Economy · Remittance inflows · Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone’s remittance inflows rose to $0.32bn in 2024.
$0.32bn
2024
Up $0.03bn from 2023.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
$0.32bn
What it is. Remittance inflows add up the money that migrants and other households abroad send to families at home, plus other personal transfers, measured in current US dollars. The figure comes mostly from central bank balance of payments data and household surveys. Much of it is sent through informal channels such as cash carried by hand or hawala-style agents, so recorded flows probably sit below the true amount. Because it is in current dollars, price changes in the sending countries affect the total as well as the volume of money sent.
Higher is better. Higher is better here because remittances are income that arrives from outside the country and does not have to be repaid, so more of it means more spending power for recipient households and more foreign currency for the economy. The latest figure, for 2024, is $0.32bn, up from $0.29bn a year earlier, a rise of 9.5%. That 2024 figure is also the highest in the window since 2015, when the low was $0.05bn. Inflows have therefore grown strongly over the period and are at the top of their range.
Why it matters. For households in Sierra Leone, $0.32bn of inflows is a source of money for food, school fees, rent and health costs, especially for families with relatives abroad. For the state and the wider economy, it is a steady supply of foreign currency that helps pay for imports. Because recorded flows may miss informal channels, the real contribution could be larger.
| Period | Remittance inflows · Sierra Leone |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $0.05bn |
| 2016 | $0.06bn |
| 2017 | $0.06bn |
| 2018 | $0.07bn |
| 2019 | $0.18bn |
| 2020 | $0.18bn |
| 2021 | $0.18bn |
| 2022 | $0.29bn |
| 2023 | $0.29bn |
| 2024 | $0.32bn |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, Remittance inflows, Sierra Leone, 2024; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/economy/remittance-inflows/sierra-leone
Data insights · Worked out from the published figures
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Working this out from the published figures…
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Methodology
Personal remittances received, current US dollars. Unit: USD bn.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series BX.TRF.PWKR.CD.DT), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.