Africa · Western Africa
Capital: Freetown
Sierra Leone
Explore the facts and rankings that shape Sierra Leone in Country Blitz, from its population and economy to its military, innovation, manufacturing, and neighboring countries.
Country Blitz power profile
Overall rank #153
Sierra Leone's Country Blitz power profile compares population, GDP, military expenditure, research-and-development spending, and manufacturing output across every playable country. A lower numerical rank represents a stronger position in that category.
Population
8.8M
#100 of 196
49th percentile
2025 · World Bank WDI / UN population sources
View data source ↗GDP (Nominal)
$7.46B
#158 of 196
19th percentile
2025 · World Bank WDI
View data source ↗Military Expenditure
$36.4M
#152 of 196
23rd percentile
2024 · SIPRI via World Bank WDI
View data source ↗R&D Spending
Data unavailable
No rank or percentile is shown without published source data.
Manufacturing Output
$485.0M
#150 of 196
24th percentile
2024 · World Bank WDI
View data source ↗Quick facts
- Capital
- Freetown
- Region
- Africa
- Subregion
- Western Africa
- Country code
- SLE
Three interesting facts
Sierra Leone shares land borders with 2 countries: Guinea and Liberia.
Sierra Leone spans roughly 71,740 square kilometers, placing it around 116th by area in this factbook.
Sierra Leone’s position in Western Africa places it within a distinctive network of regional trade routes and migration paths.
Geography
Sierra Leone on the map
Sierra Leone is located in Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia. Its terrain is coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east. The climate is tropical, hot, humid, summer rainy season (May to December), winter dry season (December to April). In area, the country is slightly smaller than South Carolina.
Economy
Economic profile
Sierra Leone's economy is characterized by low-income West African economy, primarily subsistent agriculture, key iron and diamond mining activities suspended, slow recovery from 1990s civil war, systemic corruption, high-risk debt, high youth unemployment, natural resource rich. Major industries include diamond mining, iron ore, rutile and bauxite mining, small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, footwear). Important agricultural products include cassava, rice, oil palm fruit, vegetables, sweet potatoes, milk, citrus fruits, fruits, groundnuts, sugarcane (2023). Notable exports include iron ore, titanium ore, diamonds, aluminum ore, cocoa beans (2023).
Demographics
People and population
Sierra Leone has an estimated population of 9,077,691. Languages spoken include English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves, a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%). The population includes 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.). The urban population represents 44.3% of total population (2023).
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