What is infant mortality rate in Sierra Leone?

Infant mortality rate in Sierra Leone was 5.46 deaths per 100 live births in 2024, according to United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest infant mortality rate recorded in Sierra Leone?

The highest recorded value was 17.02 deaths per 100 live births in 1956.

What is the lowest infant mortality rate recorded in Sierra Leone?

The lowest recorded value was 5.46 deaths per 100 live births in 2024.

How does Sierra Leone rank for infant mortality rate?

Sierra Leone ranks 12th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.

Is infant mortality rate rising or falling in Sierra Leone?

Over the last ten years it is down 29.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.

Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?

The figures come from United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Infant mortality rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Infant mortality rate in Sierra Leone

Name: Infant mortality rate in Sierra Leone
Creator: United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Sierra Leone: Infant mortality rate was 5.46 deaths per 100 live births in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)

5.46 deaths per 100 live births

Change on year

down 3.0%

World rank

12th

of 199 countries

All-time high

17.02 deaths per 100 live births

in 1956

All-time low

5.46 deaths per 100 live births

in 2024

Years of data

1956–2024

Infant mortality rate in Sierra Leone, 1956–2024

Source: United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths per 100 live births.

Analysis

The most recent figure for infant mortality rate in Sierra Leone is 5.46 deaths per 100 live births, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 69 years on record.

The figure is down 3.0% on the previous year and down 29.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, infant mortality rate in Sierra Leone peaked at 17.02 deaths per 100 live births in 1956 and was at its lowest, 5.46 deaths per 100 live births, in 2024.

That places Sierra Leone 12th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 69 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	16.84 deaths per 100 live births	16.68 deaths per 100 live births	17.02 deaths per 100 live births	4
1960s	16.02 deaths per 100 live births	15.39 deaths per 100 live births	16.57 deaths per 100 live births	10
1970s	14.69 deaths per 100 live births	14.19 deaths per 100 live births	15.25 deaths per 100 live births	10
1980s	13.79 deaths per 100 live births	13.56 deaths per 100 live births	14.09 deaths per 100 live births	10
1990s	13.22 deaths per 100 live births	12.59 deaths per 100 live births	13.54 deaths per 100 live births	10
2000s	11.01 deaths per 100 live births	9.47 deaths per 100 live births	12.34 deaths per 100 live births	10
2010s	7.66 deaths per 100 live births	6.4 deaths per 100 live births	9.08 deaths per 100 live births	10
2020s	5.82 deaths per 100 live births	5.46 deaths per 100 live births	6.19 deaths per 100 live births	5

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

9 Democratic Republic of Congo 5.64 deaths per 100 live births compare
10 Lesotho 5.63 deaths per 100 live births compare
11 Chad 5.63 deaths per 100 live births compare
13 Afghanistan 4.83 deaths per 100 live births compare
14 Pakistan 4.82 deaths per 100 live births compare
15 Equatorial Guinea 4.76 deaths per 100 live births compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More health data for Sierra Leone

Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,199 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
Number of infants who die before age 1 4,209 deaths (2100)
Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 0 deaths (2026)
Deaths in armed conflicts by region 0 deaths (2026)
Age population, age 25, male, interpolated 79,693 (2025)
Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 79,021 (2025)
Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 82,252 (2025)
Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 81,100 (2025)
Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 84,700 (2025)
Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 83,425 (2025)

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is infant mortality rate in Sierra Leone?: Infant mortality rate in Sierra Leone was 5.46 deaths per 100 live births in 2024, according to United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest infant mortality rate recorded in Sierra Leone?: The highest recorded value was 17.02 deaths per 100 live births in 1956.
What is the lowest infant mortality rate recorded in Sierra Leone?: The lowest recorded value was 5.46 deaths per 100 live births in 2024.
How does Sierra Leone rank for infant mortality rate?: Sierra Leone ranks 12th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
Is infant mortality rate rising or falling in Sierra Leone?: Over the last ten years it is down 29.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?: The figures come from United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Infant mortality rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 69 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Infant mortality rate
Unit: deaths per 100 live births
Source: United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 199 places, 13,185 data points, 1931–2024
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

The estimated number of deaths of children aged under one year, per 100 live births .