Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Merchandise imports from high-income economies was 35.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Sierra Leone, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
In 2023, merchandise imports from high-income economies in Sierra Leone stood at 35.2%.
That represents a change of down 7.8% on the previous year and down 28.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from high-income economies in Sierra Leone peaked at 92.9% in 1965 and was at its lowest, 30.9%, in 2000.
That places Sierra Leone 179th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 61 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 85.5% | — |
| 1961 | 89.6% | +4.8% |
| 1962 | 87.1% | -2.8% |
| 1963 | 90.6% | +4.0% |
| 1964 | 90.5% | -0.1% |
| 1965 | 92.9% | +2.6% |
| 1966 | 91.4% | -1.6% |
| 1967 | 89.2% | -2.4% |
| 1968 | 88.7% | -0.5% |
| 1969 | 84.4% | -4.9% |
| 1970 | 81.9% | -2.9% |
| 1971 | 81.7% | -0.3% |
| 1972 | 80.6% | -1.3% |
| 1973 | 83.3% | +3.3% |
| 1974 | 74.6% | -10.4% |
| 1975 | 63.9% | -14.4% |
| 1976 | 74.0% | +15.8% |
| 1977 | 63.6% | -14.0% |
| 1981 | 63.6% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 71.5% | +12.3% |
| 1983 | 57.9% | -19.1% |
| 1984 | 56.2% | -3.0% |
| 1985 | 59.9% | +6.7% |
| 1986 | 80.2% | +33.9% |
| 1987 | 56.2% | -30.0% |
| 1988 | 56.2% | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 56.2% | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 70.3% | +25.2% |
| 1991 | 75.0% | +6.7% |
| 1992 | 74.5% | -0.7% |
| 1993 | 69.3% | -6.9% |
| 1994 | 72.2% | +4.2% |
| 1995 | 65.5% | -9.3% |
| 1996 | 70.4% | +7.5% |
| 1997 | 70.0% | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 78.7% | +12.5% |
| 1999 | 79.0% | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 30.9% | -60.9% |
| 2001 | 41.2% | +33.3% |
| 2002 | 56.4% | +37.0% |
| 2003 | 58.9% | +4.4% |
| 2004 | 53.0% | -10.0% |
| 2005 | 48.2% | -9.1% |
| 2006 | 43.4% | -9.8% |
| 2007 | 46.4% | +6.8% |
| 2008 | 51.9% | +11.9% |
| 2009 | 44.4% | -14.4% |
| 2010 | 46.8% | +5.3% |
| 2011 | 45.5% | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 46.9% | +3.1% |
| 2013 | 49.4% | +5.2% |
| 2014 | 39.4% | -20.2% |
| 2015 | 46.5% | +18.0% |
| 2016 | 46.5% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 41.5% | -10.7% |
| 2018 | 39.6% | -4.6% |
| 2019 | 36.0% | -9.1% |
| 2020 | 37.3% | +3.7% |
| 2021 | 40.0% | +7.1% |
| 2022 | 38.1% | -4.7% |
| 2023 | 35.2% | -7.8% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 35.2% is below the median for low income countries, which is 38.4%, 92% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 35.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 42.2%, 83% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from high-income economies 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | -60.9% | 79.0% | 30.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 89.0% | 84.4% | 92.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 75.4% | 63.6% | 83.3% | 8 |
| 1980s | 62.0% | 56.2% | 80.2% | 9 |
| 1990s | 72.5% | 65.5% | 79.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 47.5% | 30.9% | 58.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 43.8% | 36.0% | 49.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.7% | 35.2% | 40.0% | 4 |
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)
- Food exports 45.6% (2018)
- Manufactures exports 25.1% (2018)
- Merchandise exports 1.53 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 173.93 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2055 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 6.75 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from high-income economies in Sierra Leone?
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Sierra Leone was 35.2% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 92.9% in 1965.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 30.9% in 2000.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for merchandise imports from high-income economies?
- Sierra Leone ranks 179th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from high-income economies rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 61 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise imports from high-income economies are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from high-income economies according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise imports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.