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Sierra Leone — Labor participation
Labor Force Participation Rate for Sierra Leone, 1990–2025.
Latest value · 2025
53.37%
Labor Force Participation Rate · % of population ages 15+ · -17.1% since 1990
Labor participation for Sierra Leone was 53.37% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 36 years, from 1990 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 66.11% in 2004. The lowest was 53.30% in 2020 (about 1.0× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.53% per year.
Sierra Leone ranks 146 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 78%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 64.31%, so Sierra Leone sits below it. It peaked in 2004 and has fallen 19% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 5%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
53.37%
First (1990)
64.35%
Change
-17.1%
Highest
66.11%
in 2004
Lowest
53.30%
in 2020
Average
60.44%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.53%
Years of data
36
Recent years
| Year | % of population ages 15+ |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 53.37% |
| 2024 | 53.58% |
| 2023 | 53.63% |
| 2022 | 53.67% |
| 2021 | 53.61% |
| 2020 | 53.3% |
| 2019 | 53.81% |
| 2018 | 53.91% |
| 2017 | 54.68% |
| 2016 | 55.44% |
| 2015 | 56.19% |
| 2014 | 56.95% |
Reading this correctly. Proportion of the population aged 15 and above that is economically active: supplying labor for the production of goods and services. Figures are in % of population ages 15+. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.TLF.CACT.ZS — Labor Force Participation Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.