Samoa vs Sierra Leone: Share of population living in rural areas
Samoa
42.2%
in 2020
Sierra Leone
42.3%
in 2020
Samoa rank
49th
Sierra Leone rank
48th
Share of population living in rural areas over time
- Samoa
- Sierra Leone
How they compare
Sierra Leone currently reports 42.3% against 42.2% in Samoa, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Samoa ahead.
Samoa ranks 49th and Sierra Leone ranks 48th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Samoa averaged higher in 3 and Sierra Leone in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Samoa | Sierra Leone | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 63.0% | 51.4% | 11.5% | Samoa |
| 1960s | 58.1% | 50.6% | 7.4% | Samoa |
| 1970s | 54.0% | 48.5% | 5.5% | Samoa |
| 1980s | 49.2% | 52.5% | 3.3% | Sierra Leone |
| 1990s | 47.1% | 53.8% | 6.7% | Sierra Leone |
| 2000s | 44.6% | 50.6% | 6.0% | Sierra Leone |
| 2010s | 43.9% | 46.3% | 2.4% | Sierra Leone |
| 2020s | 42.2% | 42.3% | 0.1% | Sierra Leone |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in rural areas, Samoa or Sierra Leone?
- Sierra Leone, at 42.3% against 42.2% in Samoa as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in rural areas between Samoa and Sierra Leone?
- 0.1%, with Sierra Leone ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Samoa and Sierra Leone?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Samoa and Sierra Leone rank globally for share of population living in rural areas?
- Samoa ranks 49th and Sierra Leone ranks 48th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.