Sierra Leone’s fertility rate fell to 3.7 births per woman in 2024.

Neither way is good in itself. A lower rate can follow from later marriage, longer schooling or wider access to contraception, and a higher rate can follow from larger desired families or limited access to family planning. The direction therefore depends on what lies behind it. The latest figure, for 2024, is 3.7 births per woman, down from 3.8 births per woman a year earlier, a fall of 0.09. It is the lowest level since 2015, when the rate stood at 4.5 births per woman, the highest in that span.

Why it matters. At 3.7 births per woman, a typical family in Sierra Leone still has several children to feed, school and keep healthy. Maternity wards, clinics and primary schools face steady demand for places, and the state has to plan for a young population. The decline from 4.5 births per woman in 2015 slows the growth in that demand, and the next annual figure will show whether the fall continues.