🇸🇱 Sierra Leone Population 2026

As of 2026, the population of Sierra Leone is 8,996,744, ranking #101 in the world (0.11% of the global population), based on UN World Population Prospects 2024. The population is growing at 1.96% per year. The biggest city is Freetown with 802,639 inhabitants.

Live estimate

8,999,839

Growth rate

1.96%

Density

125

people / km² (325 / mi²)

Median age

19.9

Fertility rate

3.53

births per woman

Life expectancy

62.3

years

Sierra Leone population 1950–2100

Population of Sierra Leone, 1950–2100 — solid: UN estimates, dashed: UN medium-variant projection.

By 2050, the population of Sierra Leone is projected to reach 12,948,325, and 15,934,256 by 2100. The population is expected to peak in 2092 at 16,009,636, then decline.

Sierra Leone population by year

Year	Population	Growth	Density /km²	Median age
2026	8,996,744	1.96%	125.4	19.9
2025	8,819,794	2.01%	122.9	19.7
2024	8,642,022	2.06%	120.5	19.5
2023	8,460,512	2.18%	117.9	19.3
2022	8,276,806	2.21%	115.4	19.0
2021	8,094,602	2.25%	112.8	18.8
2020	7,912,558	2.30%	110.3	18.6
2019	7,731,991	2.31%	107.8	18.4
2018	7,554,563	2.33%	105.3	18.2
2017	7,379,299	2.37%	102.9	18.0
2016	7,205,328	2.41%	100.4	17.8
2015	7,037,655	2.30%	98.1	17.7
2014	6,876,385	2.34%	95.9	17.5
2013	6,714,051	2.44%	93.6	17.4
2012	6,551,080	2.47%	91.3	17.3
2011	6,387,251	2.60%	89.0	17.2
2010	6,222,714	2.63%	86.7	17.1
2009	6,055,646	2.82%	84.4	17.0
2008	5,894,722	2.56%	82.2	17.0
2007	5,749,352	2.43%	80.1	16.9
2006	5,624,466	1.96%	78.4	16.9
2005	5,501,712	2.46%	76.7	16.9
2004	5,355,717	2.92%	74.7	16.8
2003	5,177,687	3.85%	72.2	16.8
2002	4,971,434	4.29%	69.3	16.8
2001	4,692,716	7.34%	65.4	16.8
2000	4,423,612	4.38%	61.7	16.9
1999	4,318,044	0.40%	60.2	16.9
1998	4,295,785	0.63%	59.9	17.0
1997	4,253,716	1.34%	59.3	17.1
1996	4,199,210	1.24%	58.5	17.1
1995	4,179,179	-0.29%	58.3	17.2
1994	4,173,105	0.58%	58.2	17.2
1993	4,157,130	0.19%	57.9	17.3
1992	4,166,366	-0.63%	58.1	17.3
1991	4,246,267	-3.14%	59.2	17.4
1990	4,196,828	5.54%	58.5	17.4
1989	4,034,037	2.31%	56.2	17.5
1988	3,934,518	2.69%	54.8	17.5
1987	3,829,718	2.71%	53.4	17.6
1986	3,728,380	2.65%	52.0	17.7
1985	3,638,438	2.23%	50.7	17.7
1984	3,558,758	2.20%	49.6	17.8
1983	3,481,646	2.18%	48.5	17.9
1982	3,408,183	2.08%	47.5	17.9
1981	3,338,940	2.02%	46.5	18.0
1980	3,272,089	2.03%	45.6	18.1
1979	3,207,499	1.96%	44.7	18.2
1978	3,145,517	1.94%	43.8	18.3
1977	3,085,354	1.92%	43.0	18.4
1976	3,028,820	1.78%	42.2	18.5
1975	2,974,656	1.83%	41.5	18.6
1974	2,920,459	1.84%	40.7	18.7
1973	2,866,955	1.85%	40.0	18.9
1972	2,814,388	1.85%	39.2	19.0
1971	2,763,222	1.82%	38.5	19.2
1970	2,712,286	1.90%	37.8	19.4
1969	2,661,365	1.89%	37.1	19.6
1968	2,611,532	1.89%	36.4	19.7
1967	2,562,384	1.91%	35.7	19.8
1966	2,514,638	1.85%	35.1	19.9
1965	2,468,666	1.84%	34.4	19.9
1964	2,424,390	1.78%	33.8	19.9
1963	2,382,258	1.72%	33.2	20.0
1962	2,342,242	1.66%	32.6	20.0
1961	2,304,227	1.61%	32.1	20.0
1960	2,268,356	1.53%	31.6	20.1
1959	2,235,026	1.43%	31.2	20.1
1958	2,204,839	1.29%	30.7	20.0
1957	2,176,250	1.32%	30.3	20.0
1956	2,147,979	1.29%	29.9	20.0
1955	2,120,889	1.25%	29.6	19.9
1954	2,095,066	1.20%	29.2	19.8
1953	2,070,810	1.13%	28.9	19.8
1952	2,047,200	1.17%	28.5	19.6
1951	2,023,276	1.18%	28.2	19.5
1950	1,999,623	1.17%	27.9	19.4

