Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Travel services (% of commercial service exports) was 53.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Travel services in Sierra Leone, 1977–2024
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service exports.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 53.1% for travel services in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 14.3% on the previous year and up 210.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Sierra Leone peaked at 99.0% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 17.1%, in 2014.
That places Sierra Leone 65th out of 198 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.
Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 35.1% | — |
| 1978 | 35.5% | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 19.6% | -44.7% |
| 1980 | 34.1% | +74.1% |
| 1981 | 25.2% | -26.2% |
| 1982 | 33.9% | +34.9% |
| 1983 | 44.4% | +30.8% |
| 1984 | 29.5% | -33.5% |
| 1985 | 28.7% | -2.7% |
| 1986 | 66.9% | +132.6% |
| 1987 | 78.6% | +17.6% |
| 1988 | 68.0% | -13.5% |
| 1989 | 33.9% | -50.1% |
| 1990 | 76.2% | +124.7% |
| 1991 | 79.4% | +4.2% |
| 1992 | 85.7% | +8.0% |
| 1993 | 71.6% | -16.5% |
| 1994 | 80.4% | +12.3% |
| 1995 | 80.5% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 63.0% | -21.8% |
| 1997 | 50.9% | -19.2% |
| 1998 | 45.5% | -10.6% |
| 1999 | 34.6% | -23.9% |
| 2000 | 26.9% | -22.4% |
| 2001 | 30.5% | +13.6% |
| 2002 | 99.0% | +224.3% |
| 2003 | 90.7% | -8.4% |
| 2004 | 94.7% | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 81.9% | -13.5% |
| 2006 | 57.5% | -29.9% |
| 2007 | 51.1% | -11.0% |
| 2008 | 57.3% | +12.1% |
| 2009 | 25.2% | -56.0% |
| 2010 | 45.7% | +81.1% |
| 2011 | 28.3% | -38.1% |
| 2012 | 26.6% | -5.9% |
| 2013 | 30.0% | +12.9% |
| 2014 | 17.1% | -43.0% |
| 2015 | 18.9% | +10.3% |
| 2016 | 62.1% | +229.1% |
| 2017 | 58.4% | -6.0% |
| 2018 | 58.0% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 66.7% | +15.1% |
| 2020 | 72.9% | +9.3% |
| 2021 | 33.3% | -54.4% |
| 2022 | 86.8% | +161.1% |
| 2023 | 46.5% | -46.4% |
| 2024 | 53.1% | +14.3% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 53.1% is above the median for low income countries, which is 38.9%, 1.4× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 53.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 43.9%, 1.2× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service exports) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | +229.1% | 18.9% | 62.1% |
| 2002 | +224.3% | 30.5% | 99.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 30.0% | 19.6% | 35.5% | 3 |
| 1980s | 44.3% | 25.2% | 78.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 66.8% | 34.6% | 85.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 61.5% | 25.2% | 99.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 41.2% | 17.1% | 66.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 58.5% | 33.3% | 86.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
- 62 Democratic Republic of Congo 53.3% compare
- 63 Peru 53.2% compare
- 64 Bosnia and Herzegovina 53.2% compare
- 66 Vanuatu 52.8% compare
- 67 New Zealand 51.7% compare
- 68 Marshall Islands 51.1% compare
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 travel services in Sierra Leone?
- Travel services in Sierra Leone was 53.1% in 2024, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 99.0% in 2002.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.1% in 2014.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for travel services?
- Sierra Leone ranks 65th out of 198 countries with data for 2024.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 210.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Travel services (% of commercial service exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 48 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away acquired from an economy by nonresidents during visits to that economy, or acquired from other economies by residents during visits to these other economies. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.