Economy · Current account balance · Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone’s current account balance fell to −14.1% of GDP in 2024.
−14.1% of GDP
2024
Down 6.3 pp from 2023.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
−14.1% of GDP
What it is. The current account adds up what Sierra Leone earns from abroad and what it pays out: trade in goods and services, income paid and received across borders, and transfers such as remittances and grants. The total is divided by GDP so that years of different economic size can be compared. A negative figure means the country spends more abroad than it takes in, and the gap has to be financed by aid, loans or investment. How that financing arrives is recorded in the financial account, which sits outside this measure.
Higher is better. A higher balance means a country earns more from the rest of the world relative to what it spends there, so it needs less outside money to cover its bills. Sierra Leone's balance was −14.1% of GDP in 2024, against −7.9% of GDP a year earlier, so the deficit widened by 6.3 percentage points. Since 2015 the balance has ranged from −14.8% of GDP in 2015 to −4.8% of GDP in 2016. The latest figure sits close to the bottom of that range.
Why it matters. A deficit of −14.1% of GDP means Sierra Leone is buying far more from abroad than it sells, and it depends on foreign aid, loans and investment to cover the difference. For households, that dependence can show up in the price of imported goods such as fuel and food if the leone comes under pressure. For the state, it increases the need to secure external financing each year.
| Period | Current account balance · Sierra Leone |
|---|---|
| 2015 | −14.8% of GDP |
| 2016 | −4.8% of GDP |
| 2017 | −11.8% of GDP |
| 2018 | −9.3% of GDP |
| 2019 | −7.8% of GDP |
| 2020 | −5.8% of GDP |
| 2021 | −7.3% of GDP |
| 2022 | −6.3% of GDP |
| 2023 | −7.9% of GDP |
| 2024 | −14.1% of GDP |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, Current account balance, Sierra Leone, 2024; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/economy/current-account-balance/sierra-leone
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Methodology
Current account balance as a share of GDP. Unit: % of GDP. A negative value is a deficit.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.