Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is a low income economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, with its capital at Freetown. 39.2% of its people had electricity in 2024.
- Electricity access
- 39.2%
- 2024, world 91.9%
- Renewable electricity
- 75.3%
- 2021, world 27.8%
- CO₂ per person
- 0.17 t
- 2024, world 4.69 t
- Clean cooking
- 2.0%
- 2024, world 75.4%
- GDP per person
- 846
- 2025, world 14,406
Electricity generation mix
- Oil
- Coal
- Gas
- Hydro
- Nuclear
- Solar, wind & other
Sierra Leone2021
Sub-Saharan Africa2024
World2025
View data table
| Economy | Oil | Coal | Gas | Hydro | Nuclear | Solar, wind & other | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra Leone | 24.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 70.5% | 0.0% | 4.8% | 2021 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 5.0% | 42.9% | 14.0% | 29.9% | 1.6% | 4.3% | 2024 |
| World | 1.2% | 15.1% | 28.7% | 15.2% | 15.2% | 12.4% | 2025 |
Share of electricity production by source, latest year available. Shares may not sum to exactly 100% because of rounding and minor sources.
Access to electricity
% of population, compared with Sub-Saharan Africa and the world.
- Sierra Leone
- World
- Sub-Saharan Africa
0%
50%
100%
WorldSub-Saharan AfricaSierra Leone View data table
| Year | Sierra Leone | World | Sub-Saharan Africa |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 39.2% | 91.9% | 55.1% |
| 2023 | 35.5% | 91.6% | 53.3% |
| 2022 | 29.4% | 91.3% | 51.5% |
| 2021 | 27.5% | 91.3% | 50.7% |
| 2020 | 26.3% | 90.4% | 48.5% |
| 2019 | 22.7% | 90.1% | 47.2% |
| 2018 | 26.1% | 89.8% | 46.4% |
| 2017 | 23.4% | 88.9% | 43.8% |
| 2016 | 20.3% | 88.1% | 43.8% |
| 2015 | 19.7% | 86.9% | 39.2% |
| 2014 | 18.8% | 86.2% | 38.4% |
| 2013 | 13.5% | 85.7% | 38.0% |
| 2012 | 17.2% | 84.9% | 36.8% |
| 2011 | 14.2% | 84.5% | 35.9% |
| 2010 | 11.5% | 83.5% | 33.3% |
| 2009 | 14.6% | 82.9% | 32.6% |
| 2008 | 12.1% | 82.7% | 32.4% |
| 2007 | 13.0% | 82.0% | 32.5% |
| 2006 | 12.2% | 81.4% | 31.2% |
| 2005 | 11.3% | 80.7% | 29.4% |
| 2004 | 16.8% | 80.0% | 29.4% |
| 2003 | 9.9% | 80.0% | 29.6% |
| 2002 | 9.2% | 79.1% | 27.3% |
| 2001 | 8.5% | 78.7% | 26.2% |
| 2000 | 7.7% | 78.2% | 25.7% |
| 1999 | – | 74.5% | 30.1% |
| 1998 | – | 73.2% | 28.6% |
| 1997 | – | – | 28.4% |
| 1996 | – | – | 28.5% |
Emissions
CO₂ per person, tonnes, excluding land use.
