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EconomyEconomy - overview
Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its physical and social infrastructure has yet to recover from the civil war, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings, accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation and in 2010 approved a new program worth $45 million over three years. Political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining, which are set to benefit from planned tax incentives. A number of offshore oil discoveries were announced in 2009 and 2010. The development on these reserves, which could be significant, is still several years away. Gdp (purchasing power parity) World Ranking: 164
$5.158 billion (2011 est.)
$4.897 billion (2010 est.) $4.667 billion (2009 est.) Note Data are in 2011 US dollars Gdp (official exchange rate)
$2.196 billion (2011 est.)
Gdp - real growth rate World Ranking: 62
5.3% (2011 est.)
5% (2010 est.) 3.2% (2009 est.) Gdp - per capita (ppp) World Ranking: 216
$900 (2011 est.)
$800 (2010 est.) $800 (2009 est.) Note Data are in 2011 US dollars Gdp - composition by sector
Agriculture 51.5%
Industry 22% Services 26.5% (2011 est.) Labor force World Ranking: 117
2.207 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
Agriculture NA%
Industry NA% Services NA% Unemployment rate
NA%
Population below poverty line
70.2% (2004)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10% 2.6%
Highest 10% 33.6% (2003) Distribution of family income - gini index World Ranking: 5
62.9 (1989)
Budget
Revenues $503.5 million
Expenditures $589.7 million (2011 est.) Taxes and other revenues World Ranking: 136
22.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) World Ranking: 122
-3.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Public debt World Ranking: 22
82.9% of GDP
87.5% of GDP Inflation rate (consumer prices) World Ranking: 211
18% (2011 est.)
16.6% (2010 est.) Central bank discount rate
NA%
Commercial bank prime lending rate World Ranking: 16
21% (31 December 2011 est.)
21.25% (31 December 2010 est.) Stock of narrow money World Ranking: 175
$276.2 million (31 December 2011 est.) $249.7 million (31 December 2010 est.) Stock of broad money World Ranking: 172
$621.3 million (31 December 2011 est.) $532.8 million (31 December 2010 est.) Stock of domestic credit World Ranking: 173
$400.1 million (31 December 2011 est.) $333.2 million (31 December 2010 est.) Market value of publicly traded shares
$NA
Agriculture - products
Rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish Industries
Diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair Industrial production growth rate
NA%
Electricity - production World Ranking: 198
58 million kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - consumption World Ranking: 200
53.94 million kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity - imports
0 kWh (2009 est.)
Oil - production World Ranking: 123
25.39 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Oil - consumption World Ranking: 153
9,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Oil - exports World Ranking: 123
499.5 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Oil - imports World Ranking: 154
4,945 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Oil - proved reserves World Ranking: 190
0 bbl (1 January 2011 est.)
Natural gas - production World Ranking: 123
0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - consumption World Ranking: 129
0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - exports World Ranking: 177
0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - imports World Ranking: 126
0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves World Ranking: 126
0 cu m (1 January 2011 est.)
Current account balance World Ranking: 121
-$943 million (2011 est.)
-$482.9 million (2010 est.) Exports World Ranking: 172
$472.3 million (2011 est.)
$362.9 million (2010 est.) Exports - commodities
Diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish Exports - partners
Belgium 28.9%, Romania 12.6%, Netherlands 9.2%, China 7.3%, US 6.9%, Turkey 6%, UK 5.8% (2011) Imports World Ranking: 172
$1.314 billion (2011 est.)
$735.9 million (2010 est.) Imports - commodities
Foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals Imports - partners
China 16.2%, South Africa 10.9%, US 7.4%, UK 7.2%, India 5.1%, Malaysia 4.3% (2011) Debt - external World Ranking: 166
$543.5 million (31 December 2011 est.) $490.9 millionStock of direct foreign investment - at home World Ranking: 96
$366.1 million
$264.1 million Exchange rates
Leones (SLL) per US dollar -
4,400 (2011 est.) 3,978.1 Fiscal year
Calendar year
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Sierra Leone (Freetown):
 
GPS points from Sierra Leone (Freetown)
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Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about a third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 presidential election but still look to the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - a civilian UN mission - to support efforts to consolidate peace. The new government's priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption.