Sierra Leone - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Sierra Leone. Rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 in) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal western Africa. Mother's mean age at first birth is N/A , whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is N/A.

Population Distribution

Population clusters are found in the lower elevations of the south and west; the northern third of the country is less populated, as shown on this population distribution map

People and Society

In Sierra Leone, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Temne 35.4%, Mende 30.8%, Limba 8.8%, Kono 4.3%, Korankoh 4%, Fullah 3.8%, Mandingo 2.8%, Loko 2%, Sherbro 1.9%, Creole 1.2% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century; also known as Krio), other 5% (2019 est.)

Population N/A
Pop growth rate 2.24% (2025 est.)
Birth rate 30.04 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate 8.8 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Current health expenditure N/A
Physicians Density N/A
Hospital bed Density N/A
Total fertility rate 3.52 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 1.73 (2025 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate N/A
Est married women (ages 15-49) N/A
Literacy N/A
Education expenditures N/A
Net Migration rate N/A
Nationality Sierra Leonean | Sierra Leonean(s)
Languages N/A
Religions N/A
Age Structure
0-14 years 40.1% (male 1,843,606/female 1,812,304)
15-64 years 57.4% (male 2,557,715/female 2,675,418)
65 years and over 2.5% (2024 est.) (male 114,405/female 117,601)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 72.7 (2025 est.)
Youth dependency ratio 68.4 (2025 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio 4.4 (2025 est.)
Potential support ratio 22.9 (2025 est.)
Median Age
Total 19.7 years (2025 est.)
Male 19 years
Female 19.9 years
Urbanization
Urban population 44.3% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 3.02% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 1.309 million FREETOWN (capital) (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.97 male(s)/female
Total population 0.98 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 70.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
Male 76 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 66.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 59.4 years (2024 est.)
Male 57.8 years
Female 61 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 79.8% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 54.1% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 65.3% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 20.2% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 45.9% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 34.7% of population (2022 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 81.9% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 37.9% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 57.2% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 18.1% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 62.1% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 42.8% of population (2022 est.)
Major Infectious diseases
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 3.22 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 0.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 0.15 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 2.9 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 9.8% (2025 est.)
Male 14.8% (2025 est.)
Female 4.9% (2025 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 8.6% (2019)
Women married by age 18 29.6% (2019)
Men married by age 18 4.1% (2019)
Demographic profile
No additional profile data available.
All Important Facts about Sierra Leone

Want to know more about Sierra Leone? Check all different factbooks for Sierra Leone below.

Sierra Leone is found in Western Africa