Share of population living in rural areas in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Share of population living in rural areas was 42.3% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of population living in rural areas in Sierra Leone, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of population living in rural areas in Sierra Leone stood at 42.3%. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of down 11.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in rural areas in Sierra Leone peaked at 54.4% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 42.3%, in 2020.
That places Sierra Leone 48th out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Share of population living in rural areas in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 51.5% | — |
| 1955 | 51.4% | -0.2% |
| 1960 | 51.1% | -0.6% |
| 1965 | 50.2% | -1.6% |
| 1970 | 49.1% | -2.3% |
| 1975 | 47.9% | -2.4% |
| 1980 | 51.5% | +7.5% |
| 1985 | 53.4% | +3.8% |
| 1990 | 54.4% | +1.7% |
| 1995 | 53.2% | -2.1% |
| 2000 | 52.1% | -2.0% |
| 2005 | 49.1% | -5.8% |
| 2010 | 47.6% | -3.1% |
| 2015 | 45.1% | -5.1% |
| 2020 | 42.3% | -6.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 51.4% | 51.4% | 51.5% | 2 |
| 1960s | 50.6% | 50.2% | 51.1% | 2 |
| 1970s | 48.5% | 47.9% | 49.1% | 2 |
| 1980s | 52.5% | 51.5% | 53.4% | 2 |
| 1990s | 53.8% | 53.2% | 54.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 50.6% | 49.1% | 52.1% | 2 |
| 2010s | 46.3% | 45.1% | 47.6% | 2 |
| 2020s | 42.3% | 42.3% | 42.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More population data for Sierra Leone
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.1141 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -1.21 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.1141 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.076 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 13,595 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 1.9 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.6516 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth -0.1% (2100)
- Population density 220.76 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 983,692 people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in rural areas in Sierra Leone?
- Share of population living in rural areas in Sierra Leone was 42.3% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in rural areas recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 54.4% in 1990.
- What is the lowest share of population living in rural areas recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 42.3% in 2020.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for share of population living in rural areas?
- Sierra Leone ranks 48th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in rural areas rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.