International tourism, number of departures in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: International tourism, number of departures was 122,000 in 2019. ◆ Volatile
International tourism, number of departures in Sierra Leone, 1997–2019
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 122,000 for international tourism, number of departures in 2019. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 8.9% on the previous year and up 69.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of departures in Sierra Leone peaked at 122,000 in 2019 and was at its lowest, 6,000, in 1997.
Sierra Leone ranks 103rd of 117 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
International tourism, number of departures in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 6,000 | — |
| 1998 | 7,000 | +16.7% |
| 1999 | 13,000 | +85.7% |
| 2000 | 13,000 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 20,000 | +53.8% |
| 2002 | 27,000 | +35.0% |
| 2003 | 13,000 | -51.9% |
| 2004 | 28,000 | +115.4% |
| 2005 | 63,000 | +125.0% |
| 2006 | 67,000 | +6.3% |
| 2007 | 71,000 | +6.0% |
| 2008 | 73,000 | +2.8% |
| 2009 | 72,000 | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 76,000 | +5.6% |
| 2011 | 99,000 | +30.3% |
| 2012 | 104,000 | +5.1% |
| 2013 | 111,000 | +6.7% |
| 2014 | 93,000 | -16.2% |
| 2015 | 61,000 | -34.4% |
| 2016 | 92,000 | +50.8% |
| 2017 | 110,000 | +19.6% |
| 2018 | 112,000 | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 122,000 | +8.9% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 122,000 is above the median for low income countries, which is 80,000, 1.5× the median. (6 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 122,000 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 93,500, 1.3× the median. (10 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where International tourism, number of departures in Sierra Leone changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +125.0% | 28,000 | 63,000 |
| 2004 | +115.4% | 13,000 | 28,000 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8,667 | 6,000 | 13,000 | 3 |
| 2000s | 44,700 | 13,000 | 73,000 | 10 |
| 2010s | 98,000 | 61,000 | 122,000 | 10 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More private sector data for Sierra Leone
- Merchandise trade 45.9% (2025)
- Food imports 32.3% (2018)
- Manufactures imports 63.9% (2018)
- Merchandise imports 1.89 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 481.67 million current US$ (2024)
- Food exports 45.6% (2018)
- Manufactures exports 25.1% (2018)
- Merchandise exports 1.53 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 49.60 million current US$ (2024)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 173.93 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of departures in Sierra Leone?
- International tourism, number of departures in Sierra Leone was 122,000 in 2019, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, number of departures recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 122,000 in 2019.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of departures recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 6,000 in 1997.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for international tourism, number of departures?
- Sierra Leone ranks 103rd out of 117 countries with data for 2019.
- Is international tourism, number of departures rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 69.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, number of departures. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
International outbound tourists are the number of departures that people make from their country of usual residence to any other country for any purpose other than a remunerated activity in the country visited. The data on outbound tourists refer to the number of departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips from a country during a given period is counted each time as a new departure.