Largest cities in Sierra Leone by population
The 4 cities the United Nations Demographic Yearbook 2024 lists for Sierra Leone: the capital and every city of 100,000 or more, with the latest figure the country reported. The largest is Freetown with 1,200,230 people.
Who runs cities in Sierra Leone?
Local councils (22: 6 city councils, 1 municipal council, 15 district councils): Councillors elected (by proportional representation since 2023); mayors and chairpersons directly elected; paramount chief councillors also sit on councils. Main local government: devolved functions such as primary health, primary schools, local roads, waste; property rates and local taxes (Local Government Act 2022, which replaced the 2004 Act).
How local power works in Sierra Leone · Level 3: local councils worldwide
| # | City | Population | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Freetown (capital) | 1,200,230 | 1 July 2020 |
| 2 | Kenema | 231,131 | 1 July 2020 |
| 3 | Bo | 199,897 | 1 July 2020 |
| 4 | Makeni | 143,895 | 1 July 2020 |
Countries define a city in different ways (the city proper, or the wider urban area) and report in different years, so cities in different countries are not always comparable.
More on Sierra Leone: official statistics · government and power · regions
Sources
- United Nations Statistics Division: Demographic Yearbook 2024, Table 8: Population of capital cities and cities of 100 000 or more inhabitants, latest available year, 2005-2024, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0c6784df022e…)
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