Year	Population	Growth	Density /km²	Median age
2027	9,174,692	1.95%	127.9	20.2
2028	9,349,025	1.81%	130.3	20.4
2029	9,520,818	1.83%	132.7	20.7
2030	9,694,858	1.79%	135.1	20.9
2031	9,870,298	1.79%	137.6	21.2
2032	10,047,200	1.76%	140.1	21.4
2033	10,221,014	1.67%	142.5	21.7
2034	10,391,490	1.64%	144.8	22.0
2035	10,563,168	1.64%	147.2	22.2
2036	10,734,348	1.57%	149.6	22.5
2037	10,902,268	1.53%	152.0	22.8
2038	11,066,150	1.46%	154.3	23.0
2039	11,230,061	1.49%	156.5	23.3
2040	11,398,400	1.49%	158.9	23.6
2041	11,566,216	1.43%	161.2	23.8
2042	11,728,792	1.36%	163.5	24.1
2043	11,887,937	1.34%	165.7	24.4
2044	12,049,426	1.36%	168.0	24.7
2045	12,208,880	1.27%	170.2	24.9
2046	12,363,458	1.25%	172.3	25.2
2047	12,512,756	1.15%	174.4	25.5
2048	12,659,612	1.18%	176.5	25.8
2049	12,805,142	1.11%	178.5	26.1
2050	12,948,325	1.12%	180.5	26.3
2051	13,093,462	1.11%	182.5	26.6
2052	13,236,024	1.05%	184.5	26.9
2053	13,372,796	1.00%	186.4	27.2
2054	13,502,271	0.93%	188.2	27.5
2055	13,629,114	0.94%	190.0	27.7
2056	13,755,179	0.90%	191.7	28.0
2057	13,876,264	0.86%	193.4	28.3
2058	13,993,957	0.83%	195.1	28.6
2059	14,107,963	0.79%	196.7	28.8
2060	14,219,379	0.78%	198.2	29.1
2061	14,327,425	0.73%	199.7	29.3
2062	14,435,385	0.77%	201.2	29.6
2063	14,539,892	0.67%	202.7	29.9
2064	14,636,716	0.66%	204.0	30.1
2065	14,732,950	0.66%	205.4	30.4
2066	14,829,171	0.65%	206.7	30.6
2067	14,924,590	0.64%	208.0	30.9
2068	15,015,899	0.58%	209.3	31.1
2069	15,099,726	0.53%	210.5	31.4
2070	15,177,973	0.50%	211.6	31.6
2071	15,251,752	0.47%	212.6	31.8
2072	15,321,992	0.45%	213.6	32.1
2073	15,390,199	0.43%	214.5	32.3
2074	15,450,928	0.35%	215.4	32.5
2075	15,507,865	0.38%	216.2	32.8
2076	15,564,818	0.35%	217.0	33.0
2077	15,617,354	0.32%	217.7	33.2
2078	15,667,010	0.31%	218.4	33.4
2079	15,712,160	0.26%	219.0	33.7
2080	15,751,832	0.24%	219.6	33.9
2081	15,790,543	0.25%	220.1	34.1
2082	15,828,182	0.23%	220.6	34.3
2083	15,862,678	0.21%	221.1	34.5
2084	15,891,034	0.15%	221.5	34.7
2085	15,913,301	0.13%	221.8	34.9
2086	15,937,244	0.17%	222.2	35.0
2087	15,958,640	0.10%	222.5	35.2
2088	15,973,460	0.09%	222.7	35.4
2089	15,986,028	0.07%	222.8	35.6
2090	15,996,608	0.06%	223.0	35.8
2091	16,004,831	0.04%	223.1	35.9
2092	16,009,636	0.02%	223.2	36.1
2093	16,008,707	-0.03%	223.1	36.3
2094	16,006,576	0.00%	223.1	36.4
2095	16,002,502	-0.05%	223.1	36.6
2096	15,992,900	-0.07%	222.9	36.7
2097	15,980,211	-0.09%	222.8	36.9
2098	15,966,369	-0.08%	222.6	37.1
2099	15,952,536	-0.09%	222.4	37.2
2100	15,934,256	-0.14%	222.1	37.4

States & provinces of Sierra Leone by population

#	State / province	Population	Share
1	Eastern	1,943,610	21.6%
2	Southern	1,830,881	20.4%
3	Northern	1,316,831	14.6%
4	Western	1,271,330	14.1%

State populations: GeoNames (latest official figures, reference dates vary by country).

Biggest cities in Sierra Leone

#	City	Region	Population
1	Freetown capital	Western Area	802,639
2	Kenema	Eastern Province	255,110
3	Bo	Southern Province	233,684
4	Koidu	Eastern Province	128,030
5	Makeni	Northern Province	85,116
6	Waterloo	Western Area	55,000
7	Port Loko	North West	44,900
8	Njala	Southern Province	40,000
9	Lunsar	Northern Province	22,461
10	Kabala	Northern Province	17,948
11	Segbwema	Eastern Province	16,532
12	Bumpe	Southern Province	16,123
13	Mile 91	Northern Province	15,491

FAQ

What is the population of Sierra Leone in 2026?

The population of Sierra Leone is 8,996,744 in 2026, according to UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant).

What is the biggest city in Sierra Leone?

Freetown is the biggest city in Sierra Leone with 802,639 inhabitants and it is also the capital.

Is the population of Sierra Leone growing or shrinking?

The population of Sierra Leone is growing at 1.96% per year, and is projected to peak in 2092 at 16,009,636.

Neighboring countries

Sources

Country data: United Nations World Population Prospects 2024, medium variant (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Retrieved 2026-07-06.
City and state data: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Retrieved 2026-07-06.

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