Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita was 45.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
45.9%
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
171st
of 236 countries
All-time high
45.9%
in 2025
All-time low
12.4%
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025

Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in Sierra Leone, 1950–2025

1020304050195019872025

Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Sierra Leone recorded 45.9% for share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in 2025. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 12.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Sierra Leone peaked at 45.9% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 12.4%, in 1950.

Sierra Leone ranks 171st of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 14.6% 12.4% 16.9% 10
1960s 20.2% 17.4% 23.5% 10
1970s 27.3% 24.4% 29.8% 10
1980s 31.8% 30.2% 33.2% 10
1990s 34.4% 33.5% 35.3% 10
2000s 36.8% 35.5% 38.2% 10
2010s 40.6% 38.6% 42.7% 10
2020s 44.6% 43.2% 45.9% 6

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 168 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 48.0% compare
  2. 169 Turkmenistan 47.1% compare
  3. 170 Guinea-Bissau 46.7% compare
  4. 172 Zambia 45.9% compare
  5. 173 Seychelles 45.5% compare
  6. 174 Democratic Republic of Congo 45.1% compare

See the full ranking of 237 places →

More population data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Sierra Leone?
Share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Sierra Leone was 45.9% in 2025, according to United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita recorded in Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 45.9% in 2025.
What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 12.4% in 1950.
How does Sierra Leone rank for share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita?
Sierra Leone ranks 171st out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is up 12.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
The figures come from United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita
Unit
%
Source
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
237 places, 18,012 data points, 1950–2025
Last refreshed

Share of the population living in urban areas, based on each country's national definition.