Statizoid

Population in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: Population was 8.46 million people in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
8.46 million people
Change on year
up 2.2%
World rank
101st
of 238 countries
All-time high
8.46 million people
in 2023
All-time low
3,923 people
in 1000
Years of data
241
1000–2023

Population in Sierra Leone, 1000–2023

02.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M100015112023

Source: HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

In 2023, population in Sierra Leone stood at 8.46 million people. That is the highest value across all 241 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.2% on the previous year and up 26.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, population in Sierra Leone peaked at 8.46 million people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 3,923 people, in 1000.

That places Sierra Leone 101st out of 238 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 3,923 people 3,923 people 3,923 people 1
1100s 4,359 people 4,359 people 4,359 people 1
1200s 4,843 people 4,843 people 4,843 people 1
1300s 5,382 people 5,382 people 5,382 people 1
1400s 5,980 people 5,980 people 5,980 people 1
1500s 6,644 people 6,644 people 6,644 people 1
1600s 7,382 people 7,382 people 7,382 people 1
1700s 8,203 people 8,203 people 8,203 people 1
1710s 9,114 people 9,114 people 9,114 people 1
1720s 10,127 people 10,127 people 10,127 people 1
1730s 11,252 people 11,252 people 11,252 people 1
1740s 12,502 people 12,502 people 12,502 people 1
1750s 13,891 people 13,891 people 13,891 people 1
1760s 15,435 people 15,435 people 15,435 people 1
1770s 17,150 people 17,150 people 17,150 people 1
1780s 19,056 people 19,056 people 19,056 people 1
1790s 21,173 people 21,173 people 21,173 people 1
1800s 794,264 people 794,264 people 794,264 people 10
1810s 794,254 people 794,159 people 794,264 people 10
1820s 791,872 people 789,568 people 793,950 people 10
1830s 786,713 people 784,382 people 789,048 people 10
1840s 781,634 people 779,744 people 783,865 people 10
1850s 798,521 people 781,365 people 818,018 people 10
1860s 846,729 people 822,814 people 871,560 people 10
1870s 907,117 people 877,540 people 937,672 people 10
1880s 976,995 people 944,663 people 1.01 million people 10
1890s 1.05 million people 1.02 million people 1.09 million people 10
1900s 1.13 million people 1.10 million people 1.17 million people 10
1910s 1.22 million people 1.18 million people 1.25 million people 10
1920s 1.35 million people 1.26 million people 1.44 million people 10
1930s 1.55 million people 1.46 million people 1.65 million people 10
1940s 1.82 million people 1.68 million people 1.97 million people 10
1950s 2.11 million people 2.00 million people 2.24 million people 10
1960s 2.45 million people 2.27 million people 2.66 million people 10
1970s 2.95 million people 2.71 million people 3.21 million people 10
1980s 3.62 million people 3.27 million people 4.03 million people 10
1990s 4.22 million people 4.16 million people 4.32 million people 10
2000s 5.34 million people 4.42 million people 6.06 million people 10
2010s 6.97 million people 6.22 million people 7.73 million people 10
2020s 8.19 million people 7.91 million people 8.46 million people 4

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 98 Austria 9.13 million people compare
  2. 99 Belarus 9.12 million people compare
  3. 100 Switzerland 8.87 million people compare
  4. 102 Togo 8.22 million people compare
  5. 103 Laos 7.67 million people compare
  6. 104 Hong Kong 7.44 million people compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More population data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is population in Sierra Leone?
Population in Sierra Leone was 8.46 million people in 2023, according to HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest population recorded in Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 8.46 million people in 2023.
What is the lowest population recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 3,923 people in 1000.
How does Sierra Leone rank for population?
Sierra Leone ranks 101st out of 238 countries with data for 2023.
Is population rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is up 26.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
The figures come from HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 241 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Population
Unit
people
Source
HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 51,002 data points, 1000–2023
Last refreshed

Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.