Sierra Leone: cost of living

How fast are housing and utility prices rising in Sierra Leone?

Prices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels were 87.73% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier, up from 83.72% in July, according to Statistics Sierra Leone (Stats SL). Transport prices were 41.49% higher, and health 11.75% higher.

Housing and utilities have a weight of 8.90% in the consumer price index and transport 8.60%, so large rises in these groups lift overall inflation, which was 15.66%. Food, the largest group with a weight of 40.30%, rose 5.82%. Stats SL's release breaks down each group's contribution to annual inflation.

Official sources: Statistics Sierra Leone (Stats SL)

How fast are food prices rising in Sierra Leone?

Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices in Sierra Leone were 5.82% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier, up from 5.74% in July, according to Statistics Sierra Leone (Stats SL).

Food has the largest weight in the consumer price index, at 40.30%, so it matters most to household budgets. It has risen more slowly than non-food items, whose annual inflation was 23.54%. The Bank of Sierra Leone's September 2026 policy statement links recent price pressures to tax measures, climate-related food supply constraints and energy prices.

Official sources: Statistics Sierra Leone (Stats SL) · September 2026 policy statement

What was Sierra Leone's average inflation in recent years?

Consumer prices in Sierra Leone rose 7.74% on average in 2025, according to Stats SL's consumer price index release for August 2026. Average inflation was 29.79% in 2024, 46.62% in 2023, 26.95% in 2022 and 11.85% in 2021.

The annual average compares the price level across a whole year with the year before. Year-on-year inflation peaked at 54.59% in October 2023 and was 4.35% in December 2025, before rising again to 15.66% in August 2026. The index stood at 283.96 in August 2026, against 100 in December 2021, so the average price level has almost tripled since then.

Official sources: consumer price index release

How fast are transport costs rising in Sierra Leone?

Transport prices in Sierra Leone were 41.49% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier, up from 37.04% in July, according to Stats SL's consumer price index release. Transport prices rose 2.67% in the month.

Transport has a weight of 8.60% in the index. Stats SL estimates that it added 3.53 percentage points to annual inflation of 15.66%, second only to housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which added 7.81 points. The transport index rose from 229.80 in May 2025 to 322.32 in August 2026.

Official sources: consumer price index release

How fast are prices rising in Freetown?

Consumer prices in the Western Area, which includes Freetown, were 24.12% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier, up from 21.87% in July, according to Stats SL's consumer price index release. National inflation was 15.66%.

The Western Area has a weight of 46.4% in the national index, so its prices weigh heavily on the national figure. Inflation was 16.77% in the Northern region and 10.07% in the Eastern region. Average inflation in the Western Area was 9.86% in 2025, compared with 7.74% nationally.

Official sources: consumer price index release

How many people in Sierra Leone live in poverty?

56.8% of Sierra Leone's population lived below the national poverty line in 2018, according to the Sierra Leone Integrated Household Survey 2018 by Stats SL. 12.9% lived in extreme poverty, unable to afford even a basic diet.

Poverty was 73.9% in rural areas and 34.8% in urban areas, and 22.8% in Freetown. Extreme poverty was 19.9% in rural areas and 3.8% in urban areas. The survey is the most recent national poverty measurement found on the Stats SL site; prices have risen sharply since then, so it does not reflect the inflation of 2022 to 2024.

Official sources: Sierra Leone Integrated Household Survey 2018

What is the poverty line in Sierra Leone?

The national poverty line in Sierra Leone was Le 3,921,000 per adult equivalent per year in 2018, according to the Sierra Leone Integrated Household Survey 2018 by Stats SL. The food poverty line, the cost of a minimum diet, was Le 2,125,000.

The amounts are in leones (Le) at 2018 prices, before the change to the new leone (NLe) used in later Stats SL figures. An adult equivalent counts children as a fraction of an adult. Poverty rates by region ranged from 23.3% in the Western Area to 76.5% in the North.

Official sources: Sierra Leone Integrated Household Survey 2018

How many people in Sierra Leone live on less than $3 a day?

41.5% of Sierra Leone's population lived on less than US$3.00 a day in 2018, according to the World Bank. The Gini index of income inequality was 35.7 in 2018, up from 34.0 in 2011.

The US$3.00 line is the World Bank's international extreme poverty line, set in 2021 purchasing power parity dollars so that countries can be compared. It is lower than Sierra Leone's national poverty line, under which 56.8% were poor. The Gini index runs from 0, where everyone has the same, to 100, where one person has everything.

Official sources: World Bank · 35.7

What is Sierra Leone's inflation rate?

The latest figure from the IMF, for 2025, is 7.5%. The peak was 47.6% in 2023 and the low 4.6% in 2014. It is 11th highest of 39 in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median is 3.4%. World rank, highest first: 27th of 165.

What is household spending per person in Sierra Leone?

In 2025, household consumption per person in Sierra Leone was $1,023, according to the World Bank. Its high point since 2005 was 2019, at $1,219; its low point was 2010, at $599. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was $840, and Sierra Leone placed 15th highest of 37. Of 124 countries with 2025 data, 102nd highest.

How many people in Sierra Leone live on under $3 a day?

41.5%: that is the share of people living on less than $3.00 a day in Sierra Leone for 2018, according to the World Bank. That compares with 72.4% in 2003. Sub-Saharan Africa median: 37.1%; Sierra Leone is 5th highest of 15. World rank, highest first: 5th of 92.

What is the poverty rate in Sierra Leone?

56.8%: that is the share of people below the national poverty line in Sierra Leone for 2018, according to the World Bank. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 40.8%, and Sierra Leone placed 1st highest of 15. World rank, highest first: 1st of 67.

What is income inequality in Sierra Leone?

35.7: that is the Gini index in Sierra Leone for 2018, according to the World Bank. It was 40.2 in 2003. Sub-Saharan Africa median: 37.3; Sierra Leone is 11th highest of 15. Worldwide: 41st of 92.

What is food insecurity in Sierra Leone?

According to the FAO, moderate or severe food insecurity in Sierra Leone was 88.1% in 2024. Since 2015 it has ranged from 75.8% (2015) to 89.8% (2023). It is 2nd highest of 34 in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median is 60.5%. Worldwide: 2nd of 135.