- Sierra Leone
- World
- Sub-Saharan Africa
0 t
2 t
4 t
6 t
WorldSub-Saharan AfricaSierra Leone View data table
| Year | Sierra Leone | World | Sub-Saharan Africa |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 0.17 t | 4.69 t | 0.70 t |
| 2023 | 0.17 t | 4.68 t | 0.70 t |
| 2022 | 0.18 t | 4.67 t | 0.72 t |
| 2021 | 0.18 t | 4.68 t | 0.75 t |
| 2020 | 0.16 t | 4.47 t | 0.73 t |
| 2019 | 0.16 t | 4.70 t | 0.79 t |
| 2018 | 0.16 t | 4.73 t | 0.80 t |
| 2017 | 0.14 t | 4.67 t | 0.80 t |
| 2016 | 0.15 t | 4.65 t | 0.81 t |
| 2015 | 0.15 t | 4.70 t | 0.82 t |
| 2014 | 0.18 t | 4.78 t | 0.86 t |
| 2013 | 0.17 t | 4.81 t | 0.85 t |
| 2012 | 0.15 t | 4.77 t | 0.82 t |
| 2011 | 0.14 t | 4.76 t | 0.82 t |
| 2010 | 0.11 t | 4.67 t | 0.84 t |
| 2009 | 0.11 t | 4.45 t | 0.82 t |
| 2008 | 0.11 t | 4.56 t | 0.89 t |
| 2007 | 0.12 t | 4.59 t | 0.86 t |
| 2006 | 0.13 t | 4.48 t | 0.86 t |
| 2005 | 0.10 t | 4.39 t | 0.89 t |
| 2004 | 0.11 t | 4.28 t | 0.89 t |
| 2003 | 0.12 t | 4.15 t | 0.86 t |
| 2002 | 0.12 t | 4.02 t | 0.84 t |
| 2001 | 0.12 t | 4.01 t | 0.85 t |
| 2000 | 0.10 t | 4.01 t | 0.85 t |
| 1999 | 0.16 t | 3.95 t | 0.85 t |
| 1998 | 0.15 t | 3.98 t | 0.89 t |
| 1997 | 0.15 t | 4.02 t | 0.91 t |
| 1996 | 0.15 t | 4.01 t | 0.90 t |
| 1995 | 0.14 t | 3.99 t | 0.87 t |
Currency
24.59 SLE
per US dollar, mid-market reference. 1 SLE = ₦54.15
Sunshine in Freetown
5.4 kWh/m² today
- Tu5.4 kWh per square metre
- We5.1 kWh per square metre
- Th4.7 kWh per square metre
- Fr3.3 kWh per square metre
- Sa3.5 kWh per square metre
- Su4.3 kWh per square metre
- Mo5.3 kWh per square metre
Open-Meteo forecast, modelled irradiation.
Power plants
Installed capacity by fuel
3 plants, 126 MW recorded in WRI’s Global Power Plant Database.
- Oil76 MW
- Hydro50 MW
Snapshot as of the database’s 2021 release; newer plants are not included. Nameplate capacity, not available generation.
Largest plants
| Plant | Fuel | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingtom | Oil | 53 | – |
| Bumbuna Dam | Hydro | 50 | – |
| Bonthe Works | Oil | 23 | – |
All indicators
Sierra Leone in numbers
Energy access
| Indicator | Sierra Leone | Year | Sub-Saharan Africa | World |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Access to electricity % of population | 39.2% | 2024 | 55.1% | 91.9% |
| Access to electricity, rural % of rural population | 24.9% | 2024 | 35.7% | 84.9% |
| Access to electricity, urban % of urban population | 56.4% | 2024 | 82.9% | 97.8% |
| Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking % of population | 2.0% | 2024 | 22.9% | 75.4% |
Power supply and mix
| Indicator | Sierra Leone | Year | Sub-Saharan Africa | World |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity production from coal % of total | 0.0% | 2021 | 42.9% | 15.1% |
| Electricity production from natural gas % of total | 0.0% | 2021 | 14.0% | 28.7% |
| Electricity production from oil % of total | 24.7% | 2021 | 5.0% | 1.2% |
| Electricity production from nuclear % of total | 0.0% | 2021 | 1.6% | 15.2% |
| Electricity production from hydroelectric sources % of total | 70.5% | 2021 | 29.9% | 15.2% |
| Electric power transmission and distribution losses % of output | – | 13.4% | 6.9% | |
| Electric power consumption per capita kWh per capita | – | 380 kWh | 3,708 kWh |
Energy transition
| Indicator | Sierra Leone | Year | Sub-Saharan Africa | World |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity production from renewables, excluding hydro % of total | 4.8% | 2021 | 4.3% | 12.4% |
| Renewable electricity output % of total electricity output | 75.3% | 2021 | 32.6% | 27.8% |
| Renewable energy consumption % of total final energy consumption | 71.6% | 2022 | 70.3% | 19.7% |
| CO₂ emissions per capita (excluding LULUCF) t CO₂e per capita | 0.17 t | 2024 | 0.70 t | 4.69 t |
| CO₂ emissions, total (excluding LULUCF) Mt CO₂e | 1.5 Mt | 2024 | 896.3 Mt | 39,632.7 Mt |
| Energy intensity of primary energy MJ per $2017 PPP GDP | 5.29 MJ/$ | 2022 | 6.14 MJ/$ | 4.54 MJ/$ |
Energy economy
| Indicator | Sierra Leone | Year | Sub-Saharan Africa | World |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel exports % of merchandise exports | 0.1% | 2018 | 40.9% | 9.5% |
| Oil rents % of GDP | 0.00% | 2021 | 3.80% | 1.36% |
| Natural gas rents % of GDP | – | 0.49% | 0.52% | |
| GDP per capita current US$ | 846 | 2025 | 1,673 | 14,406 |
| Population, total people | 8.8M | 2025 | 1.3B | 8.2B |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0). Latest year available per series.