Sierra Leone: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 3, 2026

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Facts

Head Of State And Government	President: Julius Maada Bio
Capital	Freetown
Population	(2026 est.) 7,914,000
Form Of Government	republic with one legislative house (Parliament [149¹])
Official Language	English
Official Religion	none
Official Name	Republic of Sierra Leone
Total Area (Sq Km)	72,929
Total Area (Sq Mi)	28,158
Monetary Unit	leone (Le)
Population Rank	(2026) 102
Population Projection 2030	9,528,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2026) 281.1
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2026) 108.5
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2024) 44.8% • Rural: (2024) 55.2%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2021) 60.2 years • Female: (2021) 61.9 years
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2024) 7,082
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2024) 820
¹Includes 14 paramount chiefs indirectly elected to represent each of the provincial districts.

Photos

Map of Sierra Leone showing its national boundaries with Guinea and Liberia, major cities including Freetown, Bo, Kenema, and Makeni, and its Atlantic Ocean coastline. The map includes a small locator inset highlighting Sierra Leone's position on the west coast of Africa.

Skyline of Freetown, Sierra Leone, with mid-rise and high-rise buildings along the waterfront, backed by wooded hills known as the Lion Mountains.

Map highlighting Sierra Leone in light brown on the west coast of Africa, with neighboring countries Guinea and Liberia labeled, as well as the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The capital city, Freetown, is marked, and surrounding countries including Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Mauritania are also shown.

Map of Sierra Leone highlighting its physical features, including major rivers such as the Rokel, Sewa, and Moa, the location of Outamba-Kilimi National Park, Mount Loma Mansa, and Sherbro Island. The map shows Sierra Leone bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. An inset locator map indicates Sierra Leone's position on the west coast of Africa.

Diamonds-for-weapons trade in Africa

Map of western Africa showing the locations and territorial extents of major kingdoms and peoples from the 17th to 19th centuries. The Hausa Bakwai states are outlined in orange, representing their largest area in the 17th-18th centuries, while the Fulani kingdom is outlined in green, showing its 19th-century peak. Major cities, rivers, and regions such as the Niger and Benue Rivers, the Bauchi Highlands, and the Adamawa Plateau are labeled for context.

Weathered sign reading Welcome to Bunce Island stands on grassy ground near trees and an old wooden boat, memorializing enslaved Africans at the historic site in Sierra Leone.

Map of Africa highlighting the countries that made up historical British West Africa-Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Nigeria-in orange, with the rest of the continent and surrounding regions shown in gray for context. A small inset map in the lower left shows the location within the African continent.

National anthem of Sierra Leone

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Topics

Martin Puryear Amanda Smith Sir Milton Margai Davidson Nicol Siaka Stevens Sir Albert Margai Africa Western Africa nation-state Commonwealth United States India United Kingdom China Canada Russia Germany Australia Japan France

Lever #3, painted ponderosa pine by Martin Puryear, 1989; in the McKee Gallery, New York City. 8412 × 162 × 13 inches.

Martin Puryear

American sculptor

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Amanda Smith

American religious leader

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Sir Milton Margai

prime minister of Sierra Leone

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Davidson Nicol

Sierra Leonean physician and writer

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Siaka Stevens

president of Sierra Leone

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Sir Albert Margai

prime minister of Sierra Leone

A map of the continent of Africa, including its countries, boundaries, and capital cities. It also shows parts of Europe and Asia and surrounding bodies of water, including the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean.

Africa

continent

western Africa

Western Africa

region, Africa

Freetown

Freetown

national capital, Sierra Leone

alluvial diamond mining

Kenema

Sierra Leone

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Bo

Sierra Leone

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Bonthe

Sierra Leone

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Pepel

Sierra Leone

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Lunsar

Sierra Leone

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Koidu–New Sembehun

Sierra Leone

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Makeni

Sierra Leone

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Magburaka

Sierra Leone

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Yengema

Sierra Leone

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Sewa River

river, Sierra Leone

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Sherbro Island

island, Sierra Leone

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Sierra Leone River

river, Sierra Leone

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