Statizoid

Life expectancy in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: Life expectancy was 61.79 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
61.79 years
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
225th
of 236 countries
All-time high
61.79 years
in 2023
All-time low
24.5 years
in 1931
Years of data
75
1931–2023

Life expectancy in Sierra Leone, 1931–2023

0204060193119772023

Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

Sierra Leone recorded 61.79 years for life expectancy in 2023. That is the highest value across all 75 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 14.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy 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.

Life expectancy in Sierra Leone, year by year

Year years Change
1931 24.5 years —
1950 28.93 years +18.1%
1951 29.29 years +1.2%
1952 29.74 years +1.5%
1953 30.13 years +1.3%
1954 30.52 years +1.3%
1955 30.93 years +1.4%
1956 31.32 years +1.3%
1957 31.77 years +1.4%
1958 32.14 years +1.2%
1959 32.56 years +1.3%
1960 33.09 years +1.6%
1961 33.63 years +1.6%
1962 34.16 years +1.6%
1963 34.7 years +1.6%
1964 35.3 years +1.7%
1965 35.93 years +1.8%
1966 36.64 years +2.0%
1967 37.28 years +1.7%
1968 37.76 years +1.3%
1969 38.23 years +1.2%
1970 38.62 years +1.0%
1971 39.1 years +1.3%
1972 39.5 years +1.0%
1973 39.96 years +1.2%
1974 40.41 years +1.1%
1975 40.99 years +1.4%
1976 41.43 years +1.1%
1977 41.83 years +1.0%
1978 42.19 years +0.9%
1979 42.53 years +0.8%
1980 42.84 years +0.7%
1981 43.09 years +0.6%
1982 43.3 years +0.5%
1983 43.45 years +0.4%
1984 43.56 years +0.2%
1985 43.56 years -0.0%
1986 43.5 years -0.1%
1987 43.75 years +0.6%
1988 43.77 years +0.0%
1989 43.74 years -0.1%
1990 43.72 years -0.0%
1991 43.29 years -1.0%
1992 43.45 years +0.4%
1993 43.43 years -0.1%
1994 42.81 years -1.4%
1995 42.58 years -0.5%
1996 43.53 years +2.2%
1997 43.65 years +0.3%
1998 42.71 years -2.1%
1999 41.96 years -1.8%
2000 44.83 years +6.8%
2001 45.45 years +1.4%
2002 46.17 years +1.6%
2003 46.78 years +1.3%
2004 47.49 years +1.5%
2005 48.31 years +1.7%
2006 49.55 years +2.6%
2007 50.02 years +1.0%
2008 50.69 years +1.3%
2009 51.31 years +1.2%
2010 51.93 years +1.2%
2011 52.59 years +1.3%
2012 53.16 years +1.1%
2013 54.05 years +1.7%
2014 54.28 years +0.4%
2015 55.45 years +2.2%
2016 56.94 years +2.7%
2017 57.76 years +1.4%
2018 59.06 years +2.2%
2019 59.59 years +0.9%
2020 59.69 years +0.2%
2021 60.26 years +0.9%
2022 61.27 years +1.7%
2023 61.79 years +0.8%

Sierra Leone compared with similar countries

  • Sierra Leone's 61.79 years is below the median for low income countries, which is 63.65 years, 97% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Sierra Leone's 61.79 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 64.1 years, 96% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 222 Nauru 62.11 years compare
  2. 223 Cote d'Ivoire 61.94 years compare
  3. 224 Democratic Republic of Congo 61.9 years compare
  4. 226 Niger 61.18 years compare
  5. 227 Burkina Faso 61.09 years compare
  6. 228 Benin 60.77 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in Sierra Leone?
Life expectancy 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 recorded in Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 61.79 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 24.5 years in 1931.
How does Sierra Leone rank for life expectancy?
Sierra Leone ranks 225th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy 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. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Life expectancy in Sierra Leone. Statizoid, drawing on Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/life-expectancy/sierra-leone/

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About this data

Indicator
Life expectancy
Unit
years
Source
Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 19,452 data points, 1543–2023
Last refreshed

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.