Country · SLE
Sierra Leone · Finances and debt
Period
Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook (October 2026) · copied on 2026-11-11
Public finances and external accounts
A fiscal deficit of 4.2 % of GDP
Sierra Leone: in 2025, the general government spent 4.2 % of GDP more than it collected, public debt stood at 51.4 % of GDP, the current account showed a deficit of 5.2 % (IMF).
- Fiscal balance · 2025
- −4.2 %
- of GDP · −0.7 pt since 2020
- Public debt · 2025
- 51.4 %
- of GDP · +5.0 pt since 2020
- Current account · 2025
- −5.2 %
- of GDP · +0.6 pt since 2020
Fiscal balance, % of GDP
Negative: a deficit · dashed: estimates and projections
Chart data as a table
| Year | Sierra Leone | West Africa |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | −2.9 % | −2.9 % |
| 2016 | −5.4 % | −3.6 % |
| 2017 | −5.6 % | −3.7 % |
| 2018 | −3.6 % | −3.4 % |
| 2019 | −2.0 % | −3.6 % |
| 2020 | −3.5 % | −5.4 % |
| 2021 | −4.3 % | −5.1 % |
| 2022 | −5.9 % | −5.4 % |
| 2023 | −5.0 % | −4.0 % |
| 2024 | −5.2 % | −3.6 % |
| 2025 · estimate | −4.2 % | −2.5 % |
| 2026 · projection | −2.9 % | −3.2 % |
| 2027 · projection | −0.9 % | −3.0 % |
| 2028 · projection | −0.5 % | −2.8 % |
| 2029 · projection | −0.9 % | −2.8 % |
| 2030 · projection | −0.6 % | −2.8 % |
- Sierra Leone
- West Africa
Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook (October 2026) · general government net lending or borrowing · group values weighted by GDP in dollars (Syli Atlas)
Current account, % of GDP
Trade, income and transfers with the rest of the world
Chart data as a table
| Year | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|
| 2015 | −14.9 % |
| 2016 | −4.9 % |
| 2017 | −11.7 % |
| 2018 | −9.3 % |
| 2019 | −7.8 % |
| 2020 | −5.8 % |
| 2021 | −7.3 % |
| 2022 | −6.3 % |
| 2023 | −7.9 % |
| 2024 | −6.5 % |
| 2025 · estimate | −5.2 % |
| 2026 · projection | −4.7 % |
| 2027 · projection | −4.2 % |
| 2028 · projection | −4.1 % |
| 2029 · projection | −4.1 % |
| 2030 · projection | −4.1 % |
Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Currency
Leone
The leone has no fixed peg: its value against the dollar and the euro moves with the market and the central bank's policy.
- Currency
- SLE
- leone
- Exchange regime
- —
- no fixed peg
- Inflation · 2025
- 7.6 %
- average annual change in consumer prices
Currency codes: ISO 4217 · fixed parities: central banks (BCEAO, BEAC, Central Bank of the Comoros, Bank of Cape Verde…) · inflation: IMF, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Debt
A debt owed first to multilateral lenders
At the end of 2025, Sierra Leone owed 1.3 bn$ in public external debt (World Bank). 3.6 % of it was owed to China, 71.4 % to multilateral institutions and 0.0 % to bond holders.
- Public debt · 2025
- 51.4 %
- of GDP · IMF
- External debt · 2025
- 2.4 bn$
- public and private · World Bank
- Public external debt · 2025
- 1.3 bn$
- owed or guaranteed by the State
- Debt service · 2024
- 4.2 %
- of exports of goods, services and income
Risk of debt distress
IMF and World Bank debt sustainability analysis
Latest analysis published on 2026-02-13: high.
Source: IMF, list of debt sustainability analyses of low-income countries, as of 2026-03-31 · imf.org
Public external debt by creditor
Share of the total at the end of each year
- Multilateral (IMF, World Bank, AfDB…)
- 71.4 %
- China
- 3.6 %
- Other countries
- 12.4 %
- Bonds (Eurobonds)
- 0.0 %
- Banks and other private lenders
- 12.6 %
Source: World Bank, International Debt Statistics (updated 2026-11-05) · public and publicly guaranteed external debt, end of year · CC BY 4.0 · shares: Syli Atlas calculation