 | 100.008 |
| 30-34 | 303,906 | 302,654 | 606,560 | 7.02 | 100.414 |
| 35-39 | 256,113 | 254,822 | 510,935 | 5.91 | 100.507 |
| 40-44 | 211,811 | 212,107 | 423,918 | 4.91 | 99.860 |
| 45-49 | 172,036 | 175,784 | 347,820 | 4.02 | 97.868 |
| 50-54 | 137,107 | 143,337 | 280,443 | 3.25 | 95.654 |
| 55-59 | 107,886 | 116,148 | 224,035 | 2.59 | 92.887 |
| 60-64 | 80,818 | 90,671 | 171,488 | 1.98 | 89.133 |
| 65-69 | 55,894 | 66,203 | 122,097 | 1.41 | 84.428 |
| 70-74 | 34,946 | 44,020 | 78,965 | 0.91 | 79.387 |
| 75-79 | 20,364 | 26,977 | 47,342 | 0.55 | 75.487 |
| 80-84 | 9,444 | 13,272 | 22,716 | 0.26 | 71.157 |
| 85-89 | 2,908 | 4,492 | 7,401 | 0.09 | 64.737 |
| 90-94 | 542 | 976 | 1,518 | 0.02 | 55.533 |
| 95-99 | 58 | 127 | 185 | 0.00 | 45.669 |
| 100+ | 3 | 8 | 11 | 0.00 | 37.500 |
| Total | 4,309,969 | 4,332,052 | 8,642,023 | 99.490 | |