Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Middle in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Middle was 4.6% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Middle in Sierra Leone, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 4.6% for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in middle in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 82.2% on the previous year and up 18.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in middle in Sierra Leone peaked at 4.9% in 1970 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1986.
Sierra Leone ranks 18th of 203 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Middle in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.3% | — |
| 1961 | 0.2% | -19.4% |
| 1962 | 0.3% | +7.3% |
| 1963 | 0.4% | +54.5% |
| 1964 | 0.8% | +92.7% |
| 1965 | 0.5% | -34.2% |
| 1966 | 0.6% | +16.1% |
| 1967 | 0.6% | +5.8% |
| 1968 | 4.0% | +560.1% |
| 1969 | 2.9% | -27.7% |
| 1970 | 4.9% | +70.5% |
| 1971 | 3.0% | -39.7% |
| 1972 | 1.7% | -43.3% |
| 1973 | 3.0% | +79.2% |
| 1974 | 1.0% | -66.0% |
| 1975 | 0.5% | -47.9% |
| 1976 | 0.5% | -14.5% |
| 1977 | 0.2% | -60.6% |
| 1981 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.2% | +18.0% |
| 1983 | 0.2% | -27.2% |
| 1984 | 0.1% | -66.6% |
| 1985 | 0.1% | +122.5% |
| 1986 | 0.0% | -79.9% |
| 1987 | 0.1% | +123.3% |
| 1988 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.1% | +111.2% |
| 1991 | 0.3% | +154.4% |
| 1992 | 0.2% | -14.4% |
| 1993 | 0.4% | +84.0% |
| 1994 | 0.4% | -9.4% |
| 1995 | 0.7% | +69.8% |
| 1996 | 1.5% | +119.7% |
| 1997 | 0.8% | -47.5% |
| 1998 | 0.6% | -24.0% |
| 1999 | 0.2% | -67.2% |
| 2000 | 1.8% | +801.4% |
| 2001 | 1.7% | -4.3% |
| 2002 | 1.6% | -2.0% |
| 2003 | 1.6% | -5.6% |
| 2004 | 1.4% | -12.3% |
| 2005 | 1.6% | +16.0% |
| 2006 | 1.4% | -11.1% |
| 2007 | 1.4% | -3.3% |
| 2008 | 1.5% | +12.2% |
| 2009 | 1.8% | +20.6% |
| 2010 | 1.9% | +3.7% |
| 2011 | 2.1% | +10.1% |
| 2012 | 2.3% | +7.5% |
| 2013 | 3.8% | +70.3% |
| 2014 | 3.6% | -5.1% |
| 2015 | 4.7% | +29.8% |
| 2016 | 2.3% | -50.7% |
| 2017 | 2.8% | +18.9% |
| 2018 | 2.3% | -18.8% |
| 2019 | 2.2% | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 2.3% | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 2.6% | +12.5% |
| 2022 | 2.5% | -3.3% |
| 2023 | 4.6% | +82.2% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 4.6% is above the median for low income countries, which is 2.7%, 1.7× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 4.6% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.8%, 2.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Middle 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 | +801.4% | 0.2% | 1.8% |
| 1968 | +560.1% | 0.6% | 4.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.1% | 0.2% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.9% | 0.2% | 4.9% | 8 |
| 1980s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 9 |
| 1990s | 0.5% | 0.1% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.8% | 1.9% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.0% | 2.3% | 4.6% | 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 low- and middle-income economies in middle in Sierra Leone?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in middle in Sierra Leone was 4.6% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in middle recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 4.9% in 1970.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in middle recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1986.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in middle?
- Sierra Leone ranks 18th out of 203 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in middle rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Middle East & North Africa (% 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 low- and middle-income economies in Middle East and North Africa are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from low- and middle-income economies in the Middle East and North Africa region 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.