| Economy - overview | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, 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 has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining. |
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| GDP | 2.3% (2006) |
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| GDP - real growth rate | 7.1% (2006 est.) |
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| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 49%
industry: 31%
services: 21% (2001 est.) |
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| Population below poverty line | 68% (1989 est.) |
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Household income or consumption
by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
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Distribution of family income
- Gini index | 62.9 (1989) |
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| Labor force | 1.369 million (1981 est.) |
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| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA% |
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| Unemployment rate | NA% |
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| Budget | revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
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| Industries | diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair |
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| Industrial production growth rate | NA% |
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Electricity -
production | 244 million kWh (2004) |
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Electricity -
production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001) |
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Electricity -
consumption | 226.9 million kWh (2004) |
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Electricity -
exports | 0 kWh (2004) |
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Electricity -
imports | 0 kWh (2004) |
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| Oil - production | 4 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
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| Oil - consumption | 6,600 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
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| Oil - exports | NA bbl/day |
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| Oil - imports | NA bbl/day |
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| Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
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| Exports | $185 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
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| Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
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| Exports - partners | Belgium 65.8%, Germany 13.4%, US 4.6% (2005) |
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| Imports | $531 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
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| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
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| Imports - partners | Germany 18.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 11%, UK 8.4%, US 6.8%, China 5.5%, Netherlands 5.3% (2005) |
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| Debt - external | $1.61 billion (2003 est.) |
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| Economic aid - recipient | $297.4 million (2003 est.) |
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| Currency code | SLL |
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| Exchange rates | leones per US dollar - 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002) |
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| Fiscal year | calendar year |
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