Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness was 7.07 million People in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
7.07 million People
Change on year
down 4.5%
World rank
9th
of 31 countries
All-time high
7.40 million People
in 2023
All-time low
3.18 million People
in 2013
Years of data
12
2013–2024

Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness in Sierra Leone, 2013–2024

02.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M2013201820242013: 3.2M People2014: 3.2M People2015: 3.4M People2016: 5.3M People2017: 5.9M People2018: 5.8M People2019: 6.2M People2020: 7.2M People2021: 7.3M People2022: 7.4M People2023: 7.4M People2024: 7.1M People

Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in People.

Analysis

Sierra Leone recorded 7.07 million People for number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.5% on the previous year and up 118.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness in Sierra Leone peaked at 7.40 million People in 2023 and was at its lowest, 3.18 million People, in 2013.

Sierra Leone ranks 9th of 31 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.

Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness in Sierra Leone, year by year

Annual values for Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness in Sierra Leone, 2013 to 2024.
Year People Change
2013 3.18 million People —
2014 3.24 million People +2.1%
2015 3.37 million People +4.1%
2016 5.33 million People +58.1%
2017 5.94 million People +11.5%
2018 5.84 million People -1.7%
2019 6.23 million People +6.7%
2020 7.15 million People +14.8%
2021 7.32 million People +2.3%
2022 7.36 million People +0.6%
2023 7.40 million People +0.5%
2024 7.07 million People -4.5%

Sierra Leone compared with similar countries

  • Sierra Leone's 7.07 million People is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.52 million People, 1.6× the median. (28 countries reporting)
  • Sierra Leone's 7.07 million People is above the median for low income countries, which is 3.03 million People, 2.3× the median. (16 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 4.73 million People 3.18 million People 6.23 million People 7
2020s 7.26 million People 7.07 million People 7.40 million People 5

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 6 Cameroon 11.77 million People compare
  2. 7 South Sudan 9.77 million People compare
  3. 8 Mali 7.31 million People compare
  4. 10 Tanzania 6.88 million People compare
  5. 11 Angola 6.77 million People compare
  6. 12 Benin 6.55 million People compare

See the full ranking of 31 places →

More population data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness in Sierra Leone?
Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness in Sierra Leone was 7.07 million People in 2024, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness recorded in Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 7.40 million People in 2023.
What is the lowest number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 3.18 million People in 2013.
How does Sierra Leone rank for number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness?
Sierra Leone ranks 9th out of 31 countries with data for 2024.
Is number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is up 118.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness in Sierra Leone. Statizoid, drawing on World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 25 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/population-requiring-preventive-treatment-for-river-blindness/sierra-leone/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of people requiring preventive treatment for river blindness
Unit
People
Source
World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
31 places, 359 data points, 2013–2024
Last refreshed

The estimated number of people at risk of river blindness) who require preventive chemotherapy.