Life expectancy for people of different ages in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Life expectancy for people of different ages was 61.79 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy for people of different ages in Sierra Leone, 1931–2023
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, life expectancy for people of different ages in Sierra Leone stood at 61.79 years. That is the highest value across all 75 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 14.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy for people of different ages in Sierra Leone peaked at 61.79 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 24.5 years, in 1931.
Sierra Leone ranks 225th of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 75 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 24.5 years | 24.5 years | 24.5 years | 1 |
| 1950s | 30.73 years | 28.93 years | 32.56 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 35.67 years | 33.09 years | 38.23 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 40.66 years | 38.62 years | 42.53 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 43.46 years | 42.84 years | 43.77 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 43.11 years | 41.96 years | 43.72 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 48.06 years | 44.83 years | 51.31 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 55.48 years | 51.93 years | 59.59 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 60.75 years | 59.69 years | 61.79 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
- 222 Nauru 62.11 years compare
- 223 Cote d'Ivoire 61.94 years compare
- 224 Democratic Republic of Congo 61.9 years compare
- 226 Niger 61.18 years compare
- 227 Burkina Faso 61.09 years compare
- 228 Benin 60.77 years compare
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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy for people of different ages in Sierra Leone?
- Life expectancy for people of different ages in Sierra Leone was 61.79 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy for people of different ages recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 61.79 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy for people of different ages recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.5 years in 1931.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for life expectancy for people of different ages?
- Sierra Leone ranks 225th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy for people of different ages rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy for people of different ages. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.