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Sierra Leone — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Sierra Leone, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
3.15%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -23.8% since 1991
Unemployment for Sierra Leone was 3.15% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 4.68% in 2014. The lowest was 3.09% in 2023 (about 1.0× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.80% per year.
Sierra Leone ranks 143 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 76%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 5.45%, so Sierra Leone sits below it. It peaked in 2014 and has fallen 33% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 30%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
3.15%
First (1991)
4.13%
Change
-23.8%
Highest
4.68%
in 2014
Lowest
3.09%
in 2023
Average
3.97%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.80%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.15% |
| 2024 | 3.1% |
| 2023 | 3.09% |
| 2022 | 3.14% |
| 2021 | 3.55% |
| 2020 | 3.51% |
| 2019 | 3.2% |
| 2018 | 3.19% |
| 2017 | 3.66% |
| 2016 | 4.18% |
| 2015 | 4.48% |
| 2014 | 4.68% |
Reading this correctly. Share of the labor force without work but available for and seeking employment. National definitions differ, so cross-country comparison needs care. Figures are in % of total labor force. 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.UEM.TOTL.ZS — Unemployment 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.