Merchandise trade in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Merchandise trade was 45.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Merchandise trade in Sierra Leone, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, merchandise trade in Sierra Leone stood at 45.9%.
That represents a change of down 8.2% on the previous year and up 52.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Sierra Leone peaked at 59.1% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 12.5%, in 2001.
Sierra Leone ranks 124th of 204 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 48.8% | — |
| 1961 | 52.8% | +8.2% |
| 1962 | 41.4% | -21.5% |
| 1963 | 47.3% | +14.3% |
| 1964 | 52.2% | +10.2% |
| 1965 | 54.5% | +4.5% |
| 1966 | 48.7% | -10.6% |
| 1967 | 45.9% | -5.9% |
| 1968 | 56.4% | +22.9% |
| 1969 | 53.3% | -5.4% |
| 1970 | 50.0% | -6.4% |
| 1971 | 50.3% | +0.7% |
| 1972 | 50.3% | -0.0% |
| 1973 | 49.7% | -1.1% |
| 1974 | 56.4% | +13.5% |
| 1975 | 44.6% | -21.0% |
| 1976 | 42.4% | -5.0% |
| 1977 | 45.8% | +8.2% |
| 1978 | 46.7% | +2.0% |
| 1979 | 46.5% | -0.5% |
| 1980 | 59.1% | +27.2% |
| 1981 | 42.9% | -27.5% |
| 1982 | 31.6% | -26.4% |
| 1983 | 28.0% | -11.2% |
| 1984 | 26.7% | -4.9% |
| 1985 | 32.8% | +23.0% |
| 1986 | 56.3% | +71.7% |
| 1987 | 40.4% | -28.2% |
| 1988 | 24.8% | -38.6% |
| 1989 | 34.4% | +38.6% |
| 1990 | 44.2% | +28.4% |
| 1991 | 39.5% | -10.6% |
| 1992 | 43.4% | +9.9% |
| 1993 | 34.5% | -20.6% |
| 1994 | 29.1% | -15.7% |
| 1995 | 20.1% | -30.8% |
| 1996 | 27.4% | +36.3% |
| 1997 | 12.9% | -52.8% |
| 1998 | 15.2% | +17.3% |
| 1999 | 13.0% | -14.3% |
| 2000 | 25.5% | +96.0% |
| 2001 | 12.5% | -50.7% |
| 2002 | 16.2% | +29.0% |
| 2003 | 18.4% | +13.9% |
| 2004 | 19.0% | +3.0% |
| 2005 | 19.8% | +4.0% |
| 2006 | 19.0% | -3.9% |
| 2007 | 19.0% | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 18.0% | -5.0% |
| 2009 | 19.0% | +5.3% |
| 2010 | 26.1% | +37.2% |
| 2011 | 42.5% | +63.1% |
| 2012 | 44.4% | +4.4% |
| 2013 | 49.3% | +11.0% |
| 2014 | 40.6% | -17.6% |
| 2015 | 30.1% | -25.9% |
| 2016 | 27.8% | -7.6% |
| 2017 | 32.5% | +16.8% |
| 2018 | 29.9% | -8.1% |
| 2019 | 32.8% | +9.7% |
| 2020 | 38.4% | +17.3% |
| 2021 | 34.9% | -9.2% |
| 2022 | 42.5% | +21.8% |
| 2023 | 50.7% | +19.2% |
| 2024 | 50.0% | -1.3% |
| 2025 | 45.9% | -8.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 50.1% | 41.4% | 56.4% | 10 |
| 1970s | 48.3% | 42.4% | 56.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 37.7% | 24.8% | 59.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 27.9% | 12.9% | 44.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 18.6% | 12.5% | 25.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 35.6% | 26.1% | 49.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 43.7% | 34.9% | 50.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
- 121 Philippines 46.2% compare
- 122 Luxembourg 46.0% compare
- 123 Rwanda 45.9% compare
- 125 Burundi 45.2% compare
- 126 Uzbekistan 44.5% compare
- 127 Saudi Arabia 44.2% compare
More private sector data for Sierra Leone
- 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$), annual growth rate 6.75 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 214.63 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Sierra Leone?
- Merchandise trade in Sierra Leone was 45.9% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 59.1% in 1980.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.5% in 2001.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for merchandise trade?
- Sierra Leone ranks 124th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 52.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from World Trade Organization (WTO), published as part of Merchandise trade (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
General merchandise trade includes goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e. It is the total of merchandise exports plus merchandise imports. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.